I really needed something to cheer me up and give me a hearty good laugh, and this from Fr Stephen Smuts just simply delivers. You must watch this!
Increasingly concerned with a wave of anti-Christian sentiment that has spread across the globe, Pope Benedict has called for a summit among religious leaders to discuss how they can promote peace. Benedict told visitors in St. Peter’s Square the aim of the summit, scheduled for October in Assisi would be to “solemnly renew the commitment of believers of every religion to live their own religious faith in the service of the cause for peace.”
The Pope also said:
“Once again, I make a pressing appeal (to Christians in troubled areas) not to give in to discouragement and resignation,” he said.
I must confess to feeling somewhat dispirited reading of the wave of Christian persecution in Iraq, Pakistan, Egypt, Nigeria and so on, over the last week or so.
…..so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.
If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
Further Links:
Vatican Radio – Pope invites leaders of world’s religions to Assisi
Catholic online – Pope calls for peace summit to halt violence between religions
Coptic Church leaders across Europe have revealed they have been the target of Islamic threats in the wake of the New Year’s Day bomb attack in Egypt.
Protect the Pope has the story:
BBC Radio 4 holds that Christian extremists are more of a threat than radical Jihadists
Firstly we had a bomb – complete with metal fragments – rip through a crowd of Christian Copt worshippers as they emerged from their New Year’s mass at an Egyptian church in the northern port city of Alexandria. The blast left 21 people dead and 79 others wounded.
Then we had Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak effectively denying any Egyptian responsibility for the massacre and blaming “foreign hands”. Mubarak continued by saying:
“It is a terrorist operation that is alien to us,”
And
“All of Egypt is targeted. This blind terrorism does not differentiate between Copts and Muslims,”.
A complete denial that this was a specifically Christian targeted attack.
A complete denial that there may be any possibility of this being a ‘homegrown’ attack.
Of course, to admit these facts would be to highlight the troubling reality that there are severe internal security problems, which the Egyptian government is unable – or unwilling – to deal with. The Egyptian government is extremely keen to keep up the pretense of a moderate nation, free from Islamic Supremacists and Jihadists.
Next we had the troubling rumour that the Egyptian security forces – charged with protecting the church and congregants – withdrew one hour before the bomb detonation.
These same security forces quickly reappeared to quell Coptic crowds with rubber bullets and tear gas.
Then we had President Obama condemn the attack and it was heartening to hear him acknowledge that:
“The perpetrators of this attack were clearly targeting Christian worshippers”
However, it was odd that he also mentioned:
“The attack on a church in Alexandria, Egypt caused 21 reported deaths and dozens of injured from both the Christian and Muslim communities”
As far as I’m aware – and I might be wrong – there were no Muslim deaths.
The BBC took the Mubarak line and ensured we were aware that:
A nearby mosque was also damaged by the explosion and the casualties included eight injured Muslims.
They also blathered on about “sectarian tensions”, just so that we can be sure that it’s not all the fault of extremist Islamists. We were also duly informed that despite Mubarak’s statements:
….hundreds of angry Copts clashed with police and local Muslims after the bombing, reportedly throwing stones and targeting the mosque near the church. Some cars were also set ablaze.
Dozens of police rushed to the scene and used tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Shame there weren’t dozens of intelligence led police to protect the Copts in the first place.
The Pope came out and condemned the attack in his New Year’s homily and at the same time the Islamist Palestinian movement, Hamas, also condemned the attack, saying:
…..it was “certain it was the work of elements acting against the interests of Egypt and looking to promote confrontation between Muslims and Christians”.
A top Shiite Muslim leader in Lebanon, Sheikh Abdel Amir Kabalan, denounced the attack as a “terrorist act aimed at sowing chaos and fear in Egypt”.
“This terrorist act bears the fingerprints of Zionists who keep on targeting religious sights and are working to … sow discord between Muslims and Christians,” Kabalan said in a statement.
Irony alert: Of course, it was the Jews who perpetrated this atrocity and nothing to do with radical Islam!
Expatica is reporting that:
Germany’s Coptic Christians have received threats of attack by radical Muslims and asked for protection, a bishop said in a newspaper Sunday, as Egypt’s Coptics reeled from a massive bombing.
“The Internet is full of threats of this kind against us. The police have alerted us several times against attacks by radical Muslims,” Coptic Bishop Anba Damian said in a report on the Bild’s online edition.
The threats rose over the end of year festive season, he said.
“I have written to the interior minister to ask for protection,” the bishop said.
This comes hot on the heals of the news just before Christmas that:
More than 100 Canadian-Arab Christians are listed on an Al Qaeda-affiliated website, apparently targeted because of their alleged role in attempting to convert Muslims. Some of those named say concerned Canadian intelligence officials have contacted them.
The Shumukh-al-Islam website, often considered to be Al Qaeda’s mouth piece, listed pictures, addresses and cellphone numbers of Coptic Christians, predominantly Egyptian-Canadians, who have been vocal about their opposition to Islam.
Nowhere in the world is safe for our Coptic brothers and sisters. They are under attack globally from radical Islam.
To add insult to injury, yesterday we received the news that:
Egypt’s top Muslim cleric on Sunday criticised Pope Benedict XVI’s call for world leaders to defend Christians as interference in his country’s affairs, the official MENA news agency reported.
The call, following a deadly church car-bombing in northern Egypt, was “unacceptable interference in Egypt’s affairs,” Ahmed al-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, the oldest Islamic seat of learning, told reporters.
“I disagree with the pope’s view, and I ask why did the pope not call for the protection of Muslims when they were subjected to killings in Iraq?” he said at a news conference.
Lisa Graas provides us with a rebuttal of this nonsense, and as Fr. Smuts rightly observes:
If they protected the rights of Christian minorities, then no such ‘interference’ would be necessary!
Well, the good news is that the Egyptian security forces have arrested 7 people in relation to this slaughter and it’s interesting to note:
……security officials said the police investigation was focusing on a local group of Islamists inspired by, but not directly linked to, al-Qaida.
So much for “foreign hands”.
Oh and don’t forget about the drive-by shooting in Egypt last January – on the Coptic New Year – in which six Coptic Christians were massacred.
Remember all of this when you next book your holiday to Egypt…..
Robin Shepherd sums it all up succinctly and incisively:
New Year slaughter of Christians in Egypt shows we’re all in it together against Islamism
Do take the time to hop over and read this, as I’ve nothing to add and it needs to be read in its entirety.
The December Biblical Studies Carnival is out courtesy of Joseph Kelly and it’s astonishingly comprehensive!
Enjoy.
Islamic extremists starting the year as they intend to continue.
I’m too depressed to post details of this atrocity, and so you can read about it here, here or here.
I will however mention this quote:
“We sacrifice our souls and blood for the cross,” shouted protesting Christians near the Coptic Orthodox church where the blast struck, a witness said.
And indeed they do, almost on a daily basis across the Islamic world.
