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The Eradication of Christians in the Middle East

The Eradication of Christians in the Middle East

The tumult of the Arab Spring is having devastating impact on the minority communities

Below the big blaring headlines about Middle East turmoil, there is growing and systematic elimination of Christians being undertaken by Islamists.

It is difficult to accurately gauge the extent of the actual number of executions by crucifixion or displacement of families — but the Christian community is being decimated from areas from North Africa through Iraq.

Whether we want to admit it or not, the Arab dictators that the United States supported during the Cold War were non-secularists and supported their nation’s minority Christian communities. The Arab Spring’s evil genie has been released and not only is Israel facing the consequences, but the Christian slaughter and “relocation” may be the most long-lasting result.

In my mind, there is nothing comparable to the Holocaust by Nazi Germany — though some are making that reference.

When U.S. troops invaded Iraq in 2003, there were at least 1.5 million Christians in Iraq. Over the last ten years, significantly in the last few months with the emergence of ISIS, that figure has dropped to about 400,000.

In a region where Christians predate Muslims by centuries, over one million Christians have been killed or have had to flee because of jihadi persecution, while America is basically standing by and watching. This is the sad news that Breitbart’s National Security Editor and one of the world’s leading experts on asymmetric warfare, Dr. Sebastian Gorka, brought to Breitbart News Saturday.

Dr. Gorka explained that “in the last 48 hours, ISIS, which is now called the Islamic State in Mosul, has painted the letter “N” for Nazarene on the houses of all the surviving Christians in the city. ISIS has basically given an ultimatum to all the Christians left: You can either flee or convert to Islam, or we will kill you.”

mosul markings

ISIS was painting Christian-identified homes in Mosul, Iraq, with the red marking in the photo above. The black Arabic lettering next to it was a brave show of support by local residents — “We are all Christians.”

The last Assyrian Christian family left Iraq’s second largest city of Mosul on Saturday. Assyrians have lived in Mosul for over 6,000 years, becoming one of the first communities in the world to convert to Christianity at the dawn of the religion.

Again, the headline referencing the Holocaust — in my mind — is inappropriate. It is all too easy these days to equate every atrocity to Nazi Germany. But it should not hide what is a fundamental truth — the Christian community in the Mideast is collapsing by the force of Islamic terrorists and Islamic-run nations.

This is the future of Christians living in the new “Islamic State” — submit or be executed.

IS fighters took control of Mosul and swathes of north and west Iraq in a sweeping offensive that began last month. Their leader has since then declared a “caliphate” straddling Iraq and Syria.

The group claims its goal is to return the lands they conquer to a state approximating that of early Islam, in which Jews and Christians who did not convert had to pay a “jizya” tribute to their Muslim rulers.

“From one old woman they took $15,000 (11,100 euros). She asked for just $100 of it so she could reach Dohuk. They told her that these are the funds of the Islamic State, and we cannot give it to you,” Fadi said.

Robbed of their cars and cash, many Christians were forced to walk to safety.

Some of Mosul’s Christians might be able to afford to pay the jizya, but they appear unwilling to take their chances living under the thumb of rulers notorious for executing and crucifying their opponents.

ISIS already decimated the Syrian Christians for siding with President Assad over the Islamic terror group. Syria once held one of the largest Christian communities in the Middle East. The ISIS terror campaign against them has resulted in over 800,000 Christians having to flee Syria or give up their property to ISIS.

For over 200 years, the United States has always tried to stand up the “little guy” — the underdog — throughout the world. Though maybe too slowly, we have garnered international support to stop genocide in Kosovo, Africa, Southeast Asia, South America and even helped nudge the Middle East toward liberal democratization. We have been Israel’s staunchest and sometimes lone ally as a fellow democracy and nation that respects all religions.

So what is our nation doing while one of history’s “big guys” — Christians — are being systematically hunted down and massacred? Practically nothing.

This inaction is probably yet another shock for Ahlam, a Christian mother of two boys, who had to flee Mosul this weekend for fear of death by ISIS.

She described an exodus of hundreds of Christians walking on foot in Iraq’s searing summer heat, the elderly and the disabled among them.

“We first reached Tilkkef in a state of exhaustion. We hadn’t had anything to eat or drink for a whole day,” she said, referring to a town some 20 km (12.4 miles) north of Mosul where volunteers are picking Christians up in their cars.

“My husband and I were carrying our children on our shoulders the whole way.”

Many Christians are making their way to the relative safety of the city of Dohuk in Kurdish autonomous territory further north.

“I left my home in Mosul, that my family built decades ago. And it was taken away in an instant,” Ahlam said with tears in her eyes.

“Everything’s gone, all our memories. Our home has become property of the Islamic State.”

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Comments

stevewhitemd | July 21, 2014 at 5:02 pm

So where are all the middle east Christians going? I read that they’re being driven out of Iraq, Syria, etc., but to where do they go?

    Erudite Mavin in reply to stevewhitemd. | July 22, 2014 at 7:38 pm

    You ask where will they go.

    There is around 50,000 Chaldean Catholics from Iraq here in San Diego. Some escaped before 2003 and some after.
    Many now being forced out or be killed in Iraq have families here and other parts.

    These people are educated, many now own small businesses here, they learn English and their churches here are a great support.

The reaction from Western media…

meh.

These are Christians, after all. No great loss in the eyes of the Collective.

Western Christians like to think pretty highly of themselves when, in fact, they have a long and pretty terrible institutional track record when it comes to the world’s genuinely opressed. It’s not new.

Why is it that so many people are interested in blaming Jews for their problems, and so few actually interested in helping their fellow Christians? Or maybe the first group are not really Christians at all, but are afraid to say what they really are?

If you want to help your fellow Christians, we Jews will stand by your side. And please remember that Christiandom still was overwhelming military force. Don’t blame Obama until you start filling the street protesting.

    tarheelkate in reply to mzk. | July 21, 2014 at 6:30 pm

    I doubt that street protests will have much effect. Working to get Democrats out of the White House in 2016 will help.

    DINORightMarie in reply to mzk. | July 21, 2014 at 6:57 pm

    I am confused. You say,

    Why is it that so many people are interested in blaming Jews for their problems, and so few actually interested in helping their fellow Christians? Or maybe the first group are not really Christians at all, but are afraid to say what they really are?

    Are you saying Christians are “…blaming Jews for their problems….”? Are you saying that Christians are not concerned about or supportive of Jewish people, of Israel? Are you saying that Christians are not concerned about persecution of fellow-Christians?!

    Who are these “many people” you are talking about? (And please don’t say “…Medieval Europeans….” Now, today – who?!)

    I do agree with you about our lack of vocal, visible protesting – why more people aren’t out in the streets in outrage over so many things, I just don’t know…….but I can guess.

    After what the left, the MSM, did to vilify, besmirch, and overall impugn as raaaacists/bigots/sexists/homophobes/women h8rs/etc. etc. – to law-abiding, country-loving, hard-working, everyday “average” Americans who stood up for the first time in their lives to speak out against the lawless, unconstitutional, criminal debt and federal overreach – aka TEA Party protesters – why would anyone not fear that being done to them, again?!

    Even though what you are saying is true.

    It takes special courage, and more resources than most have, to stand against such public ridicule – and when the long, powerful arms of the feds come after you via IRS audits, EPA fines, etc. because you don’t kow-tow to them and quietly acquiesce.

tarheelkate | July 21, 2014 at 6:34 pm

We can all hope that nothing will ever equal the ghoulish deliberate genocide of the Nazi death camps. However, the death toll of both Christians and Muslims and the displacement of millions of Christians from their native lands is massive. What Israel faces and what Middle Eastern Christians face is the same force: radical Islam.

DINORightMarie | July 21, 2014 at 6:36 pm

Two things:

First – about this quote:

Again, the headline referencing the Holocaust — in my mind — is inappropriate. It is all too easy these days to equate every atrocity to Nazi Germany. But it should not hide what is a fundamental truth — the Christian community in the Mideast is collapsing by the force of Islamic terrorists and Islamic-run nations.

I don’t think discussing genocide of people for race, ethnicity, or religion (which was of course is synonymous in many minds with the Holocaust) has to be taboo because PC police have basically said that if you bring up the Nazi’s, you lose because you’ve “jumped the shark.” Using the word (proper noun) Holocaust (or the regular noun, holocaust) is not an over-reach or fallacy when the goal IS to destroy, to slaughter, to eradicate a people, a religion, period. Sometimes things really ARE reminiscent of the heinous atrocities of the Nazis – and in this case, those in these regions have legitimate ties to Nazism.

Second, this quote:

This is the future of Christians living in the new “Islamic State” — submit or be executed.

This is, and HAS ALWAYS BEEN true of the Muslim “faith” – in the Koran all the way back to the days of Mohammed. The word “Islam” literally means SUBMISSION; Islam swept North Africa and the Middle East, creating the caliphate and Ottoman Empire by DOING JUST THAT – conquest, violent conquest, with either conversion or the sword.

Revisionist history has done a grave disservice to our nation, our Western society. By design, IMHO. Don’t fall for it.

(As a side note: when I went looking for links to support what I say here – things I’ve learned in history classes and read in books PRIOR to the 1990’s – it was next to impossible to NOT come up with Muslim propaganda, revisionist history presented as fact, and more. Is it any wonder people can’t tell the truth from the lies……..?)

mochajava76 | July 21, 2014 at 7:07 pm

Where are the peaceful Muslims that should be denouncing this on all the major networks, and trying to stop this aberration of the Islamic true faith? I don’t have tv so maybe I am missing it, but I just looked on CNN and don’t see anything.

BannedbytheGuardian | July 21, 2014 at 7:29 pm

It is very competitive out there to get attention.

There is no mystery why one does not hear protests when Christians are persecuted by Muslims. First the prevailing commentators hate Christianity and are on the side of Islam. After all one hears plenty about the poor oppressed unaccompanied Children crossing our borders.

Persecuted Christians don’t fit into the “Social Justice” meme of the lazy-man’s-way-to-salvation types. Now if they were “undocumented immigrants…” Well…

2008; the chief rabbi states he has come up with an idea: relocate the poor Palestinians (whose leaders stole their money) to the Sinai desert and give them their own country there. BTW, the Americans and the British should fund it. You already have Mecca and Medina in whose direction you pray. We only pray in the direction of Jerusalem’s wailing wall. The desert is empty. We can develop it to be much nicer than any place in the world.
In his own words:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8KR3dIAjM4&eurl=http://www.totallyjewish.com/