Over at Gatestone Institute, via RaymondIbrahim.com, I continue with the latest from my monthly “Muslim persecution of Christians” series:
The endemic rise of Christian persecution in the Middle East was noted in November when Pope Francis declared “We
will not resign ourselves to imagining a Middle East without
Christians” and stressed the importance of “the universal right to lead a
dignified life and freely practice one’s own faith” after he met with
patriarchs from Syria, Iran, and Iraq, all countries where Christian
minorities are under attack.
On the other hand, powers best placed to
do something about the plight of Mideast Christians—namely, the U.S.
Obama administration—made it clear that they would do nothing, even when
well leveraged to do so.
In November, the wife of American pastor
Saeed Abedini, who has been imprisoned in Iran for over a year for
practicing Christianity, said she and her family were devastated after
learning that the Obama administration did not try to secure the release
of her husband as part of the newly signed deal on Iran’s nuclear
program.
“The talks over Iran’s nuclear program
were seen by his [Abedini’s] family and those representing them as one
of the most promising avenues yet for securing his release,” said Fox News. “But the White House confirmed over the weekend that Abedini’s status was not on the table during those talks.”
“I don’t think we have any more
leverage,” said Abedini’s wife. “We now have to consider other avenues
and having other countries speak out because our country when we could
have used our leverage chose to stay silent.”
The rest of November’s roundup of Muslim
persecution of Christians around the world includes (but is not limited
to) the following accounts, listed by theme and country in alphabetical
order, not necessarily according to severity:
Islamic Attacks on Christian Places of Worship
Lebanon: An unidentified attacker firebombed the reception area of the newly built Christian cathedral of
the town’s patron Saint, Mar Zakhya. Despite the loud boom heard in
the town’s main square, there was limited damage; some building material
used for the building process of the cathedral was destroyed. Although
Lebanon was Christian-majority in the mid-20th century, today it is
roughly 60% Muslim, 40% Christian…Click for entire report
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