Posted on 09/09/2005 10:13:03 AM PDT by Piranha
Christians in the Holy Land have handed a dossier detailing incidents of violence and intimidation by Muslim extremists to Church leaders in Jerusalem, one of whom said it was time for Christians to "raise our voices" against the sectarian violence.
The dossier includes 93 alleged incidents of abuse by an "Islamic fundamentalist mafia" against Palestinian Christians, who accused the Palestinian Authority of doing nothing to stop the attacks.
A Palestinian prays in the Church of the Nativity The dossier also includes a list of 140 cases of apparent land theft, in which Christians in the West Bank were allegedly forced off their land by gangs backed by corrupt judicial officials.
From the birthplace of Christ at Bethlehem to the site of his Crucifixion in Jerusalem, Christian Church leaders have long been desperate not to upset the delicate ethnic and sectarian balance in the region by blaming either Jews or Muslims for the decline of their once robust religious community.
That self-imposed silence now appears to be crumbling.
"The problem exists," said Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Jerusalem's senior Franciscan, known as the Custos of the Holy Land. "The Christian community has always suffered in the last few years because we are a minority. Many have the temptation to leave, so the community is shrinking."
While he stressed that "we are not talking about a confrontation with all Muslims", he added that "we don't want to see violations of the law - sometimes we have to raise our voices".
The alleged attacks on Christians have come despite repeated appeals to the Palestinian Authority to rein in Muslim gangs.
A spokesman for the Apostolic Delegate, the Pope's envoy to Jerusalem, said nothing had been done to tackle the problem. "The Apostolic Delegate presented a list of all the problems to Mr [Yasser] Arafat before he died," he said. "He promised a lot but he did very little."
In the offices of his tiny Christian television station in Bethlehem, Samir Qumsieh said this week that Christian appeals to Mr Arafat's successor as Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, had also gone unheeded.
"At least Arafat responded," he said, "Abbas does not answer our letters."
Mr Qumsieh said he was trying to repair relations between Palestinian Christian and Muslim communities, convening a meeting attended by members of both faiths in Bethlehem last week.
But he said that the Christian community was faced with "very brutal" adversaries. "A criminal mafia and Islamic fundamentalists work together," he said. "Their interests met to take our land away." He said that one man had lost his finger in one land dispute which turned violent and that a group had attacked and injured a Greek orthodox monk at a 5th century monastery outside Bethlehem.
The dossier currently in Church hands details far worse allegations of violence, notably the torture and murder of two Christian girls in 2003 after they were deemed prostitutes. A post mortem examination reportedly proved they were virgins.
Some Christians note that land grabs are common in the growing lawlessness of the West Bank and are not necessarily motivated by sectarian rivalry.
They add that increasingly entrenched Islamic extremism has driven a wedge between the communities, especially over women's dress and freedom of expression.
Several Christians tell the story of a moderate Muslim imam in Bethlehem's biggest mosque, who was repeatedly threatened after giving a sermon calling for an end to the anti-Christian discrimination and land grabs.
Last weekend, the Christian village of Taybeh was ransacked and burned by a Muslim mob, incensed that a boy there had been seeing a girl from their neighbouring village of Deir Jarir.
"I am pessimistic about our future as Christians here," said Mr Qumsieh, adding that Christians now form about two per cent of the population of the Holy Land, down from almost 20 per cent 60 years ago.
"We have a low birth rate, and now with intimidation and emigration, our future is very dark," he said.
Don't hold your breath for an official condemnation by the UN.
They only issue those when muslims claim their land is being taken away.
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I was in Bethlehem last fall and got to spend some time with a couple of local Christians. He told me that the Muslims regularly ask them for protection money, harass their families, and try to stifle their business. 20 years ago, Bethlehem was 65% Christian. The local papers state that it is about 10%, but my Christian friend told me it was more like 3%. As you walk into the courtyard of the Manger at the Church, you see a full scale wall sign from Arafat welcoming you to the Church. The city council is now 100% muslim--my friend said that he and most of his friends won't last another six months--they will have to move.
I don't recall Christian communities ever being harassed like this when they were under Israeli rule. It wasn't Israeli "settlers" or the IDF that trashed and desecrated the Church of the Nativity a few years ago. It wasn't the Israeli "settlers" or the IDF that intimidated Christians from Christmas and Easter worship in Bethlehem to the point where only a trickle (compared to pre-PA days) come.
The attack against Christians in the Middle East has escalated immensely over the past few years. As their numbers shrink, the Muslims increasingly feel emboldened. At this pace, Christian Churches and Shrines will be lost.
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"They only issue those when muslims claim their land is being taken away."
No those are only issued when when moslems can not get ahold of the land they are intending to steal.
Exactly! There's a saying that has gone around the Muslim Middle East for years: "first the Saturday people, then the Sunday people". And they don't give a hoot about which denomination, either!
The Crusaders had it right: the solution is for Christian control of the Holy Land. Bring back King Baldwin!
It's quite a leap, isn't it, to suggest that the Jewish state of Israel must be dissolved because Muslims are oppressing Christians?
To add to my post just above, I didn't see any suggestion in the article that this oppression of Christians is taking place in areas under Israel's political control.
And yet, we are told that it is because of Israel (or, more precisely, the "Israeli occupation") that the Christian population of Bethlehem is decreasing.
"He told me that the Muslims regularly ask them for protection money"
"JIZYA
The poll-tax or rather "protection money" that has to be paid by the DHIMMIS under Islamic rule"
http://answering-islam.org.uk/Index/J/jizya.html
Egyptian Copts
"They take whenever they need," says Samir who was afraid to give his full name. "When they need weapons they take from the Christians. I'm scared I will be killed. Even if I was killed, no one would say anything. Even a witness to my murder wouldn't say anything."
Samir complains that gizia is increasing in a number of small villages in Upper Egypt, making it impossible to remain in the region.
"Everyone pays, but what can we do? There are so many people who deny it. They are lying! Everyone pays! I have no outlet!" says Samir, apologizing for his excitement.
Amgad, also from a village near Abu Qurqas, has been living in hiding in a poor district of Cairo for over a year. In 1996 he received three letters demanding gizia from the Gamma Islamiya, Egypt's largest Muslim militant group. The third letter, obtained by the Middle East Times, said, "We demand E£10,000 from you tomorrow. We will not accept one piaster less and if you bring the money one day late it will be E£15,000. If you can't bring it in these days we will not accept even millions of pounds from you and you know the punishment for that. This is a final decision." The handwritten letter was signed "Gamma Islamiya".
http://pw2.netcom.com/~us_copts/protection.html
"That self-imposed silence now appears to be crumbling."
At last.
Christian Arabs would be wise to speak up now as they may find themselves under Palestinian rule with no recourse to Israel or US soon. Also US now has a President who may actually care about the treatment of Christian minorities and who has a strong Christian constituency to answer to.
The Christian population in Israel is growing. It is decreasing in the disputed territories - West Bank.
Israeli troops have shot up Christian churches in the West Bank and harassed Christian clergy. Orthodox Jewish zealots have attacked Christian processions in Jerusalem, spitting, for example, on the Armenian bishop. Of course, it is also illegal for Christians to proselytize in Israel. What is currently making things worse for Christians in the Holy Land is renewed Islamic zealotry, but there is a reason that the Christian presence in the Mideast is now so much smaller than it was when Israel came onto the scene.
Of course, it is also illegal for Christians to proselytize in Israel.
They proselytize all the time, especially to Russian immigrants.
What is currently making things worse for Christians in the Holy Land is renewed Islamic zealotry, but there is a reason that the Christian presence in the Mideast is now so much smaller than it was when Israel came onto the scene.
Are you blaming Israel for the loss of population in the entire region or just Israel and the disputed territories?
Sorry, but this was simply of a matter of Arabs
Our Christian brothers and sisters are being persecuted increasingly. I think it is a significantly underreported story, at least in the MSM.
Never mind all the talk about all "hadith"'s and stuff, the responsibility to keep civil peace falls to the Israeli authorithies from the Jordan river to the Mediterrannean sea.
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