Opus 2013-301: Headlines: Christians Persecuted in Egypt, Duh!, part 1 of 2

One of the ignored events common in the world is the Muslim persecution of Christians.  It is going on from Indonesia to Harlem.  It has great variety whether it be out and out murder to kidnapping children to sell into slavery.  It is usually ignored by the press.  I was glad to see an article in The Washington Time, National Weekly, August 26, 2013, pages 6-7 entitled “Egyptian Christians face unprecedented reprisals.” (sic)  The link will take you to the article on line with a slightly longer title.  I was disappointed that the article took the politically correct approach that this was “reprisals.”  Not so. 

This has been the standard policy of devout Islam since the Islamic world conquest began in 630.  There is a difference between “reprisal” and “intimidation.”  The same thing has been happening in Iraq and is going on in Syria.  The same thing has been going on, unreported for centuries.  Philip Jenkins said it this way about the Ottoman Empire,

“The modern concept of genocide as a uniquely horrible act demanding international sanctions has its root in the thoroughly successful movements to eradicate Middle Eastern Christians.” Jenkins, page 140

He then goes on to give some data you may not have heard before.

“Even in 1900 Muslims made up just half the empires overall population: Christians comprised 46 percent; Jews, 3 percent.”  Jenkins, page 149

In case you are lacking in geography and history, the Ottoman Empire was modern Turkey with its borders extended east through Armenia and South into Israel.

And more specifically,

“Constantinople, which had over four hundred thousand Christians in 1920, today has perhaps 4,000.  The city’s final Greek remnants largely vanished during a sweeping race riot in 1955.” Jenkins, page 163

Read those numbers again, friends.  During the time we are looking at we had the Armenian holocaust by the Turks.  Islam has not been nice to Christians.

Jenkins, Philip.  The Lost History of Christianity, New York:  Harper One, 2008.

To be continued...

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