More on the ongoing Christian persecution in Iraq. From AKI, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:
Erbil, 27 April (AKI) - Christians in Iraqi are facing a mounting number of threats forcing them into exile, a Christian parliamentarian in Iraq's Kurdistan region says. "Thousands of Christian families are being told to leave the country or convert to Islam or pay the jizyah (a tax traditionally imposed on non-Muslim men in Islamic states)," the parliamentarian, Romeo Hakkari told Adnkronos International (AKI). An ethnic Assyrian of the Chaldean Church - a Roman Catholic oriental rite denomination - Hakkari heads the House of the Two Rivers Democratic Party, which promotes the rights of Assyrian-Chaldeans.According to Hakkari, many Christians living in Mosul and Baghdad have fled those cities and sought refuge either in remote parts of Iraqi Kurdistan or abroad after receiving threats from Islamists.
He cited the example of pamphlets, purportedly distributed by the al-Qaeda-linked "Islamic State of Iraq" group that threatened to kill Christians if they did not abandon the city.
The Muslim extremists have also tried to revive the jizyah practice, which forced non-Muslism people "of the Book" (Christians and Jews) to buy protection from the authorities by paying the tax.
"Since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime Christians in Iraq, and in particular Baghdad have faced persecution for the first time in the history of this country," Hakkari told AKI.
There is a Christian parliamentarian in Iraq's Kurdistan region? Veeerrrry interesting.
If I were POTUS, an independent Kurdistan would be on my top ten list.
Great work, Bush.
9-11 was perpetrated by Wahhabist Sunni's, and who was excluded from the "Axis of Evil?"
We should have used Saddam against the real enemy: The House of Saud and their clerics.
The US isn't close to backing an independent Kurdistan, for fear of offending our Cold War Ally, Turkey.
Guillermox, the reason the US isn't close to backing an independent Kurdistan, is because I ain't president.
I will hedge my statement somewhat as far as the significance of a Christian MP is concerned. Pakistan once had a woman prime minister. I think I might wait and see.
As a Catholic, all I have to say is that the Vatican had better start doing something about these Middle Eastern Christians in communion with Rome -- like actually supporting them more than previously -- instead of screwing about with notions of "dialogue" with Muslims about "reciprocity."
Then again, the Catholic Church is all about talk -- esoteric, academic, pseudo-intellectual talk.
As one of the great moral minds of the 20th century once asked, "a little less conversation and a lot more action!"
Christians in Iraq, and in particular Baghdad have faced persecution for the first time in the history of this country,"
Maybe you should learn more about the history of your country!
MadMom,
Christians living under oppression in Iraq will say such things (as do the Copts in Egypt) (there's a reason). Yes, it's untrue. yes, i suspect, they know it's not true. but, they say it anyway...it buys them their survival (ie., it blames "the Americans", "the invaders", "the oppressors" -- not the REAL oppressors -- the Muslim Iraqis). Bat Ye'or discusses this (it's what happens to the Dhimmis.. a part of Dhimmi psychology...)
Stop calling them "Islamists." Call them what they are.
Muslims.
If you believe a mass-murdering, serial-raping, pedophilic common thief and extortionist is a prophet, there is something wrong with you. Chew your carpet, bag your head, grovel under beatings, hoist your buttocks to Allah all you like, but the fact remains that you have gone wrong, deeply, seriously, and inexcusably wrong in your head. It's all there written down in the Koran.
Calling someone an "Islamist" is a misnomer. Islam is all there is.
There are practicing Muslims, and there are civilized people. No more excuses.
Thank you, Mr. D'Hippolito, for your plain spoken viewpoint. I would offer two more points: I have been to a number of human rights events in Washington DC calling attention to the plight of Christian minorities in various parts of the Islamic world. I have yet to meet a Catholic priest at one of these events. Yes, I know that they are busy, but I have seen them at events concerning issues in Latin America. I also believe that the Vatican has left in place for much too long clergy such as Michel Sabbah in Jerusalem. He seemingly has never heard of a Hamas politician or act of terrorism that he will condemn. Unfortunately, he is not alone. There are a number of high placed Catholic clergy throughout the Muslim world who seem to go out of their way to side with the Islamists. I know it is a tough issue, but some plain speaking about the truth of certain situations would go a long way for the lay people if the clergy acted a shepherds and not cringing mice.
OT:
Magdi Allam is in Washington to receive the Mass Media Award by the American Jewish Committee. If anyone can find a link to it, please let me know.
""Thousands of Christian families are being told to leave the country or convert to Islam or pay the jizyah (a tax traditionally imposed on non-Muslim men in Islamic states),"
...oh, like that is something new in Muslim held lands....
Ban Muslim immigration...
Here is Magdi's first account of his trip in the US (I hope Hugh can translate it) :
http://www.corriere.it/corrforum/corriere/ThreadPopup?forumid=291&postid=815580
"We should have used Saddam against the real enemy: The House of Saud and their clerics"
Bingo , Guillermox . Instead we got suckered into Iraq by that Iranian stooge, Chalabi.
The Iranians haven't stopped laughing since, and, on a quiet night when the moon is full , you hear them chuckling.
Mr. D'Hippolito and Maryrose:
I want to "second that emotion" as the song says. As an ItaloAmerican, Roman Catholic, I am disgusted by the marriage of the Church's left wing bishops with muslims. Seemingly without question, the Islamic party line is touted by these wolves in sheep's clothing. I am so sick of having to educate Catholics who parrot some Age of Aquarius bishop or priest about how Vat II documents insist we Catholics are to believe all gods are One and all paths lead to God. Utter syncretist rubbish! The Devil must be clapping his cloven hooves knowing that what the Arian heresy and countless other heresies could not accomplish, ecumaniacs of our century will. The seed Satan planted in Mo's ear in that Arabian cave long ago is bearing fruit in our own Catholic "Fruits and nuts" and their endless dialogues.
About the "number of high placed Catholic clergy throughout the Muslim world who seem to go out of their way to side with the Islamists...", I have a few thoughts (I am not a Catholic).
1) Bat Ye'or in the text "Eurabia" devotes an entire chapter to "The Islamization of Christianity." I believe this chapter is a must read. Perhaps I could summarize some of her major points...(in the event some may not have had the time or opportunity to read her work...) Here goes:
2) Bat Ye'or discusses the notion of syncretism. This is when you take disparate philosophies, religions, etc., find the common elements, then produce/meld the many into the one. For example, one could make a syncretistic formulation to meld the philosophies of Aristotle and Plato. Apparently any number of muslim clerics wish to develop the notion that Christianity and Islam are one. And the two are actually one (by eliminating the "apostate" elements of Christianity and thus having Christianity become Islamized). How is this accomplished?
3) In the Koran there are parallel characters -- Abraham, Moses, Jesus. They have the same name, but they don't bear much of a relationship to the biblical characters called Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. (I would suggest that the Islamic versions are more like a demonic parody of the originals.) Anyway, you get a parallel world -- one biblical and one Islamic. The goal of the Muslims is to make the two into one (syncretism). And how this is done is through replacement.
4) To facilitate the replacement, Arab Christians sever the link between the Hebrew scriptures and the New Testament. Bat Ye'or maintains that they adopt and champion a heresy. It's the Marcion heresy (from "Eurabia": "It was first formulated by Marcion, a second-century Byzantium priest of pagan background who was strongly influenced by Gnosticism. Today, Palestinian Marcionism (Palestinianism) paves the way for the Islamization of the Church as it prepares mentalities for an Islamic replacement theology", p. 213).
5) Bat Ye'or writes: "Although the Vatican stresses the Jewish roots of Christianity, Palestinianism flourishes in the Catholic as well as Protestant European and Arab Churches." (Personally, I've also noted the moral collapse of Anglicanism in Canada -- the Anglicans are virtually identical with Islam...or they've become thoroughly Islamized.) These Islamized churches then adopt and champion Muslim causes (including the destruction of the state of Israel, proclaiming the destruction of Israel as an act of "liberation"). (Bat Ye'or makes many additional, insightful observations -- particularly about the state of Dhimmitude -- including what Freud would term "displaced aggression/anger" -- the Dhimmis' anger is turned against other hapless victims of Arab/Muslim aggression, since the Dhimmis cannot express anger/hostility against their true oppressors.)
6) All of the above merely sets the stage for the final act -- to get Christians to finally admit their "errors" and convert to islam.