Posted on 04/17/2008 6:19:17 AM PDT by forkinsocket
Christians in the Middle East are facing persecution because of British and American foreign policy, the Archbishop of Canterbury will claim today.
Dr Rowan Williams will say that many Christians have been forced to flee their homes in the Holy Land because of 'appalling pressure' from extremist Islamic groups.
And he will warn that historic communities risk becoming mere 'museum pieces' in the 'theme park' Middle East because of the military policies of the West.
During an appearance in London yesterday, he said there was a risk that the region could become a "monochrome" area dominated by an "unfriendly" form of Islam.
Indigenous Christian groups were increasingly being seen as a 'foreign and aggressive' presence, he added.
The Archbishop will make the comments in a speech at Westminster Cathedral later today.
He will say that historically Christians have played a leading role in social, cultural and intellectual change in the Middle East.
But historic communities now risked becoming mere 'museum pieces' in a 'theme park' region as a result of persecution.
In part this was due to an extremist form of Islam filling the void left following the peak of Arab nationalism, the head of the Church of England will claim.
But he also blames the role of Western governments.
Dr Williams will say: 'Indigenous Christian community throughout the region have suffered from being associated with the American global project, and indeed the British global project as part of the American global project.'
He cites a recent visit to Syria in which he met some of the half million refugees who had fled Iraq since 2003.
Dr Williams added: 'The military policies of the West in the last few years have firmly cemented in a great deal of the Middle East the notion that Christianity is a foreign, aggressive and Western presence.
'I regret it is a real tragedy that this ongoing crisis has yet to be the focus of policy declarations, or indeed recognised by some of our Western governments.'
He also calls on Christians around the world to focus on the crisis and said Government needed to pay attention to the worsening situation.
Speaking yesterday, he said: “There is an urgent need for people in the UK to wake up to the fact that Christians in the Middle East are living through a time of change more dramatic and more costly than anything that has been seen for a thousand years and more.'
He went on to highlight the 'tragic situation' of Christian refugees from Iraq and the 'quiet but numerically huge exodus of Christians' - particularly educated Christians - out of the entire Middle East region.
'The remaining Christian communities are left exposed to violence or extremism in many countries, and the societies they live in are deprived of some of their most creative and resourceful citizens,' he added.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. ********Christians in the Middle East are facing persecution because of British and American foreign policy, the Archbishop of Canterbury will claim today.
Dr Rowan Williams will say that many Christians have been forced to flee their homes in the Holy Land because of ‘appalling pressure’ from extremist Islamic groups.*********
Well, Dr., can’t you see that the Islamics are terrible.
Of course if it is a "project", it involves toppling a vicious tyrannical dictator and helping to establish democracy with freedom of religion. Yes, it is sadly an unstable time at the moment in Iraq for Christians, but for the Archdhimmi to suggest that purpose of the "American project" is not well intentioned is just slanderous.
ArchDhimmishop Williams felt that Rev Jimmah was hogging the limelight and had to outdo his islamic sucking up
I would have asked why the hell the U.S. felt a need to p!ss away thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars to establish a government in Iraq under which Islam is enshrined as the official state religion.
He should also ask Saudi officials about the status of Christians in Saudi Arabia.
Good point. I stopped taking my government seriously when it embarked on an "Operation Desert Shield" in 1990 to protect a royal family that: (1) has long been one of the primary supporters of radical Islam in the world, and (2) engages in the disgraceful persecution of Christians on a regular basis.
I thought the U.S. was on the wrong side in the Gulf War. Now I'm convinced we were.
"War on terror," my @ss.
Yeah, and how's that working out?
One dirty little secret these days is that Christians in Iraq today face the kind of persecution they never had to deal with under Saddam Hussein.
In fact, most folks may not know this -- but Saddam Hussein didn't even require his closest associates to be Muslims -- let alone radical Muslims. Under the Ba'athist government, foreign minister Tariq Aziz wasn't even a Muslim -- he was a Maronite or Chaldean Christian.
Is that guy as crazy as our very own moonbats??
Are you defending Sadam... or does it just sound that way?
No, I’m exposing the hypocrisy of those who insist we are engaged in a military campaign to promote “democracy” or “freedom” over there.
The project is still in process, and it is a long term project. Of course it is a difficult time right now for Christians when Islamist insurgents of both Sunni and Shiite flavors are acting violently amid the current unrest, but if a stable tolerant democracy can ultimately emerge, Iraqi Christians and all Iraqis will be better off in the long run. It took 12 years for the British to defeat the Communist guerillas in Malaysia, but the end result left that country better off.
Will no one rid us of this meddlesome priest?
I refuse to believe that a man as educated as the Archbishop of Canterbury is, could possibly be so ignorant, naive, or wrongheaded unless it is willfully so.
Christians have been suffering in the Middle East for CENTURIES, Mr. Williams. They suffer and have suffered because of the uholy evil of the religion of Islam, the religion of the devil himself. It has nothing to do with the West's policies, or poverty, or Palestine, or Israel, or anything other than that satanic book they cling to, and the unholy words it contains. That's it, sir, that's the long and short of it. And a man as educated as he is ought to know better, because no man in the position of Archbishop of Canterbury should be such a willful ignoramus.
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