eChurch Christian Blog

On Tuesday President Obama addressed the US nation and informed the world that the war in Iraq was over.

So tonight, I am announcing that the American combat mission in Iraq has ended.  Operation Iraqi Freedom is over, and the Iraqi people now have lead responsibility for the security of their country.

In the years since the Iraq War was launched, 2,000 Christians have been murdered and 600,000 have fled Iraq, according to Fides, the news agency of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. 44% of Iraqi refugees are Christians, and many of the 600,000 Christians who remain are internally displaced persons who have had to flee their homes.

And all of this happened whilst US combat troop levels were high.

I came across an article in which Iraq’s new ambassador to the Vatican Habbeb Mohammed Hadi Ali al-Sadr is quoted as saying:

Terrorist elements were coming from outside of Iraq, and they only added Christians to their hit lists because an act of terror against Christians got more media attention than killing Muslims.

How wicked is that?

So what will happen now to our vulnerable brothers and sisters?

Blog post on the Pope’s upcoming visit by Aaqil Ahmed, the Head of Religion and Ethics at the BBC:

BBC Blog:

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Today – as a forty-one year-old man – I am now preparing for the first visit of a Pontiff for 28 years (and the first ever State visit) and I am in a very different place. I am obviously a lot older, I hope wiser, a father myself, and I am very proud to now be the BBC’s Head of Religion and Ethics and the Commissioning Editor for Religion TV. And this papal visit by the current pope – Benedict XV1 – rather than being a passing fascination, is on my mind every minute of every day, morning, noon and night. Why? Because I, along with many of my colleagues across BBC TV, radio and online, are getting ready to cover this historic State occasion with a myriad of eclectic programming.

The Pope’s visit from 16 -19 September is being organised and paid for by the Catholic Church (in England and in Scotland) and by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. It has polarised public opinion like no other before and you only have to open a paper to see that it has got the nation talking. What will happen when he gets here and, more importantly, what he may say, is sure to dominate the news agenda. His arrival on the 16 September will also mark – and be the culmination of – many months of planning and organisation (not to mention sleepless nights) for our BBC teams working on all the aspects of covering the Pope’s Visit 2010.

From the production crews working on all the live events, to the news teams across the BBC, down to the documentary producers finalising programmes giving an important insight into some of the wider issues that surround the papacy of Joseph Ratzinger, this has been an extremely busy, fraught but entirely fascinating few months.

The UK has changed a lot in those 28 years since the last time we greeted a Pontiff, and the Britain that awaits Pope Benedict XV1 as he ascends to the tarmac is a very different place than the Britain that awaited Pope John Paul 11. It is more multicultural, secular and, thanks to the recent controversies that have rocked the Catholic Church, the current Pope will no doubt be met by some very vocal groups who are against him being here altogether. However, for the majority of the many millions of Catholics in the UK, the Pope’s arrival will be much looked forward to and also celebrated.

One thing is for sure, this is a State event, that will be both newsworthy and of national interest and significance, and, as the nation’s broadcaster, it is appropriate that we cover it in the best way we can – with the scale, depth and overall balance of programming across all our platforms – TV, radio and online – that only the BBC can deliver.

I hope you manage to watch some of the coverage, and you find it as fascinating as I undoubtedly will.

You can find details of all the programmes to coincide with the Pope’s Visit 2010 by following the below link.

BBC announces event coverage of the Pope’s Visit 2010

Aaqil Ahmed is Commissioning Editor for Television. Head of Religion and Ethics

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On a purely personal note I feel Turkey is one of the most disheartening nations on earth, especially given its marvelous and rich Christian history and heritage. From Western media sources to Eastern, I never seem to come across anything positive reported about Turkey.

Fact of the day: The seven churches mentioned in the book of Revelation were located in western Asia Minor (present-day Turkey).

CNN:

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is the living embodiment of an ancient tradition. From his historic base in Istanbul, Turkey, the 270th Patriarch of Constantinople claims to be the direct successor of the Apostle Andrew.

Today he’s considered “first among equals” in the leadership of the Greek Orthodox church, and is the spiritual leader of 250 million Orthodox Christians around the world. But few of them are in his own home country.

“We are a small Christian minority,” Bartholomew laments.

“We have suffered because of Greek-Turkish confrontation, struggle, and a lack of mutual trust and confidence. And that is why we lost most of our faithful.”

Turkey’s once-flourishing Greek community is fading away. The country is predominantly Muslim and led by a secular government that’s had a complicated relationship with the patriarchate.

If Turkish laws, demographics and attitudes aren’t changed, Bartholomew could ultimately be the last Patriarch of Constantinople.

“We are not all in despair for the future of our church,” Bartholomew said. “It is not easy, but it is not impossible.”

The Turkish government can veto any candidate put forward for the position of patriarch. And it requires the patriarch be a Turkish citizen. Bartholomew is, but most of those best qualified to succeed him are not.

So the government has proposed offering Turkish citizenship to Orthodox archbishops overseas. Several have applied; so far, none has been approved.

The Turkish government also refuses to recognize the title Ecumenical Patriarch, or Bartholomew’s role as an international religious leader.

Officially, he is viewed as a local bishop who leads a shrinking community of a few thousand Greek Orthodox citizens. Yorgo Stefanopulos is one of them. “I am a curiosity now in Turkey,” he said. “We used to be a minority; now we are a curiosity.”

Stefanopulos is an outspoken leader of Istanbul’s Greek community. About 50 years ago, that community numbered more than 100,000. Today, it’s probably less than 3,000.

He insists that decline was not accidental. Instead, he blames the Turkish government. Decades ago, he said, they targeted ethnic Greeks with nationalist policies, like wealth taxes, property seizures, and campaigns to speak only Turkish in the streets.

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Birmingham Post:

About 15 families moved onto a field behind Sarehole Mill, off Wake Green Lane, Hall Green, on Tuesday.

When they were served with a police notice to leave, the convoy moved just yards across the road to the John Morris Jones Walk Way, at The Shire Country Park, in Cole Bank Road.

The group told local councillor Martin Mullaney that had come from Donegal, Ireland, to Birmingham, especially for Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Cofton Park on September 19.

Councillor Mullaney (Lib Dem Kings Heath and Moseley) said he was told by the group that they intended to return to Ireland after the Pontiff’s visit but had not purchased pilgrim passes, which cost £25 each, and guarantee entry to the park for the Mass.

In light of the move, Birmingham City Council officials, West Midlands Police, and a member of the Catholic Church were holding an emergency meeting to establish how they can get a clear message to other travellers who intend coming for the Pope’s visit, that they will be refused entry if they do not have a valid ticket.

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Further media link:

Sun – THE Pope’s visit to Britain has been thrown into turmoil amid fears swarms of gipsies will turn up hoping to meet him.

I haven’t blogged about the announcement made by the The Dove World Outreach Center in Florida of their plan to burn copies of the Qur’an on the anniversary of the September 11th World Trade Center attacks.

I didn’t blog about this as it is a despicable act by lunatic extremists whom in no way represent the vast majority of decent Christians in this world. This bunch are attention seeking and have already garnered global exposure.

Even though the Dove Center suffered a setback in their plans recently when city officials denied them a “burn permit”, they still plan to go ahead despite a potential fine and have even gone as far as to cite ten reasons why they should burn the Qu’ran.

So why have I blogged about this now?

It simply never occurred to me that this act may well endanger Christians living in Muslim nations. Whilst the Dove Outreach Center enjoy living in a society that will protect them from retribution and which is majority Christian, there are many other Christians who do not enjoy these privileges.

The Qur’an in Islamic thought is not comparable to the Bible as Muslims view the Qu’ran as the eternal word of God, perfect and pre-existing, rather like Christians view Jesus. This is why defacing the Qur’an is such a big deal in the Islamic psyche.

The Dove World Outreach Center are going to perpetrate a wicked, un-Christian and deliberately provocative act for which the only retribution will be meted out against the weak and vulnerable Christians living as minority groups in Islamic lands.

UCANEWS:

Worried Catholics and Muslims in Madhya Pradesh are to appeal to the Pope and other world leaders to try and prevent a US church holding a “Burn a Qur’an Day” next month.

We signed a resolution demanding positive action from world leaders to block the burnings, said Mazood Ahammad Khan

The letter will be sent to the “leaders shortly,” the secretary of the co-ordination committee for Indian Muslims said yesterday.

“We want action against such hate campaigners so that no one will do it again,” Khan said.

The Dove World Outreach Center in Florida plans to host the controversial event on Sept. 11 to mark the ninth anniversary of 9/11 terror attacks in New York.

Archbishop Leo Cornelio of Bhopal, and a delegation of Muslim leaders met earlier on Aug. 24 to condemn the plan and discuss the impact the burnings could have in the state.

Some Muslim leaders would feel a “strong sense of anger” and Church people suspect it would be directed at them, said Quazi Muhammad Faisal, the top Muslim leader in Bhopal.

At the meeting the archbishop and Muslim leaders decided to write to Pope Benedict, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and US President Barack Obama asking them to help prevent the church from carrying out its plan.

The Catholic Church “fully shares the sentiments of Muslims that no one should be allowed to burn the holy Qur’an,” Archbishop Cornelio said.

“Such an act violates the established traditions for peaceful co-existence,” he told ucanews.com.

Christian and Muslim leaders have stressed the need to respect every religion, every religious book and each other’s right to follow a religion, he said.