Another horror story from Egypt [here]
Why do Islamic extremists target Coptic Christians? The Coptic Church pre-dates the Islamic invasions of Egypt; the Copts have an impeccable claim not only to be indisputably indigenous but ethnically the "original" Egyptians. For Muslim fundamentalists, this is a red rag to a bull: a clear contradiction of their exclusively Muslim pan-Arab ambitions.
But the existence of the Copts and of the ancient Orthodox, Armenian and Eastern Catholic communities presents a clear challenge to the West also; how far are our governments prepared to champion the rights of religious minorities in the face of the somewhat ambivalent attitudes of the "moderate" Middle Eastern regimes they support? Who will speak up for the rights of Christians in the Middle East? Pope Benedict and ....who else?
Please pray for our our brothers and sisters in the faith in the Middle East, and also for those Muslims - genuinely people of good will - who truly believe in peaceful co-existence and are prepared to stand up in defence of it in the face of intimidation and violence.
>>Why do Islamic extremists target Coptic Christians?<<
ReplyDeleteBecause Islam regards all non-believers as inferior.
Women are also regarded as inferior which contributes to the problem of Muslim men grooming white girls for sex. Also at risk are people of goodwill, Muslims included, highlighted by events in Pakistan.
Cranmer followers will have read about the appalling experiences described by a vicar's wife in Birmingham at
http://archbishop-cranmer.blogspot.com/2011/01/when-will-we-end-curse-of-state.html
Votes are power at home and support abroad is good for exports so the political parties continue to woo people and governments whose religious ideology doesn't tolerate democracies such as ours. Integration in Britain has failed. We spend a fortune paying to sustain multi-cultural identities at the cost of our own but as soon as there is a hint of what Islamists regarded as criticism non-Muslims are cowed into submission. If Pope Benedict is not exempt, God help the rest of us.