[Originally published by the Gatestone Institute, via RaymondIbrahim.com]
Along with an especially egregious list of atrocities committed against Christian minorities throughout the Islamic world, March also saw some callous indifference or worse from the U.S. government.
President Barack Hussein Obama was criticized by human rights activists for not addressing the plight of Christians and other minorities during his talks with leaders in Saudi Arabia, where Christianity is banned.
According to the Washington-based International Christian Concern (ICC) advocacy group, Obama did not “publicly broach the subject of religious freedom” during talks on March 28 with Saudi King Abdullah, despite a letter from some 70 members of Congress urging him to “address specific human rights reforms” both in public and in direct meetings with Abdullah and other officials.
“This visit was an excellent opportunity for the president to speak up on an issue that affects millions of Saudi citizens and millions more foreign workers living in Saudi Arabia,” said Todd Daniels, ICC’s Middle East regional manager, adding that it was “remarkable that the president could stay completely silent about religious freedom” despite pressure from Congress “to publicly address the issue, as well as other human rights concerns, with King Abdullah…”
U.S. officials reportedly responded by saying that “Obama had not had time to raise concerns about the kingdom’s human rights record.”
Separately, after the United States Institute for Peace (USIP) brought together the governors of Nigeria’s mostly Muslim northern states for a conference in the U.S., the State Department blocked the visa of the region’s only Christian governor, Jonah David Jang, an ordained minister, citing “administrative” problems. The USIP confirmed that all 19 northern governors were invited, but the organization did not respond to requests for comments on why they would hold talks without the region’s only Christian governor.
According to Emmanuel Ogebe, a Nigerian human rights lawyer based in Washington, the Christian governor’s “visa problems” are due to anti-Christian bias in the U.S. government: “The U.S. insists that Muslims are the primary victims of Boko Haram. It also claims that Christians discriminate against Muslims in Plateau, which is one of the few Christian majority states in the north. After [Jang, the Christian governor] told them [U.S. authorities] that they were ignoring the 12 Shariah states who institutionalized persecution … he suddenly developed visa problems… The question remains—why is the U.S. downplaying or denying the attacks against Christians?”
March’s roundup of Muslim persecution of Christians around the world includes (but is not limited to) the following accounts, listed by theme and country alphabetical order, not necessarily according to severity.
The Slaughter of Christians
Egypt: During pro-Muslim Brotherhood riots, a young Coptic woman named Mary was murdered—simply because her cross identified her as a Christian to Brotherhood rioters. According to an eyewitness who discussed the entire event on the Egyptian program, 90 Minutes, Mary Sameh George was parking by the church to deliver medicine to an elderly woman: “Once they saw that she was a Christian [because of the cross hanging on her rear view mirror], they jumped on top of the car, to the point that the vehicle was no longer visible. The roof of the car collapsed in. When they realized that she was starting to die, they pulled her out of the car and started pounding on her and pulling her hair—to the point that portions of her hair and scalp came off. They kept beating her, kicking her, stabbing her with any object or weapon they could find…. Throughout [her ordeal] she tried to protect her face, giving her back to the attackers, till one of them came and stabbed her right in the back, near the heart, finishing her off. Then another came and grabbed her by the hair, shaking her head, and with the other hand slit her throat. Another pulled her pants off, to the point that she was totally naked.”
Nigeria: A Muslim father allegedly slaughtered or had someone else slaughter his daughter with a machete, wounding a pastor and four others in the attack, because she had earlier converted to Christianity. According to police reports, “the suspect allegedly sneaked into the church premises and inflicted machete cuts on the four persons” seriously wounding them and killing his daughter. Prior to that, the father had threatened his daughter to return to Islam or else, and she had taken refuge in the church. Police had not made clear if it was the father or an accomplice who committed the assault. Separately, Muslim Fulani herdsmen launched another night raid into a Christian majority region, massacring over 150 people, including a pastor, his wife and children; some 200 homes were torched. A surviving eyewitness said that attackers were about 40 in number and were armed with knives, guns and other unidentifiable equipment. They came in the night and began by setting fire to the homes, burning dozens of Christians alive: “Those that tried to escape were butchered or gun down.”
Pakistan: “A young Christian girl was killed by the Pakistani Taliban in the northern region of Pakistan,” reported Agenzia Fide: “The girl had spent a few months on the run and in hiding with her cousin, a Muslim who converted to Christianity a few years ago. Since the conversion, the man is considered an ‘apostate’ and since then he has been the target of the Taliban. In past days, some militants discovered where the two were hiding: the girl in the escape was reached by a bullet and was killed, while the man managed to escape.”
Somalia: Members of the militant Islamic group, al-Shabaab, publicly beheaded a mother of two girls and her cousin after discovering they were Christians. According to local sources, the Islamists “called residents to the town center to witness the executions of the 41-year-old mother, Sadia Ali Omar, and her 35-year-old cousin, Osman Mohamoud Moge.” Before slaughtering the two women, an al-Shabaab member announced, “We know these two people are Christians who recently came back from Kenya—we want to wipe out any underground Christian living inside of mujahidin [jihadi] area.” The two daughters of one of the women, ages 8 and 15, “were witness to the slaughter, sources said, with the younger girl screaming and shouting for someone to save her mother. A friend helped the girls, whose names are withheld, to relocate to another area,” saying “We are afraid that the al-Shabaab might continue monitoring these two children and eventually kill them just like their mother.” … Click to read the rest of the report
Jay Boo says
Goergetown University —
covered over the monogram “IHS”–symbolizing the name of Jesus Christ
Apparently Obama was ‘sensitive’ to the symbolism of a ‘Christian’ president standing near it.
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/georgetown-says-it-covered-over-name-jesus-comply-white-house-request-0
But Obama does a DEEP bow to the king of Saudi Arabia.
—- So much for symbolism
Dave says
Yes Obama has favoured Islam over all other religions but he’s not the only one to ignore the murder of Christians worldwide by the “peaceful” religion of Islam.
No doubt amongst the thousands of Christians already killed this year there are Roman Catholics – probably a majority of them.
What does this Pope do?
He demonises the Mafia and invites an Imam to say prayers at the Vatican!!
Not once has he pronounced any kind of concern or outrage about the slaughter of his brethren. Not once!
Why?
Same could go for the top Clergy of Protestantism. Nothing.
Is this all deliberate? Part of a plan?
Is the One World Religion going to be Islam?
To have the Leader of the Free World and the top Clergy of the Christian religions either favouring Islam or very reluctant to speak out – what chance have any of us got?
eib says
Obama’s refusal to acknowledge the persecution, enslavement, and mass murder of Christians by Muslims worldwide makes him consciously complicit in the crimes. Every single one. Every U.S. president serving in my lifetime of has been guilty of the same.
will natson says
Dave: You say “Not once has he [the Pope] pronounced any kind of concern or outrage about the slaughter of his brethren. Not once!”
You are totally wrong. The only question is whether you knew you were wrong when you said it.
Less than three weeks ago, Pope Francis said:
“There are many martyrs today, in the Church, many persecuted Christians,” said the pope during a mass in honor of Christian martyrs who were killed under Roman Emperor Nero. “Think of the Middle East where Christians must flee persecution, where Christians are killed. Even those Christians who are forced away in an ‘elegant’ way, with ‘white gloves:’ that too is persecution. There are more witnesses, more martyrs in the Church today than there were in the first centuries.”
Google it before you spread falsehoods!!!
Dave says
Less than three bloody weeks ago!!! Is that all? What about January? March? June? He had ample opportunity when he was in the Middle East!
He is not representing his religion or his parishioners very well at all. He’s failing us, pure and simple.
Will Nat says
Dave: Address my comment!
You originally say “Not once has he [the Pope] pronounced any kind of concern or outrage about the slaughter of his brethren. Not once!”
You said “Not once” and I proved you wrong. Now you are asking me to do more research to locate other cases. YOU do the research! You’re the one who made the mistake.
Also, you didn’t answer my comment: Did you know you were wrong when you said “NOT one”? Did you?
Dave says
I also think this Pope is a “rogue” Pope. I’m not too sure about this resignation of the one before.
Judy says
Yes, Dave. Ask traditional Catholics how thrilled they are with our current pope. The progressives are in ecstasies, thinking that wymynpriests, same-sex-so-called-marriage, and reception of Eucharist by anyone living in persistent, obstinate sin are all soon to be within their reach. Then we have the convert apologist crowd that thinks you can’t say a word against the pope or you’re somehow not really Catholic. Today the Malaysian airliner was shot down, there is more fighting in the Middle East, but, as I told my husband, the silver lining was that at least the pope didn’t give any interviews today. Traditional Catholics are waiting and praying for the post-Vatican II leadership to stand up to Islam as strongly as popes did throughout hundreds of years. Instead we are getting the Church of warm and fuzzy.
Gbox says
Yet, Obama wants us to believe he is Christian. How would anyone know from his actions?
Silvia says
There is a GENOCIDE of the Christians in all the Muslim world and the Christian world is SILENT!!!!! I’m just gobsmacked watching this. It’s mortifying. the world is doing exactly what they did with the Jews in the years leading to WW2 and during – NOTHING!
HOW DID THE WORLD GET TO THIS????