'By their deeds you will know them'

Source: The New Humanitarian

 

While the Gaza/Israel conflict has dominated the news an estimated population of around 120,000 Armenian Christians have been expelled from their homes in Nagorno-Karabakh. In an act described as Cultural Genocide, one of the oldest Christian communities in the world has been destroyed.

It has been estimated that in the birthplace of Christianity, Christians now make up approximately 5% of the Middle Eastern population, down from 20% in the early 20th century.

Meanwhile Islam continues to expand. Cultural jihad has resulted in thousands of Muslims importing their ideology into the Western world. The consequences of multi-culturalism rather than assimilation  can be observed most spectacularly in France where Islam is now "the most practiced 'religion'."

Demonstrations in support of Hamas, a designated terrorist organisation by many Western Countries, have been witnessed in many major cities including Paris, Vienna, New York and in London where, at Speaker's Corner, Islamic ideology is made clear for all to hear while adherents do as they please. 

Civic and religious leaders in the West must take their share of  responsibility for this situation. For decades they have accepted assurances that Islam is a religion of peace without question.

Caught in the middle are the innocent. Among them those massacred by Hamas in Israel and the multi-faith civilians trapped in Gaza. 

God help them.

Handwashing

Hand washing in the Repair Shop                                         Source: BBC TV

As a long term admirer of the skills demonstrated in the BBC TV series, the Repair Shop, I was taken aback by the first item in last night's episode when a requested repair was made conditional upon the handlers first washing their hands and working in a clean space.

The challenge was for the team to 'fix a 100-year-old handwritten Qur’an passed down four generations of women'. 

A woman of Kashmir descent living in Newport, South Wales, made the handwashing stipulation before leaving the book for repair with those regarded in Islam as infidels.

It is understandable that the book can be regarded as sacred by the family but for others the content of the book however beautifully crafted results in persecution and misery for others.

Aid to the Church in Need is reporting that a mass exodus threatens Christianity in Syria and Lebanon while concerns grow over rising attacks against Christian sites in Israel .

The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel (1948) guarantees freedom of religion for all yet The Jerusalem Post reports that 'Dozens of incidents, ranging from spitting to vandalism to assault, have been committed by extremist Jews against Christians and their sites this year.'

According to Aid to the Church in Need "Christianity is facing an 'existential threat' in parts of the Middle East, where communities have dwindled to mere shadows of their former selves... Nearly 75 years on from the creation of the state of Israel, Christians in the West Bank have declined from 18 per cent to less than one per cent; and, in Syria, the number of Christians has plummeted from ten per cent in 2011 — before the war began — to less than two per cent."

Meanwhile others, including the Church of England and the Church in Wales, affirm Islam as if it were another religion of love and forgiveness.

There is handwashing and there is handwashing.

Postscripts

Archbishop of Canterbury hosts hardline Islamists for tea and cake:

Interfaith event included Iran ayatollah’s former UK envoy and mosque chief who exalted terrorist as a ‘holy warrior’

[23.09.2023] ‘Destruction’ of ethnic Armenians is imminent, experts warn:

"The 'destruction' of an enclave of 120,000 Armenian Christians in the Nagorno-Karabakh region is imminent, warns Siobhan Nash-Marshall, a U.S.-based human rights advocate..."

Israel's response to Vatican pleas

Pope Benedict XVI has held a mass at Saint Peter's Basilica to mark the close of the two-week special synod of bishops on the Middle East. In his homily he said that conflicts, wars, violence and terrorism have gone on for too long in the Middle East and one must never resign oneself to the lack of peace. Peace is possible, it is urgent and it is the indispensable condition for a life worthy of the human person and of society. Israel's initial response to pleas to "put an end to the occupation of Palestinian territories" have not been encouraging.

Pope Benedict called on Islamic countries in the Middle East to guarantee freedom of worship to non-Muslims and said peace in the region was the best remedy for a worrying exodus of Christians.

Postscript

Now read this.

Vatican Synod for the Middle East: The key?

CNN reports that Roman Catholic bishops for the Middle East have concluded their two-week conference with a call for the international community, especially the United Nations, to work "to put an end to the occupation" of Palestinian territories.

Canadian Press gives a useful summary of problems in the region while Vatican Radio has the full text of the Synod's Message to the People of God.

Tory Candidate Scrapes the Barrel for Muslim Vote

If the Tory candidate for Blackburn unseats the Secretary of State for Justice in the coming election the Conservative whip is not the whip he deserves..

The Telegraph reports today that he circulated a leaflet, now withdrawn on the orders of HQ, which challenges Labour’s claim to serve the Muslim vote.

It says:

‘“We cannot be deceived by their hollow claims. We have in front of us a whole saga of atrocities committed in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Palestine and as if this was not enough, the Labour government allowed the Israeli government to create havoc in Lebanon and Gaza in Palestine, destroying their infrastructure and killing and maiming thousands of innocent civilians. The Labour government did nothing, absolutely nothing for a number of days while the Israelis carried on their inhuman killing of innocent men, women and children.”

It accuses Jack Straw, who is the MP for Blackburn, of insulting “our religion and culture and…our sisters and mothers” by refusing to hold meetings with women constituents wearing a full veil. “We should not forget that today they are criticising our women’s(sic) veil, tomorrow it will be our caps and our beards they will attack,” the pamphlet declares.

It goes on to urge a vote for Mr Law-Riding ‘if you want to see an end to unnecessary and very expensive wars, shedding of innocent blood and save Britain from bankruptcy.”’

It is not just the leaflet that should have been withdrawn. This is not the sort of person who should represent us in British politics.