West Bank and GazaMap reflects the 30 most recent Persecution Reports. Click HERE for the Map Legend.Christianity faces a Middle Eastern exodusSunday, September 2nd, 2012The Arab Spring quickly turned to winter for Christians following the political rise of Islamists and increased assaults on Christians and churches. As a result, thousands of Christians have fled or are preparing to flee Egypt, Syria, and other Middle Eastern countries. The Kansas City Star takes an inside look at why Christians are leaving and what the future holds. The Mideast’s Vanishing ChristiansSunday, August 26th, 2012Christians throughout the Middle East are being attacked and killed while thousands upon thousands have fled their homeland in hopes of finding a safe haven in western countries. For example, in Iran, the Revolutionary Guard has taken over the oversight of churches and has arrested scores of Christian converts from Islam. In Kuwait, the Saudi grand mufti told crowds that it is “necessary to destroy all the churches in the Arabian Peninsula.” In Gaza, Christians have allegedly been kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam. These cases are just a few of many extreme acts and threats of persecution in the Middle East that The National Interest brings to light in this revealing article. Thousands of Christians Flee Persecution in Middle EastSaturday, August 11th, 2012“Christianity began in the Middle East, and now Christians are being forced to flee their homes in record numbers. They are fleeing the Middle East due to persecution and political turmoil,” Catholic Online reports. Who Will Save the Christians in the Gaza Strip?Monday, July 23rd, 2012"Radical Islam, and not checkpoints or a security fence, remains the main threat to defenseless Christians not only in the Palestinians territories, but in the entire Middle East as well," Khaled Abu Toameh writes for the Gatestone Institute. Gaza Christians protest forced conversions to IslamWednesday, July 18th, 2012“Dozens of Gaza Christians staged a rare public protest Monday, claiming two congregants were forcibly converted to Islam and were being held against their will,” The Associated Press reports. Muslim Persecution of Christians: March, 2012Saturday, April 28th, 2012Raymond Ibrahim writes for the Gatestone Institute that, “Saudi Arabia's highest Islamic legal authority decreed that churches in the region must be destroyed… American teachers in the Middle East were murdered for being Christian or talking about Christianity; churches were banned or bombed, and nuns terrorized by knife-wielding Muslim mobs.” Ibrahim’s series, titled ‘Muslim Persecution of Christians,’ is published each month to document cases of persecution – whether it be general discrimination, arrests, or murder – committed by Muslims in majority Islamic countries, Asia and the West. CBS piece on Christians’ plight in Middle East — in Israel?Tuesday, April 24th, 2012At a time when Christian communities throughout the Middle East are being oppressed and massacred, Bob Simon on “60 Minutes” instead chooses to focus attention on the relatively minimal persecution occurring in the Holy Lands. Christians of the Holy LandTuesday, April 24th, 2012“In Iraq and Egypt, scores of churches have been attacked, hundreds murdered. In Syria, revolution seriously threatens Christian communities. The one place where Christians are not suffering from violence is the Holy Land: but Palestinian Christians have been leaving in large numbers for years,” CBS reports. The plight of Palestinian ChristiansTuesday, April 17th, 2012The Jerusalem Post reports on the severe and long-standing persecution Palestinian Christians have faced under Israeli occupation and their own government. Tough road to Jerusalem for Palestinian ChristiansTuesday, April 3rd, 2012While Israel works to secure its borders, most Palestinians from the West Bank, Christian as well as Muslim, must get Israel's permission to visit Jerusalem, the National reports. Palestinian Authority Declares Baptist Church Illegitimate in West BankThursday, March 29th, 2012The Palestinian Authority declared that the First Baptist Church of Bethlehem, which is adjacent to the site of Jesus' birthplace, is illegitimate, the Christian Post reports. How friendly is Israel to its Christians?Saturday, March 17th, 2012The Palestinian Christians’ response to an article written by Michael Oren, the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, concerning the protection of Christians within Israel. Article titled: “Israel and the Plight of Mideast Christians" One Year After Arab Spring, the Middle East Needs Christ’s Message of PeaceSunday, March 11th, 2012Israel and the Plight of Mideast ChristiansSaturday, March 10th, 2012While the future of the church in the West Bank town of Bethlehem is in jeopardy, Christians are not endangered but flourishing is Israel, Michael Oren writes in The Wall Street Journal. Islamic religious persecution goes unnoticedFriday, February 17th, 2012“The persecution, in some regions genocide, of Christians and other religious groups is the most important international human rights issue willfully ignored by the American media and our government,” the Washington Times reports. ‘Arab Spring’ becoming Nightmare for ChristiansSaturday, February 11th, 2012"Rise of Islamic groups bringing wave of intimidation, persecution," World Net Daily reports. Christianity in the Middle East… But There’s a Slim Hope in HistorySaturday, November 26th, 2011“Fear is… a sentiment voiced often these days by Arab Christians, a sad refrain for an ancient community that was so long a force in politics and culture in the Arab world. These days, a community that still numbers in the millions — with the largest populations in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and the Palestinian territories — finds itself little more than a spectator to events reshaping a place it once helped create, and sometimes a victim of the violence that those events have unleashed,” The New York Times reports. Christianity Threatens to be Extinct in its BirthplaceSunday, November 20th, 2011“The real danger of having no Christian presence in the Middle East within the next 5 years will be one of the main topics at a upcoming conference hosted by Dr. Rob Dalrymple Director of the Bible Accadamy at Cornerstone Fellowship.” The Persecution of Christians in the Middle EastSunday, August 21st, 2011“Today, Christians, regardless of affiliation, are being systematically harassed, persecuted, and murdered throughout the Middle East, the region of the globe from which Christianity first emerged,” the American Thinker reports. Christians nearly absent in Holy LandThursday, August 11th, 2011“By now, the threat facing Christianity in its birthplace is depressingly clear. Christians represented 30 percent of British Mandate Palestine in 1948, while today in Israel and the Palestinian Territories they’re 1.25 percent,” reports the National Catholic Reporter. Middle East: Harder to bearSunday, April 24th, 2011The Financial Times reports on the rise of persecution and decline of Christianity throughout the Middle East. Leader of Palestinian Salafi-Jihadi Group: It Is Permissible to Kill Jewish and Christian Civilians In Jihad, Since They Are ‘Fundamentally Not Innocent’Saturday, March 5th, 2011The Middle East Media Research Institute reports that the leader of a Gaza-based terrorist network issued a fatwa stating that while Islam prohibits the killing of innocents, Jews and Christians may be targeted because they are not innocent but "aggressive combatants." Bomb Thrown at Christian Doctor’s Car in GazaWednesday, March 2nd, 2011“Christians in Gaza have faced increasing persecution since Hamas wrested control of the Strip in June 2007,” CBN reports. Dwindling of persecuted Christians in Holy Land most unreported storyMonday, January 10th, 2011Bethlehem, at one time a majority Christian town, is now less than a third Christian. Nazareth and Jerusalem have also seen their Christian communities shrink substantially. The plight of Palestinian Christians throughout the West Bank, Gaza and areas within Israel are among the most underreported stories of Christian persecution in the Middle East. Middle East: Can the region’s Christians survive the 21st Century?Sunday, January 9th, 2011“As the 21st Century enters its second decade, two millennia of Christian presence in the Middle East might be eclipsed by the end of the century,” reports the Los Angeles Times. Muslim Genocide of Christians throughout Middle EastSaturday, December 11th, 2010Hudson New York reports that, “Christians in Arab countries are no longer being persecuted; they are now being slaughtered and driven out of their homes and lands.” The article highlights the persecution of Christians in Iraq, Egypt and the Palestinian territories. Tens of Thousands of Muslims Coming to Christ, Says Iranian Ministry LeaderFriday, October 22nd, 2010What Is Driving Christians Out of the Middle East?Thursday, October 14th, 2010Christian communities in Middle EastSunday, October 10th, 2010Mideast Catholic leaders hope synod calls attention to their problemsWednesday, September 22nd, 2010 |
ICC is constantly monitoring the state of Christian persecution in countries around the world and looking for ways that we can act as bridge between our supporters and the persecuted church. Beyond the projects you see above, we are working in many other areas to provide practical assistance to our brothers and sisters in Christ. View our other projects page to understand more of our work and keep up to date on our current projects.
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