The report says that Christian persecution had “multiple drivers and as such it deserves special attention. More specifically it is certainly not limited to Islamic majority contexts. So this review is not a stalking horse for the Islamophobic far right, nor does it give the Islamophobic right a stick to beat Islam with.”
That is true. Not only Muslims persecute Christians. Christians are persecuted in North Korea as well. But eight of the ten worst countries for Christians are Muslim. The fact that other people besides Muslims persecute Christians does not mean that Muslims don’t persecute Christians, or that the Islamic theological reasons why they do so should not be studied. This study is not pursued as a “stick to beat Islam with,” but in order to uncover the root causes of the persecution, so that it can be ended. The UK government report has rendered itself essentially useless by its refusal to examine those root causes and dismissal of those who do so as the “Islamophobic far right.” Why is it “far right” to stand for the freedom of speech, the freedom of conscience, and the equality of rights of all people before the law?
“UK government urged to take steps to prevent persecution of Christians,” by Harriet Sherwood, Guardian, July 7, 2019 (thanks to D.):
The UK government should be prepared to impose sanctions against countries that persecute Christians, a report commissioned by the Foreign Office has recommended.
It should also adopt a definition of anti-Christian discrimination and persecution, similar to those applied to Islamophobia and antisemitism, the report says. British diplomats and other Foreign Office staff, both in the UK and abroad, should have mandatory training in religious literacy in order to equip them to understand the scale and significance of the issue.
The report, by Philip Mounstephen, the bishop of Truro, was commissioned by the foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, to examine the extent and nature of Christian persecution and assess the UK government’s response.
Hunt said he would enact all of the recommendations if he became prime minister and said he agreed with the report’s conclusion that Christians were the most persecuted religious group in the world.
Hunt said the UK must take a firmer stance on the persecution of Christians around the world. “The sense of misguided political correctness that has stopped us standing up for Christians overseas must end,” he said. “At home we all benefit from living in a tolerant, diverse society and we should not be afraid of promoting those values abroad. It is a sad fact that Christians are the most persecuted religious group in modern times. I am determined to show that we are on their side.”
An estimated one-third of the world’s population suffers from religious persecution in some form, with 80% of them being Christians, it is claimed.
Open Doors, which monitors Christian persecution around the world, has estimated that on average each month 345 Christians are killed for faith-related issues.
The report said: “Evidence suggests that acts of violence and other intimidation against Christians are becoming more widespread.” In parts of the Middle East and Africa, the vast scale of the violence and its perpetrators’ declared intent to eradicate the Christian community had led to several declarations that Christians were suffering a genocide, it said.
Christianity was concentrated in the global south and was perceived therefore as “primarily a phenomenon of the global poor”, it said. “Despite the impression those in the west might sometimes have to the contrary, the Christian faith is not primarily an expression of white western privilege.”
Christian persecution had “multiple drivers and as such it deserves special attention. More specifically it is certainly not limited to Islamic majority contexts. So this review is not a stalking horse for the Islamophobic far right, nor does it give the Islamophobic right a stick to beat Islam with.”
The report added: “There is a sense that for a number of reasons we have been blind to this issue – and those reasons would certainly include post-colonial guilt: a sense that we have interfered uninvited in certain contexts in the past so we should not do so again.”
It acknowledged that Christians had also historically persecuted others. “One thinks with shame of the Crusades, the inquisition and the pogroms. But this is not simply a historical phenomenon. Some of the violence in the Central African Republic has very likely been initiated by Christian militia. And responsibility for the dreadful massacre of 8,373 Bosnians in Srebrenica in July 1995 must be laid squarely at the feet of those who professed Christian faith.”…
libertyORdeath says
If we do not acknowledge WHY this persecution and murder is occurring, then the report is worthless.
mortimer says
In total agreement with LOL. The ‘WHY’ of the persecution is ESSENTIAL to the solution.
Philip Mounstephen (the current bishop of Truro) was the leader of a missionary organization who knew many people, but I must ask:
‘WHAT DOES PHILIP MOUNSTEPHEN KNOW ABOUT ISLAM’S ESSENTIAL DOCTRINES: 1) AL WALAA WAL BARAA and 2) JIHAD AGAINST DISBELIEVERS in the way of Allah.
I contend that if he and other government committee members DO NOT know those 2 teachings of Islam, they professionally UNSUITED and UNPREPARED to serve on a committee charged with understanding PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS BY MUSLIMS.
Without a clear understanding, and indeed, a MASTERY of those two teachings, NO ONE can make heads or tails of Islam, no matter how sincere, caring or highly educated or WELL-MEANING.
We do not ask if a PILOT of an airplane is WELL-MEANING … we ask if he KNOWS EVERYTHING ABOUT FLYING THAT AIRPLANE.
The committee doesn’t anything about the core principles of the ‘AIRPLANE’ (Islam) that they are reporting on.
mortimer says
Correction: LOD rather than LOL … lol.
gravenimage says
Agreed, libertyORdeath.
James says
One can of course relativize the attacks on Christians with Christian misdeeds. But it would be better to try to stop these attacks, and one should be clear about who is persecuting whom today. Religious crimes centuries ago cannot matter today as much as current events. And conflicts today where Christians are persecutors, do they involve persecutors citing scripture and appealing to God to justify their persecution of others? Does this happen very often? And does this justify other groups to persecute Christians?
Jayell says
“UK government says its report on persecution of Christians “is not a stalking horse for the Islamophobic far right”…”
Is that a fact, now? So, despite the long-known list of international atrocities as long as both your arms (plus any other appendage you might care to include), Theresa May & Chums (that includes her ‘unreligious’ protege Javid, who is now strangely a staunch of Boris, of course) have suddenly decided that a few human rights (and bodies, now doubt) have been abused, but inconveniently mostly by persons acting in the name of some person called Mohammed and to the detriment of persons of a Christian persuasion. And now, having gratuitously turned away victims because it might upset those in the UK who identify with the perpetrators, they actually have to do something about it. But of course they still musn’t upset you-know-who……. I’m impressed!!!
Hugh Fitzgerald says
“Eight of the ten worst countries for Christians” are Muslim. And if you click on the link Robert provides above, you find that “fourteen of the sixteen worst countries for Christians” are Muslim. And while North Korea is first on the list, there have been no mass murdering of Christians in that country, as has happened in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt, Somalia
This insensate fear that some might use this report as a “stalking horse for the Islamophobic far-right” is absurd.
Where Christians are subject to severe persecution, and even in some places murder, by Muslims, the report should spell out where and when and how. It is idiotic to worry that a report on Muslim atrocities against Christians might lead some people to think that Muslims commit atrocities against Christians, and that they would then become more hostile to Islam, possibly even supporting ng such measures as ending Muslim immigration to the West. That’s not an irrational phobia, but common sense.
The report notes that “British diplomats and other Foreign Office staff, both in the UK and abroad, should have mandatory training in religious literacy in order to equip them to understand the scale and significance of the issue.”
What does “religious literacy” mean here? It should mean learning, by study of the Qur’an and hadith, what teachings and tenets of Islam lead Muslims in many places to persecute, and even murder, Christians. Can one imagine the Foreign Office in the U.K., with its long tradition of both islamophilia — abandoning the Nigerian Christians to the Hausa and Fulani Jihadists, for example, during the Biafra War (1967-1969), and arabophilia (the British record of placating the Arabs at the expense of Jews in the period of the Palestine Mandate, including the White Paper of 1939 limiting Jewish immigration to 15,000 a year for five years, and British pro-Arab policies since 1948)– really daring to teach its diplomats what they most need to learn about Islam? Would those diplomats be exposed to Qur’an 2:191-193, 3:110, 4:89, 5:51, 8:12, 8:60, 9:5, 9:29, 47:4, 98:6? Of course not. That might lead to what some call “far-right Islamophobia.” Though, of course, there is nothing “far right” about hostility to Islam. See the celebrated Italian leftist Oriana Fallaci’s enraged observations on Islam and Muslims in Europe, see the writings of the centrist bankerThilo Sarrazin, see the leftist staff of Charlie Hebdo, see Richard Dawkins, Jordan Peterson, Alain Finkielkraut — none of them remotely “far-right. As for “islamophobia,” everyone of sense knows by now that this term was put into circulation to mislabel, and thereby undermine, legitimate islamocriticism. We are being asked to believe that all such criticism amounts to “irrational hatred” when the report just issued, on the persecution of Christians world-wide, shows how rational such hostility to Islam, that has brought into the world so much woe, can be.
shoehorn says
Yep. Report says Christians most persecuted … then bashes Christians and those who oppose their persecutors.
gravenimage says
Spot on, Mr. Fitzgerald.
Tom says
“Hunt said he would enact all of the recommendations if he became prime minister and said he agreed with the report’s conclusion that Christians were the most persecuted religious group in the world.”
What he does not say is that the vast majority of those who persecute Christians are Muslims.
There must be retaliation by governments and international bodies like the UN upon those nations that persecute Christians. It will not stop the persecution, but it will punish those countries and their governments.
Islam and communism are the two main proponents of persecution of Christians. Both are based on fanaticism and will never change.
We in the west must therefore change how we deal with such fanaticism and hatred. One way may be to deny immigration for those who are known to be supporters of those ideologies and to encourage more immigration of Christians from those countries that are Islamic.
Why are we importing an ideology that is the very antithesis of the foundation of our society, when we could, and should, be inviting those who are aligned with our cultural and societal beliefs.
If we want harmony and peace we must gather and live with those who are like minded and peaceful.
Angemon says
Reads well on paper, but I’ll wait and see what comes of it…
Hmmm, I wonder if there’s a common element in those parts of the ME and Africa that might explain why there’s such rampant hatred of Christians…
Angemon says
Oh, and isn’t it suspiciously specific that the report read “this review is not a stalking horse for the Islamophobic far right, nor does it give the Islamophobic right a stick to beat Islam with”?
Kepha says
Mandatory training in religious literacy for Foreign Office personnel? Lots of luck, UK.
As a junior Foreign Service Officer for the US State Department, I got some of that for my training in Southeast Asia before shipping out to Bangkok. What we got was a very sugar-coated version of Sufi-inspired ‘Monsoon Islam”. My guess is that what we were taught about Theravada Buddhism was similarly sugar-coated. It was also clear throughout my short and inglorious diplomatic career that the aptly named Foggy Bottom was still reeling from Khomeini’s end-run around the Tudeh and utterly clueless not only about Islam, but also about devout Americans beyond the Beltway.
Kay says
“Post colonial guilt.” Did he mean ignorance and self-absorption?
btw Open Doors, in their own report, lists the primary reason of persecution of Christians in each country.
James Lincoln says
BVC says:
“I gonna be a bit optimistuc here…its a damn START.”
True enough, it is a start but:
Too little too late.
I agree with Robert Spencer. As he has so often stated, the UK is finished.
Lydia Church says
“So this review is not a stalking horse for the Islamophobic far right, nor does it give the Islamophobic right a stick to beat Islam with.”
Huh?
Time to dissect the frog:
1. First of all, if 8 out of the ten countries that persecute Christians the most are muslim, then YES, it IS a stalking horse. And we CAN ‘beat’ islam for its evils. Albeit it is true that other groups persecute Christians as well and have before. Such as:
Jewish religious leaders after Pentecost
Political leaders throughout the Mediterranean during the first centuries, such as Nero and MANY more.
People in other lands where they went as missionaries
During the dark ages many of the true church were persecuted by the Catholic church for centuries even before the Reformation, documented proof is available
During the Reformation some false teachers such as Calvin persecuted true Christians (and others)
Under islam many Christians were persecuted throughout the centuries in muslim dominated lands
Communism persecuted Christians in many countries
Nazi’s persecuted Christians who died in the holocaust (documentation is available)
Other religious groups in other countries such as hindus in India are persecuting Christians
North Korea and China are persecuting Christians today among other places like that
Liberal leftist groups are persecuting Christians in the West
etc.
2. Like Robert said, how is opposing persecution of Christians only assigned to the ‘far right’? What are they admitting there? That the left couldn’t care less? Hmmm….
3. Now again, the victim is painted as the criminal as instead of the visual of muslims persecuting Christians, we see the image they are painting instead… of the right ‘beating islam’ with a stick.
4. How is opposing persecution of Christians linked with being ‘islamophobic’??? The ‘far right’ is ‘islamophobic’ and wants to ‘beat islam with a stick’ because we oppose muslim persecution of Christians???
Huh???
By the way, if you go to the site Morning Star News there is a link for related agencies that monitor Christian persecution around the world in various countries. Those are just some of them but I thought I’d throw that in there.
Lydia Church says
… and during and after the Reformation as well as before it…
Again, facts are facts and I’m not trying to harp on anything.
But I agree with James again in looking at who is doing it TODAY, and where most of it is coming from…
and the prize goes to….
(drumroll please)….. islam!
CRUSADER says
Voice of the Martyrs
https://www.persecution.com/about/
The Voice of the Martyrs is a nonprofit, interdenominational Christian missions organization dedicated to serving our persecuted family worldwide through practical and spiritual assistance and leading other members of the body of Christ into fellowship with them.
VOM was founded in 1967 by Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, who was imprisoned for 14 years in Communist Romania for his faith in Christ; his wife, Sabina, was imprisoned for three years. In 1965 they were ransomed out of Romania, and soon thereafter they established the global network of missions of which VOM is a part. The Wurmbrands based these missions on Hebrews 13:3, which instructs us to “Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also.”
+ + +
gravenimage says
Good post.
gravenimage says
UK government says its report on persecution of Christians “is not a stalking horse for the Islamophobic far right”
…………………….
So if you think that Muslims persecuting Christians per the diktats of their vicious creed is a bad thing then you are “Islamophobic”?
Also note how everyone who abhors this savagery is now deemed “far right”–even if they also consider Muslims persecuting women, atheists, gay people, and free thinkers to be bad.
James Lincoln says
gravenimage says,
“Also note how everyone who abhors this savagery is now deemed “far right”–even if they also consider Muslims persecuting women, atheists, gay people, and free thinkers to be bad.”
Absolutely true. The discussion has moved so far to the left that all clear thinking factual evidence-based Independents – and Republican or Democrat “centrists” – are definitely labeled “far right”.
Suffice it to say, this “far right” label would include nearly all Jihad Watch readers and posters.
This label is used by Muslims / “far left” in order to shut down all clear thinking factual evidence-based discussion regarding Islam.
gravenimage says
Exactly, James.
UNCLE VLADDI says
There is no “right wing!”
The “right wing” doesn’t exist – it’s just a false gang accusation made up about individualists by leftopathic gangster extortionists to justify their own perpetual extortions and slavery attempts as “defensive!”
Socialism is slavery.
Fascism is slavery.
Islam is slavery.
Conservatives are proud individualists.
“Right wingers” are only normal people who don’t like being extorted by “socialist” gangsters.
Gangster victimologists (leftopaths) always feel endangered by proud individualists whose existence proves the extortive gangsters’ self-serving victimology lies were always no more than butt-hurt masochistic hypocrisy.
Honestly, people – “right wingers” don’t actually exist.
Hitler was a National SOCIALIST.
And even “Fascism” was invented by Benito Mussolini, the devoted Italian SOCIALIST.
So, what’s a “right winger?” It’s any sane normal person who wakes up enough to take a bit of time off from minding their own businesses to temporarily band together to vote to not be extorted any more by group-might-makes-rights-worshiping “socialist” gangster criminals.
The “right wing” tautology came about when Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. Prior to that the two countries were allies and Stalin openly praised Hitler. Following the invasion, Stalin labeled Hitler “a right wing revisionist” and read him out of the Molotov/Ribbentrop treaty and the left wing communist/fascist group. Since Stalin was our “ally” during WWII the label stuck insofar as Fascism is concerned, and was promulgated by our then [as now] thoroughly Bolshevik “academia/intelligencia.”
Barb says
Jeremy Hunt needs to stand up for Citizen Journalists like Tommy Robinson – he’s being Politically persecuted in Britain!
CRUSADER says
Thank you for mentioning OPEN DOORS
so much in this article.
Important work they do.
Eric Jones says
Where does the UK rank in terms of Christian persecution in this report? London knife attacks,acid attacks, gruming gangs, no go zones and injustice to Tommy Robinson are evidence of Christian persecution in the UK.. The same would apply to any country that has accepted Muslim migrants.
Eric