Christians under attack in Syria, Iran, N. Korea
ICC Note:
The author of this article sums up the tragedy of faith in the Middle East well by saying, ” Where the faith once thrived, now Christianity is practically a crime.” From car bombs to raids on house churches followers of Christ suffer increasing persecution with each new day.
By Joel J. Miller
12/7/2012 Syria, Iran (Patheos)- An Algerian Christian faces five years in prison for the crime of sharing his faith with a Muslim. Authorities claim that Karim Siaghi insulted Mohammad, something he denies.
His appeal is being heard in Oran, a costal city just 600 miles away from where Augustine once presided as bishop. There has been a lot of history a between that moment and this, much of it going against Christians, but for me that geographic realization only underscores the tragedy in Algeria and beyond. Where the faith once thrived, now Christianity is practically a crime.
Several stories of late point to the precarious position of Christians in Africa and the Middle East, while the faithful face horrifying circumstances in other parts of the world as well.
Syrian Christians targeted
As conditions in Syria worsen, Christians are under particular assault. Two car bombs detonated in the Damascus suburb of Jaramana November 28. Thirty-eight were killed and more than eighty were injured. Jaramana’s population is heavily Christian and Druze.
Five weeks prior, the Christian neighborhood Bab Touma was rocked when a car bomb detonated outside two churches, killing ten and injuring more than sixteen. The Bab Touma bomb exploded on a street that connects to Straight Street, which is mentioned in the ninth chapter of Acts and figures in Paul’s conversion.
Agenzia Fides reports that before the shooting there were about 160,000 Christians in the city of Homs. Now there are just a thousand.
There seems also to be a targeting of Christian ministers. In late October Orthodox priest Fr. Fadi Haddad was tortured and killed while trying to negotiate freedom for a kidnapped parishioner. His tormentors gouged out his eyes. Around the same time a pastor and his family were shot and killed in their house church by militants.
Iran and N. Korea
House churches in Iran are being targeted in a what appears to be a widespread crackdown. Reports of arrest, says one source, are pouring in. Since 2010 some 300 Iranian Christians have been arrested for little cause besides practicing their faith, and the UN reports that Iranian officials are pressuring churches to report membership to keep tabs on converts.
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