In his 'Thought For The Day' radio broadcast on BBC Radio 4, HRH The Prince of Wales warned about the growing danger of religious persecution. Full marks for that. Unfortunately he finished his message by including the oppressor with the oppressed.
In his video message for Aid to the Church in Need (above) he includes graphic details of the sort of persecution being experienced. For example, Christians are being driven en masse out of lands described in the Bible. Possibly there could be no Christians in Iraq within 5 years.
The aggressors are in the news daily yet the Prince of Wales compares the fleeing of the Holy Family to escape violent persecution with the migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina because "he too was seeking the freedom for himself and his followers to worship".
This so-called 'persecution' is described in Muhammad's Biography: Persecution in Mecca (here).
Looking at a non-partisan source a different picture emerges:
"According to Muslim historians, the Meccans were actually quite tolerant of Muhammad preaching his new religion. Mecca was an open society where different religions were respected. Polytheists, Jews and Christians lived and worshipped side-by-side, especially during the holy months, when pagan pilgrims would travel long distances from beyond the city to perform their rituals at the Kaaba.
Muhammad brought on the resentment of the local people not by preaching Islam, but by breaking with Meccan tradition and cursing other religions".
1400 years later "Christians are being driven en masse out of lands described in the Bible"!
