Jewish history since the advent of Islam was often fraught with tragedy for the Jewish people. Though they sometimes lived more comfortably under Muslim than Christian rule during the Middle Ages, even those times of “goodwill” on the part of Islamic leaders were uncomfortable for the Jewish people. Maimonides, a Jewish philosopher who found himself physician to 12th century Sultan Saladin and highly favored in his court, wrote that the Jewish people were persecuted and degraded under Muslim rule. Islamic leaders throughout history have determined that simply allowing the Jews to stay alive while paying a very high tax for protection of limited civil liberties is magnanimous and beyond what the Jews deserve.
The Koran states, “You will surely find that the people most hostile to believers [Muslims] are the Jews…” (5:82). Since Muhammad’s words are believed to be valid for all times and all places, such verses have been justification for Islamic leaders from the 7th to the 21st centuries to portray the Jewish people as less than human and worthy of death.
Today, that horrific trend continues, as the nation of Israel has become the focal point of Islamic hatred and violence. Since 1948, thousands of Jews have been killed in Israel and around the world in the name of Palestinian “liberation.” That hatred is the raison d’etre for the existence of Hamas, Hizbullah, Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist organizations responsible for death and mayhem globally.
And there is no end in sight. Ayatolla Ali Khamanei, supreme leader of Iran, recently stated, “The Zionist regime is a true cancerous tumor on this region that should be cut off. And it definitely will be cut off.” A subsequent article written by a top Khamanei strategist and officially endorsed by the Iranian government sets out the legal and religious justification for Muslims to unite: kill all Jews and destroy Israel. It seems history is about to repeat itself as God’s covenant people are threatened with annihilation while the rest of the world wrings its hands in confusion and does nothing. But this time, it isn’t just the Saturday people.
Now the Sunday people…
www.israelimages.com/Bob Munro From one end of the Islamic world to the other, Christians are being slaughtered for their faith. God’s “other covenant people” are suffering imprisonment, torture, and death at the hands of Muslims. Through the sexual abuse of women, forced conversions, apostasy and blasphemy laws, and the burning of homes and churches, Christians are being terrorized with an end goal of extinction.
Just as the hatred of Jews finds its roots in Islamic theology, intolerance for Christians stems from the teachings of the Koran. Rife with references to Christians as enemies of Islam, the same religious writings that sanction the persecution and murder of Jews encourage the destruction of Christians. Faith in Jesus is so despised in Islam that simply to utter the words “Merry Christmas” is considered a sin worse than fornication.
That intolerance has been growing over the past decade, taking a dramatic leap in 2011, according to assessments by human rights groups. Acts of violence against Christian believers, particularly during holiday seasons, have increased drastically.
Protest against the persecution of Christians in Egypt Coptic Christians, who represent about 10% of Egypt’s 85 million people, have always been treated like second-class citizens. However, since that nation’s elections last year that established the Muslim Brotherhood as the majority in parliament, persecution has increased dramatically. Under new extremist leadership, Egypt is witnessing true genocide as Copts are massacred across the country. With no voice or civil protection, Christians are being murdered and dismembered by the very security forces who have been appointed to protect Egypt’s citizens.
Thousands have suffered rape and mutilation, parents have watched as their daughters were kidnapped to be raised as Muslims, and churches and homes are being plundered and burned. To date, over 200,000 Copts have fled their homes in anticipation of further persecution.
The situation is equally bleak in Nigeria where only slightly more than half the population is Muslim. No strangers to persecution, Nigeria’s Christians now face literal extinction with the rise of an organization called Boko Haram, which means, “Western education is sacrilege.” Aiming to establish Sharia law throughout Nigeria, Boko Haram has stated it will kill all Christians in the country. A massive wave of violence has swept the nation as churches are riddled with gunfire, and men, women, and children are slaughtered in their homes. The situation is so dire that it prompted Abraham Foxman, US national director of the Anti-Defamation League, to call on the international community to come to the aid of Nigeria’s Christians.
In Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Sudan, Pakistan, and Indonesia, anti-Christian violence has increased by nearly 40% in just one year. Even in Ethiopia where Christians are the majority, Muslims have begun burning churches and attacking worshippers.
Clearly, mankind is facing one of the greatest dangers we have ever encountered. Islam’s attempt to annihilate Christians and Jews goes beyond its desire for world domination. It is a concentrated effort to eradicate the God whose teachings form the very foundations of Western civilization. Yet there is precious little outcry from world governments or religious leaders. Eerily reminiscent of the 1930s, today’s world teeters on the brink of disaster. We must recognize that a common enemy has declared all-out war on Jews and Christians. If they are defeated, the whole world loses.
Source: By Cheryl Hauer, International Development Director
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