"It's a War on Christians": Muslim Persecution of Christians, April 2017

by Raymond Ibrahim  •  August 27, 2017 at 4:30 am

• "The shopkeepers returned, trapped him in his home, set the room on fire and locked it. They stayed outside the room and did not allow any of the family members or local residents to unlock the room to save Ameen's life." The man was burned alive. — Pakistan Christian Post.
• Mike said that five uniformed railway transport officers stood by idly watching the attack. According to a local Orthodox priest, "There are gangs of these young fellows of Muslim background who have been harassing people they identify as Christian... You don't hear about it because no one's reporting it." — Sydney, Australia.
• According to a new study, 59% of Indonesians who responded to a survey have carried out acts of intolerance against non-Muslim minorities, and religious radicalization is on the rise. Only 11% of Indonesians are strongly opposed to an Islamic nation that governs according to strict Islamic law, Sharia. Around 11.5 million Indonesians are "spiritually" ready to make radical fundamental changes in Indonesian society. "They want to adopt laws inspired by Sharia, and their demands will become more and more radical," said a spokesperson for the statistical study. — Indonesia.

In Muslim enclaves of southwest Sydney, Christians are regularly warned not to wear overtly Christian symbols such as crucifixes. A Greek Orthodox man wearing a crucifix necklace was recently violently assaulted by four Muslim men who yelled "F*** Jesus", while he was traveling on a train from Belmore Station, Sydney. Pictured: All Saints Greek Orthodox Church, Belmore, Sydney, Australia. (Image source: Sardaka/Wikimedia Commons)

As in former years, Easter was under attack in various Muslim nations, most spectacularly in Egypt. On April 9, two Coptic Christian Orthodox churches packed with worshippers for Palm Sunday Mass, which initiates Easter holy week, were attacked by Islamic suicide bombers. Twenty-seven people—mostly children—were killed in St. George's in Tanta, northern Egypt. "Where is the government?" an angry Christian there asked AP reporters. "There is no government! There was a clear lapse in security, which must be tightened from now on to save lives." Less than two hours later, 17 people were killed in St. Mark's Cathedral in Alexandria. Since the original building, founded by the Evangelist Mark in the first century, was burned to the ground during the seventh century Muslim invasions of Egypt, the church has been the historic seat of Coptic Christianity. Pope Tawadros, who was present—and apparently targeted—emerged unharmed. About 50 Christians were killed in the two bombings, 126 wounded and many mutilated. (Graphic images/video of aftermath here).

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