The violence perpetuated by the "religion of peace"
As the Catholic Church finds new ways to approach the issue of "world peace", it is faced with an unfortunate reality: currently no religious group in the world is subjected to more violence and persecution than Christians. While the Church has been instrumental in eliminating the "discrimination" towards other religions in formerly Catholic countries, not all of those other religions have followed suit.
In particular, the cult of Islam which is now referred to by confused Catholics as a "religion of peace", has shown little sign of letting up on its fourteen-hundred year campaign to eliminate Christianity. While the Pope welcomed the construction of a mosque in Rome almost completely financed by Saudi royalty, the construction of a Catholic Church in Saudi Arabia is strictly forbidden. Measures Catholic nations used to take to prevent the spread of error are subjected to the harsh condemnation of both secular revisionists and modern Catholics alike. But those same tactics employed in the Arabian counties of the Middle East are ignored out of a relativist sense of "tolerance".
The Church has decided to stop fighting its enemies in the interests of "religious liberty" and "dialogue", but its enemies have made no such concession:
The Church has chosen the road of negotiation and is "leading" by example, but such tactics appear to deny a fundamental and obvious truth not lost on the over one billion Muslims: the opposite of truth is error and error has no rights. Error is not something to be flattered, negotiated with, tolerated or accepted. It is offense to God and man and must be eliminated through conversion. The Muslims beliefs are false but their grasp of such a simple concept is irrefutable.
The relativism that considers all religions more or less good is a product of man, not God. The followers of Mohammed are right to completely reject the "enlightened" ideas of modern philosophy as every pre-Vatican II Pope did. Unless the Catholic Church is able to reclaim this truth for itself, it will find itself in an impossible position: having to defend itself from an enemy which Catholics were raised to believe is an innocent and peaceful ally.
There are many examples of persecution of Catholics at the hand of Muslims. Three areas of the world will be examined here.
Pakistan
Recently, a highly-publicized recent massacre in a Pakistani Catholic Church has caused many local Catholics to stay home on Sundays rather than risk a repeat of such a violent attack. Christians comprise less than 3% of the almost exclusively Muslim population of Pakistan.
On October 26, Pakistani newspapers printed the al-Qaeda demand for the death of two Christians in retaliation for every Muslim killed in the U.S. military strikes on Afghanistan. Two days later, masked gunmen opened fire on in a Church in Bahawalpur, putting 142 bullets into the walls, windows and altar and killing fifteen:
Indonesia
Over the past two years, Muslim extremists have been waging a Jihad against Christians in the Moluccas region of Indonesia, bombing churches, burning homes and killing over 9,000 people.
On November 1st, militant forces trampled through the village of Waimulang, torching 350 homes and displacing over 1,000 people.6
On November 20th, nine Christians merchants were shot down in their boat while bringing goods to the shore.7
On November 26th, Muslim militants fought to overtake a Catholic educational compound and disabled children's center (!) so as to make it their military base:
To make matters even worse, the Sulawesi region has also been host to al-Qaeda terrorist camps:
Sudan
In the northern states of Sudan, the Muslim majority has been working to implement the Muslim Sharia law which includes such things as stoning for adultery, the illegality of any Christian worship or "proselytism" and the relegation of women to second-class citizens.
Christians have been protesting against the imposition of these laws and accompanying "Islamization" of the country by the Khartoum government, but have faced increasing violence. Rather than risk having their children seized and forced into slavery, many have fled to the predominately Christian southern states, which are receiving more refugees than they can handle:
In a supposed exchange for information on the terrorist attacks, the U.S. has removed obstacles to the lifting of UN sanctions a move which seems to reward the oppressive Khartoum government. An open letter to the president signed by dozens of religious leaders and human rights activists rightfully criticized the move:
But observers fear that for radical Islamists, Sudan is the key to the rest of Africa. "Sudan is a preview of what will go on in all of Africa if the south falls," said William Saunders, who founded the Bishop Gassis Sudan Relief Fund to assist the struggling Sudanese in the Nuba Mountains.
Observers warn of a pattern that may be replicated in other parts of Africa. Initially, the Islamists present themselves as helpful and peaceful. "They go to a place as traders, bring in things people need, try to live with the people, marry, build shops, preach, ask people to convert, marry local girls, give their children Muslim names and build mosques," Bishop Mutek said.16
Conclusion
Father Vincent Serralda, a French priest who lived among Muslims in North Africa for fifty years, prepared a study analyzing the Koran and warning French families of the danger of Islam. He wrote in the preface:
And what is "authentic" Islam? One need look no further than the beliefs of their human founder himself:
Peter W. Miller
Seattle, WA
1/18/2002
FOOTNOTES: 1 From the Interventionis in scriptis on 13 October 1999 of His Eminence Mgr Giuseppe Germano Bernardini, OFM, Archbishop of Smyrna, at the Synod of European Bishops 2 ZENIT, "Christians in Pakistan Fear a 'Christmas Bloodbath'" (12/5/2001) 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid. 5 Ibid. 6 FIDES, "New Attacks by Muslim Extremists on Christians in Indonesia" (11/9/2001) 7 ZENIT, "9 Christians Shot Dead in Indonesia" (1/12/2001) 8 CWNews, "Indonesian Catholics Under Siege by Jihad Forces" (11/26/2001) 9 ZENIT, "Indonesian Christians Suffering New Attacks" (12/8/2001) 10 ZENIT, "4 Churches Bombed in Indonesia" (1/2/2002) 11 CWNews, "Indonesia says al-Qaeda Set Up Camps in Sulawesi" (12/13/2001) 12 Source: East Timor Action Network 13 FIDES, "Thousands Face Death in Sudan for Lack of Water" (1/11/2002) 14 ZENIT, "Letter to Bush Regarding Rapprochment with Sudan" (11/20/2001) 15 ZENIT, "Sudan Supports Terrorism, Bishop of Rumbek Says" (11/25/2001) 16 J. Burger, "Sudan's Christians Fight for Survival" National Catholic Register (12/2/2001) 17 Fr. J. Emily, "September 11 and the True Face of Islam" (2001) 18 Catholic Encyclopedia, "Mohammed and Mohammedanism" (1911) |
Smoke fills the air after Assyrian church bombing
Description: Half an hour after the car bomb outside the Armenian church exploded, another car bomb exploded outside an Assyrian church where worship was in session.
Location: Baghdad, Iraq
Date: August 1, 2004
BAGHDAD/MOSUL: Car bombs exploded outside at least five Christian churches in Iraq on Sunday, killing more than a dozen people and wounding many more in an apparently coordinated attack timed to coincide with evening prayers.
15 dead in Baghdad, Mosul church blasts
A church in Mosul burns after being attacked by insurgents
Militants stormed an Armenian Catholic and Chaldean church in Mosul on Tuesday, forcing the congregations to leave before setting off bombs inside.
Attacks targeting Iraq's Christian minority have become more frequent.
Pope condemns Iraq church attacks
The Christian minorities in Iraq today are among the oldest in Christendom. They make up about 6% of the population numbering fewer than one million out of a population of 17 million.
CHALDEAN CHURCH AL TAHERA IN MOSUL, IRAQ - Before it was bombed!
Islam does not recognize human or civil rights, only religious rights as set forth in its foundation documents which place Muslims in a dominant position in society and all others below that. All others enjoy whatever may be accorded them by way of privilege and at the sufferance of the Muslims and their leaders. This arrangement is sanctioned by religion, law and custom. The Christian populations of the Middle East, once dominant, have either vanished altogether or have been reduced to small minorities by forced conversions, persecutions and emigration. In recent decades the Christian communities in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East have been eroding at an accelerating rate through emigration due to increased pressure from militant Islam. Europe, North America and Australia have all experienced increased immigration by Middle Eastern Christians seeking to escape discrimination and persecution at the hands of their Muslim neighbors. In the United States about 74% of the Arabs are Christians and the remainder Muslims. If current trends continue, the remnants of the ancient Christian Churches in Iraq and the Middle East will vanish. No longer will the chants of the ancient liturgies be heard. Then the wail of the muezzin will sound from the towers of the desecrated churches. Thus the final solution to the Christian presence in the Middle East will be achieved.
THE CHALDEAN CHURCH THE CHRISTIANS IN IRAQ
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Many Catholics are not aware that the Church is both Western and Eastern. The Patriarchs and Bishops seen in this picture come from some of the 22 different Catholic Rites, including Byzantine, Armenian, Coptic, Chaldean, Melkite, Maronite, Ukrainian, and Ruthenian. A Roman Catholic may attend Mass at any of the Eastern Catholic Churches and fulfill their Sunday obligation.
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You can learn more about the 22 different liturgies at this link:
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