Once magnet for Foreign Mujahedeen�, Bosnia now exports them

Thousands of Bosnian Muslims "have adopted the ultraconservative Salafist brand of Sunni Islam... and their ranks are suspected of supplying scores of fighters to the wars in the Middle East�"

by Rusmir Smajilhodzic, AFP, April 29, 2015

h/t Jihad Watch

Church in Kosovo destroyed by Bosnian Muslims

A magnet for foreign jihadists during its 1990s war, Bosnia is now grappling with the threat from home-grown extremists wooed by the conflicts in Iraq and Syria.

While most Bosnian Muslims are moderates, a few thousand have adopted the ultraconservative Salafist brand of Sunni Islam introduced by the fighters who flocked to Bosnia from North Africa, the Middle East and Asia during the 1992-1995 conflict between Serbs, Muslims and Croats.

Most of those foreign fighters, or �mujahedeen�, left Bosnia when the war ended.

But the seed had already been sown. Twenty years on, the radical preachers giving fiery sermons in �mesdzids�, or improvised prayer halls, are no longer foreigners.

Those taking up arms are also local men.

On Monday, a gunman shouting �Allahu Akbar� (�God is greatest� in Arabic) opened fire on a police station in the eastern town of Zvornik, killing one officer and wounding two others before being killed in a shootout.

The assailant, identified as 24-year-old Nerdin Ibric from a village near the northeastern town of Zvornik, was suspected of links to radical Islamist groups. Another man, said to have travelled to Syria, was arrested Tuesday over the attack.

Suspected Islamist extremists had made their presence felt before in the Balkan country.

In October 2011, a gunman opened fire on the US embassy in Sarajevo, wounding a policeman before being injured himself and arrested.

In June of the previous year, a man set off an explosive device at a police station in the central town of Bugojno, killing one officer and wounding six others in what the government called a �terrorist act�.

� Prayer room recruitment �

Would-be jihadists are suspected of being recruited by radical preachers, operating through a network of informal prayer rooms.

�There is no doubt that the recruitment process is possible due to the existence of a network of such places of worship,� Esad Hecimovic, a local journalist who has reported extensively on the subject told AFP.

Hardliners, whose numbers are estimated by the authorities at around 3,000 followers, represent just a fraction of Bosnian Muslims, who make up around 40 per cent of the population of 3.8 million.

But their ranks are suspecting of supplying scores of fighters to the wars in the Middle East�.

Islamic State bombs Assyrian, Armenian churches in Syria

300 Assyrians captured in February attacks, entire villages emptied of Christians, expected never to return. Islam's endless war and genocide against Christians continues.

AINA, April 29, 2015

St. Odisho Assyrian Church in Tel Tal, Syria, after the ISIS bombing on April 28.

(AINA) � According to reports from Syria and also the Turkish press, ISIS has bombed two churches in Syria, the St. Odisho Assyrian Church in Tel Tal and the St. Rita Tilel Armenian Church in Aleppo. The churches were bombed yesterday.

Located on the Khabur river in the Hasaka province in Syria, Tel Tal is one of the 35 Assyrian villages that was attacked by ISIS on February 23. ISIS captured nearly 300 Assyrians in those attacks and subsequently released 23, all from the village of Tel Goran. The remaining Assyrians are still being held captive.

The entire Assyrian population of these villages, nearly 3,000, has left their homes and are expected never to return. Some have already emigrated to Lebanon. Most are living in Hasaka or Qamishli and are planning to leave Syria.

ISIS using Children and even Infants for Propaganda

Shocking images horrify Westerners, but inspire and recruit Muslims from Western countries.

Notice the birth certificate in the photo below, which confirms the Islamic State's status as a sovereign state.

�This baby is dangerous for you, not only for us� - a photograph's title reads.

ISIS using Children and even Infants
Pravoslavie � April 29, 2015

Children who were born on the territory controlled by �the Islamic State� are becoming objects of propaganda by the terrorist organization. The recent cases of �black PR� of ISIS have shocked internet users all over the world, report news agencies.

Specifically, the first reels that were uploaded in the internet by the takfirists at the turn of last year, showed the horrific pictures of combat training of children of preschool, primary school, and secondary school ages.

At the beginning of the reel Russian speech can be heard. A person who is taking a submachine gun says: �That is all! That is all!� Another person, off-camera, is crying in exaltation in Arabic: �With the name of Allah! As Allah wished!� Then the child who shot, or, probably, another one (because he speaks pure Arabic), is answering the questions:

To whom do you belong, brother?
To �the Islamic State�.
Brother, what do you want to say to Muslims?
Start combat operations.
Ma Sha� Allah (�Whatever Allah wants�).
And so on. (See video here.)

Training children to use firearms is accompanied by an ideological education: thus, answering short questions of the �teachers�, children of different ages are �swearing allegiance� to the IS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and are promising to fight against �unclean infidels� to their death.

Photomaterials from such �educational works� of ISIS are constantly uploaded by activists to the web. Last week many news reports contained published photographs made in a square in one of the settlements of the Syrian Al-Hasakah governorate. The shots that then were sent to the media by the eyewitnesses fixed the moment of execution of a new �apostate of Islam� with some children around intently observing the event.

Results of such recruitment are not long in coming. On April 21 the Iraqi volunteer corps members reported the first case of a group of new �graduates� of the extremists� training camp, situated to the west of Ar Ramadi. According to the volunteers, children aged 9-12 were forcibly recruited by IS as its new members.

However, the islamists are even using innocent newly-born babies for their propaganda. On Sunday, April 26, a photograph appeared in the �Twitter� social network showing a baby with a pistol, a hand grenade, and a birth certificate laid in its cradle. The birth certificate was issued by �the Aleppo wilayat (province)� of IS. An activist from the city of Rakka who uploaded this shot on the internet believes that it serves as a means of intimidation to all the enemies of �the Islamic State�. �This baby is dangerous for you, and not only for us,� reads the caption under the photograph, which has provoked a stormy reaction in the global information space.

Russia's Chechnya becomes Biggest Contributor of Jihadists to ISIS

An important perspective and analysis which gets little reporting in the West. Russia herself seems very strong in responding to internal Islamic jihadi threats, especially considering her relatively large Muslim population (approximately 15% according to some estimates), in one operation alone rounding up 300 Muslim extremists. 

• Russia�s Chechnya becomes biggest contributor of jihadists to ISIS
• Chechen youth from Georgia�s Pansiki Gorge joining ISIS in droves

by John J. Xenakis, Breitbart News � April 18, 2015

Umar al-Shishani (center), ISIS�s military emir in Syria,

is a Kist Chechen from Georgia�s Pankisi Gorge (RFERL)

For years, I have been writing about the very stupid policy of Russia�s president Vladimir Putin of sending money and heavy weapons to Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad�s genocidal attack on innocent Sunni women and children. By 2012, reports made it evident that young Sunni men from around the world were traveling to Syria to fight al-Assad, and this included young men from the North Caucasus (Russia�s southern provinces). I wrote repeatedly that those young men were going to get terrorism training and return to their home countries, in this case Russia.

Since then, those predictions have been coming true with a vengeance. We have seen al-Assad�s genocidal acts, supported by troops and weapons from Russia, bring about the creation of several jihadist groups, most recently the Islamic State (IS or ISIS or ISIL or Daesh).

Although countries around the world have supplied young jihadists to ISIS, the biggest non-Mideast contributors are not America or European countries. The biggest contributor is Russia. The number of Russian nationals fighting with ISIS has roughly doubled over the past year. Russia�s own Federal Security Service (FSB) estimates that 1,700 militants from Russia have joined ISIS, but that figure seems too low to be plausible. Other estimates range from 3,000 to 5,000.

Many of these are runaway teen Chechens who grew up during Russia�s wars in Chechnya during the 1990s, saw their relatives and friends killed by the Russian military, and are now seeking an opportunity for revenge.

In fact, the Chechnya separatist movement had been waning in influence since the early 2000s, but is rapidly gaining strength again because of the success and glory of ISIS. Now the insurgents from Chechnya and other Caucasian nations have a new opportunity to train and operate with impunity � an opportunity they certainly did not have back home in the Caucasus.

[...] Jamestown and Bloomberg and RFE/RL and Geopolitical Monitor (Sep 2014)

Chechen youth from Georgia�s Pansiki Gorge joining ISIS in droves

Emotions ran high in the Chechen community when it was learned earlier this month that two school children, aged 16 and 18, had run away from their home in Georgia�s Pansiki Gorge and had managed to go through airport controls in Tbilisi, Georgia�s capital city, to leave for Turkey, after which they are presumed to have crossed into Syria to join the Islamic State (IS or ISIS or ISIL or Daesh). Angry parents and community elders in Pansiki are demanding an explanation from Georgian authorities on how it was possible for minors to board a plane to Turkey unchallenged. Other reports indicate that six people had left Pansiki to join ISIS in Syria between April 6-14.

Georgia�s Pansiki Gorge lies on the border with Russia, on the border of the province of Chechnya in Russia, and is populated mostly by Kists, who are ethnic Chechens. Because it is in a difficult-to-reach geographical location, Georgian authorities have done little to provide security to Pansiki, with the result that it has become practically a free portal for local young radicals and militants to go to Syria or Iraq and join ISIS, and then return. ISIS and its Chechen squadrons have already declared war on Russia and promised to �liberate� the Caucasus.

The Gorge has become a matter of great concern to both Georgia and Russia. It is economically very poor, making it a prime pool for ISIS recruiters to gain adherents.

Georgia�s response to these concerns is to pass a new law making it illegal to join or receive training in illegal armed groups in George and abroad, or to recruit others to do so. Passing a law gives the appearance of government action, but many analysts believe that just passing a law will make little difference. (Isn�t it already illegal to join illegal armed groups, or to recruit others to do so?)

According to one analyst:

In Pankisi�s case, the valley�s crushing poverty and the international demand for Chechen fighters [in Syria, Ukraine, as well as in many other theaters] make for a noxious mix that is difficult to disrupt via legislation.

Al Arabiya and RFE/RL 

What is an Armenian Christian?

An introduction to the First Nation to adopt Christianity, in 301 A.D.

See also: 

• Armenian Genocide Resource Page
• What is an Assyrian Christian?

What is an Armenian Christian?

by Anton C. Vrame, Ph.D.

Director, Department of Religious Education

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

April 25, 2015

The Armenian Genocide Memorial and Museum

On April 24, 1915, Ottoman authorities arrested 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople. They were sent to Chankri and Ayash (cities in central Anatolia), where they were later slain. For this reason, April 24 marks the beginning of the Armenian Genocide, where it is estimated between 1 and 1.5 million people were killed (http://www.armenian-genocide.org/). Many American cities, especially those with sizeable Armenian populations such as Boston, will be marking the 100th anniversary with prayer and vigil, but also the continued effort to have these mass killings recognized around the world as the first genocide of the 20^th century (http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/04/22/centennial-genocide-sharpens-grief-for-local-armenians/wDHsRDW0LPfGJco5vBBPiO/story.html). 

Today (April 24, 2015) in Yerevan, Armenia, the Armenian Church canonized the victims as saints.

The Ottomans also singled out other minority communities at this time, including the Greek Orthodox and Assyrian Christian. Many Greek Orthodox readers of this article may trace their roots to Anatolia and the population exchanges in the 1920s between Greece and Turkey.

Armenia was the first nation to adopt Christianity, in 301 AD, but Tradition holds that St. Thaddeus, one of the twelve Apostles of Christ, preached there in the first century. The Armenian Church did not accept the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon, 451, (the Fourth Ecumenical Council) and subsequent councils. This early schism in Christianity has yet to be reconciled, although great progress has been made in the last fifty years.

What do Armenian Christians believe? Space prohibits a detailed examination, but some brief statements (From Welcome to the Armenian Church, published by St. Vartan Press of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, Eastern), we find the following:

• The faith, doctrine, and dogma of the Armenian Church are based on the Apostolic teachings, Holy Tradition, and the written Word of God.

• The prime doctrinal dogma of the Holy Trinity defines God as One in three persons.

• The Nicene Creed is the main statement of faith.

• Only three church councils are accepted as ecumenical (Nicaea 325, Constantinople, 381, and Ephesus 431).

• There are seven sacraments: Baptism; Chrismation; Eucharist; Confession; Marriage; Holy Orders; and Anointing of the Sick.

• The Virgin Mary is venerated as the Mother of God.

• Armenian and non-Armenian saints are commemorated throughout the year.

• In the liturgical year, there are five major feasts: Nativity and Theophany (Jan 6), Easter, Transfiguration, Assumption of Mary, and Exaltation of the Holy Cross. These are the oldest of Christian liturgical feasts. For example, celebrating Nativity in December did not emerge in Christianity until the late fourth century in the Roman Empire. The Armenians, not being part of the Roman Empire, had no reason to adopt the holiday.

• In the Divine Liturgy (the Badarak), the Church believes that the bread and wine truly become the Body and Blood of Christ. People receiving Holy Communion will fast before. The liturgy itself traces its origins to the 4^th century and is attributed to St. Gregory Nazianzus. 

As can be seen from these statements, there is a very close affinity between the Eastern (Greek, Russian, Antiochian, etc.) Orthodox and the Armenian Church (which is considered one of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, along with Coptic, Ethiopian and others). Since the 1960s, representatives of the two families of Orthodox Churches have been meeting regularly to heal the schism from the fifth century. In 1997, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew said about this relationship, 

�So often, we have seen that we hold the greater part of the theological tradition of our two Churches in common. That which unites us, is greater than that which divides us. Indeed, those things that divide us can be said to be external historical and human factors, which have hindered the rapprochement of our Churches. Certainly, difference of faith over even one teaching makes union impossible, but we hope that the correct and true acceptance of all the teachings of the undivided Church will be one day established.�

Legal activism among Indian Muslims: Need for consistent intervention, raising voice against oppression and fighting for the rights

Every vibrant community should have activists.

Activists are individuals who are passionate about certain thing or issues, keep track of them and raise voice when they find something wrong.

Indian Muslims are facing a plethora of social, educational and cultural issues.

There are laws but not all laws are implemented fairly. Hence, it is necessary that there are people who intervene and raise their voice in case of violation of rights.

While peaceful means of protests including demonstrations can have impact to an extent, our system of governance, especially, the bureaucratic maze is such that rules are ignored, misinterpreted and thrown out of the window, and gross injustice is meted out in daily lives.

Such is the situation that one leader may get arrested for a single wrong speech but others who have spent their lives in spreading communalism and mouthing venom haven't been touched by cops. The reason is that cases were filed in police stations (and courts) against the particular person, while few complaints were filed against others.

Recently, Advocate Shahid Ali filed a petition with the Election Commission against Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut for his comment that Muslims should be divested of the right to vote. This is a laudable step.

Ali, who heads United Muslim Front (UMF) plans to approach the Supreme Court too, seeking disqualification of Shiv Sena. If similar cases were filed in the past, the situation won't have deteriorated to such an extent, and many other politicians would have been reined in, long ago.

In fact, Ali has been making intervention in important cases, consistently. He has filed petitions in courts, got notices issued to those involved in human rights violations and has raised important issues concerning the community.

Next month, he would be organising a Mahapanchayat, to press for justice for victims of Hashimpura killings. Also, he went against UP government for not fulfilling their promises and against UGC for removing Arabic and Persian.

The point is that just one individual or organisation can't fight for everyone, and we shouldn't expect others to act on our behalf. People should understand that mere education is not enough, they should be ready to stand for their rights too. 

But this is easier said than done. The reason is people who dare to make intervention, are increasingly facing pressures from different quarters, especially, administration.

It is for this reason that lawyer-activists are more needed in the society. The advocates, because of their profession, knowledge of law, and standing in the society, can get things done much more easily, compared to others.

The officials too tread with caution, in fact, they are wary of taking on lawyers. Lawyers can intervene effectively by filing cases, issuing legal notices and fighting for the rights strongly.

Such action can check biased officials and policy-makers from going all out in implementing their agenda.

Injustice happens all around us. There are denials of facilities, services and amenities to people who are entitled to them. This keeps happening everywhere, all the time, either because of poor governance or biased actions of certain officials and policy makers.

The victims of the 'system' are among all the sections of the society. But the poor, the backward, dalit (SC), tribal (ST) and minority communities are more likely to face discrimination and denial to amenities. Hence, the need for lawyer-activists is increasingly being felt among the community. 

CNN: American Muslims Linked to ISIS

A straightforward report which at least attempts to document the growing numbers of American Muslims joining the Islamic State to wage or support jihad. 

Not addressed in any way is the connection to these Muslims' local mosques, their imams, their connections, what they teach, what materials they promote, whether they are funded by Islamic governments overseas. These are not only valid, but essential questions, as four separate studies since 1999 have shown that upwards of 80% of mosques in the United States promote jihad.

Related:

• EU Underestimates Number of Westerners Fighting for Jihad
• Challenging Mosque Expansions - The Time is Now

Americans linked to ISIS
CNN � Updated April 23, 2015 (Thanks to Anita)

It's unclear how many Americans have been caught attempting to join or help ISIS, but National Intelligence Director James Clapper has said 180 Americans have tried to go fight in Syria. Experts say most of them are disillusioned young people trying to find purpose or make their mark. While that's largely true, there are outliers. Below are details about some of the cases that have been made public.

Donald Morgan, age 'unknown' �Salisbury, North Carolina

U.S. authorities arrested an American man returning from overseas who they say is a sympathizer of the terrorist group ISIS. Morgan was arrested on August 2 on arrival at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport from Frankfurt, Germany, according to federal court documents.

Mufid Elfgeeh, age 30 �Rochester, New York

A man who owns an upstate New York food store funded ISIS, tried to send jihadists to Syria to fight with the terrorist group and plotted to do some killing himself -- by gunning down U.S. troops who had served in Iraq -- federal authorities alleged Tuesday. Elfgeeh, 30, was arrested for trying "to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization" (namely, ISIS), one count of attempting to kill officers and employees of the United States, two counts of having an unregistered firearm silencer and one for possessing guns or silencers "in furtherance of a crime of violence."

Unknown, age 19 �St. Paul, Minnesota

In a separate case, a 19-year-old American Somali woman from St. Paul snuck away from her parents on Aug. 25 saying she was going to a bridal shower. Instead, she flew to Turkey and joined IS in Syria. � The St. Paul woman is the first case of an area female joining IS that has been made public although her family have asked for her name to be kept private because it fears retaliation from Islamists. � The St. Paul woman is highly likely to have been recruited by IS through Islamist sympathizers in the United States, rather than joining the group on her own, (Somali leaders) said. At least one other woman is suspected of helping her leave the United States.

Douglas Mccain, age 33 �New Hope, Minnesota

An American man in Syria while fighting for ISIS, the latest evidence of the reach of a terror group that's become increasingly powerful and feared in the eyes of Americans. Douglas McAuthur McCain, 33, died in a battle between rival extremist groups in the suburbs of Aleppo, Syria's once-bustling commercial capital and largest city, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based group that monitors the conflict. The man's uncle, Ken McCain, said that his nephew had gone to fight as a jihadi and that the U.S. State Department told the family Monday about the death.

Michael Todd Wolfe, age 23 �Austin, Texas

Arrested at George H.W. Bush Houston Intercontinental Airport before a flight to Europe, Wolfe was charged in June "with attempting to provide material support to terrorists," authorities said. He "planned to travel to the Middle East to provide his services to radical groups engaged in armed conflict in Syria," according to a complaint.

Abdullah Yusuf, age 18 �Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota

The 18-year-old from Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, pleaded guilty at a Minneapolis federal court to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to ISIS. Yusuf was stopped by the FBI from boarding a flight to Turkey from Minneapolis/Saint Paul Airport in May. Yusuf and another man, Abdi Nur, were charged in late November with conspiring to aid ISIS.

Shannon Maureen Conley, age 19 �Arvada, Colorado

Conley's plan to join ISIS and serve as a nurse at a jihadist camp ended in September with a guilty plea on a terror charge in a Colorado federal court. Arrested in April, the 19-year-old was at Denver International Airport about to embark on a journey to Germany and eventually to an ISIS camp near the Turkish border. She told investigators she was going to Turkey to await word from her suitor, an ISIS member she met on the Internet, whom she planned to marry.

Christopher Cornell, age 20 �Cincinnati, Ohio

The Cincinnati 20-year-old was on the FBI's radar for months as he posted about violent jihad on social media. The feds said they arrested him before he could hatch his alleged plot to set off a bomb at the U.S. Capitol and shoot evacuees as they fled. Cornell allegedly told an informant he had been in contact with people overseas, and that he had aligned himself with ISIS. The attack, according to the complaint, would be a way of supporting the extremist group.

Ahmad Abousamra, age 33 �Stoughton, Massachusetts

The man was first placed on the FBI terror list for 2009 crimes but since has been suspected of joining ISIS, officials said. He's fluent in both English and Arabic, and if his college degree in computers is any indication, he has a way with technology. Then there's his interest in radical Islam. Put it all together, and authorities said former Boston resident and U.S. citizen Ahmad Abousamra could be a good fit inside the ISIS social media machine that's become renowned in recent weeks for spewing brutal propaganda across social media.

Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha, age 22 �Vero Beach, Florida

The son of a Palestinian father and Italian-American mother, the 22-year-old from Vero Beach, Florida, is believed to be the first American suicide bomber to die in Syria. The former high school football player killed himself in May 2014 when he drove a truck full of explosives into a Syrian army position and detonated it, U.S. officials said.

Unidentified Teen, age 'minor' �Denver, Colorado, Area

One of three teenage girls who set out from a Denver suburb apparently bound for Syria to join extremists were sent home to their parents after they were stopped in Germany, U.S. officials said. The teens -- two sisters of Somali descent and a friend whose family is Sudanese, according to a Denver community leader -- were detained when their flight landed in Frankfurt on Friday after the FBI flagged their passports.

Unidentified Teen, age 'minor' �Denver, Colorado, Area

One of three teenage girls who set out from a Denver suburb apparently bound for Syria to join extremists were sent home to their parents after they were stopped in Germany, U.S. officials said. The teens -- two sisters of Somali descent and a friend whose family is Sudanese, according to a Denver community leader -- were detained when their flight landed in Frankfurt on Friday after the FBI flagged their passports.

Unidentified Teen, age 'minor' �Denver, Colorado, Area

One of three teenage girls who set out from a Denver suburb apparently bound for Syria to join extremists were sent home to their parents after they were stopped in Germany, U.S. officials said. The teens -- two sisters of Somali descent and a friend whose family is Sudanese, according to a Denver community leader -- were detained when their flight landed in Frankfurt on Friday after the FBI flagged their passports.

Adam Dandach, age 21 �Orange, California

The 21-year-old California man was arrested last summer, but was indicted on Wednesday. The FBI said he attempted to offer himself and material support to work under the direction and control of ISIS. His arraignment is scheduled for later this month.

Unidentified Virginia Student, age 17 �Washington Suburb

The 17-year-old Virginia student has been charged with helping recruit for ISIS, federal law enforcement officials said Wednesday. The teen lives in a suburb of Washington and is accused of helping a slightly older adult travel to Syria. The adult is believed to have joined ISIS there. The student is also accused of distributing ISIS messages.

Abror Habibov, age 30 �New York City (Arrested In Jacksonville, Fl)

Habibov and two other men are accused by the federal government of attempting to join ISIS and of fostering plans to kill the President and shoot law enforcement officers. The three men face charges that include attempting and conspiring to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court. Habibov, 30, was in the United States legally, but overstayed his visa, police said.

Akhror Saidakhmetov, age 19 �New York City

Arrested last month in New York and Florida, they are accused by the federal government of attempting to join ISIS and of fostering plans to kill the President and shoot law enforcement officers. The three men face charges that include attempting and conspiring to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court. Saidakhmetov had permanent resident status.

Abdurasul Juraboev, age 24 �New York City

Arrested last month in New York and Florida, they are accused by the federal government of attempting to join ISIS and of fostering plans to kill the President and shoot law enforcement officers. The three men face charges that include attempting and conspiring to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court. Juraboev had permanent resident status.

Abdi Nur, age 20 �Minneapolis, Minnesota

The 20-year-old was charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. Nur "conspired to join ISIL and travel from Minnesota to the Middle East to engage in a campaign of terror," Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Carlin said in November, using another acronym for ISIS.

Mohammed Hamzah Khan, age 19 �Chicago, Illinois

Kahn was arrested at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago in October. The 19-year-old is charged with one count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. In a letter to his parents, Kahn wrote that he was leaving the United States and on the way to join ISIS, court documents said.

Hasan Edmonds, age 22 �Chicago, Illinois

Spc. Hasan Edmonds, 22, was arrested Wednesday night at Chicago Midway International Airport while attempting to travel to Egypt to eventually join ISIS, according to Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin and other federal officials said.

Jonas "Yunus" Edmonds, age 29 �Aurora, Illinois

Jonas "Yunus" Edmonds, 29, was arrested at his home in Aurora in connection with an alleged plot to carry out an armed attack on an unspecified U.S. military facility in northern Illinois where his cousin, Hasan Edmonds, had been training.

Abdirahman Sheik Mohamud, age 23 �Columbus, Ohio

Charged with one count of attempting to provide and providing material support to terrorists, one count of attempting to provide and providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, and one count of making false statements to the FBI in an indictment returned in the Southern District of Ohio. According to the indictment, Mohamud stated that, after arriving in Syria, he obtained training from a group in shooting weapons, breaking into houses, explosives and hand-to-hand combat. Mohamed also stated that, after completing this training, he was instructed by a cleric in the organization to return to the United States and commit an act of terrorism.

Zacharia Yusuf Abdurahman, age 19 �Minneapolis, Minnesota

A group of six young Minnesota men conspired to sneak into Syria and join ISIS "by any means necessary," federal prosecutors said April 20. Abdurahman, Adnan Farah, Musse and Omar were arrested in Minneapolis. Daud, 21, and Mohamed Abdihamid Farah were arrested in San Diego after driving there in hopes of crossing into Mexico. They plotted for 10 months, U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger of the District of Minnesota said. "Even when their co-conspirators were caught and charged, they continued to seek new and creative ways to leave Minnesota to fight for a terror group."

Adnan Farah, age 19 �Minneapolis, Minnesota

A group of six young Minnesota men conspired to sneak into Syria and join ISIS "by any means necessary," federal prosecutors said April 20. Abdurahman, Adnan Farah, Musse and Omar were arrested in Minneapolis. Daud, 21, and Mohamed Abdihamid Farah were arrested in San Diego after driving there in hopes of crossing into Mexico. They plotted for 10 months, U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger of the District of Minnesota said. "Even when their co-conspirators were caught and charged, they continued to seek new and creative ways to leave Minnesota to fight for a terror group."

Hanad Mustafe Musse, age 19 �Minneapolis, Minnesota

A group of six young Minnesota men conspired to sneak into Syria and join ISIS "by any means necessary," federal prosecutors said April 20. Abdurahman, Adnan Farah, Musse and Omar were arrested in Minneapolis. Daud, 21, and Mohamed Abdihamid Farah were arrested in San Diego after driving there in hopes of crossing into Mexico. They plotted for 10 months, U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger of the District of Minnesota said. "Even when their co-conspirators were caught and charged, they continued to seek new and creative ways to leave Minnesota to fight for a terror group."

Guled Ali Omar, age 20 �Minneapolis, Minnesota

A group of six young Minnesota men conspired to sneak into Syria and join ISIS "by any means necessary," federal prosecutors said April 20. Abdurahman, Adnan Farah, Musse and Omar were arrested in Minneapolis. Daud, 21, and Mohamed Abdihamid Farah were arrested in San Diego after driving there in hopes of crossing into Mexico. They plotted for 10 months, U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger of the District of Minnesota said. "Even when their co-conspirators were caught and charged, they continued to seek new and creative ways to leave Minnesota to fight for a terror group."

Abdirahman Yasin Daud, age 21 �San Diego, California

A group of six young Minnesota men conspired to sneak into Syria and join ISIS "by any means necessary," federal prosecutors said April 20. Abdurahman, Adnan Farah, Musse and Omar were arrested in Minneapolis. Daud, 21, and Mohamed Abdihamid Farah were arrested in San Diego after driving there in hopes of crossing into Mexico. They plotted for 10 months, U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger of the District of Minnesota said. "Even when their co-conspirators were caught and charged, they continued to seek new and creative ways to leave Minnesota to fight for a terror group."

Mohamed Abdihamid Farah, age 21 �San Diego, California

A group of six young Minnesota men conspired to sneak into Syria and join ISIS "by any means necessary," federal prosecutors said April 20. Abdurahman, Adnan Farah, Musse and Omar were arrested in Minneapolis. Daud, 21, and Mohamed Abdihamid Farah were arrested in San Diego after driving there in hopes of crossing into Mexico. They plotted for 10 months, U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger of the District of Minnesota said. "Even when their co-conspirators were caught and charged, they continued to seek new and creative ways to leave Minnesota to fight for a terror group."

Unknown, age 16 �York County, South Carolina

A South Carolina teen pleaded guilty April 22, 2015, to plotting an attack on a U.S. military base before attempting to travel to Syria to join ISIS, CNN affiliate WBTV reported. Police, who found an ISIS flag in the teen's bedroom while executing a search warrant, said the teen acknowledged that he and a person from North Carolina had plotted to rob a gun store so they could attack a military installation in retaliation for U.S. military airstrikes on ISIS.

Hoda Muthana, age 20 � Hoover, Alabama

After Buzzfeed published an April 17, 2015, interview with the woman, who said she was in Raqqa, family members and community leaders confirmed to CNN affiliate that Hoda Muthana had indeed left her family to join ISIS. In March, she posted a photo of four passports to Twitter with the tweet, "Bonfire soon, no need for these anymore." Jordan Laporta, who graduated high school with Muthana, told CNN she was a bright and quiet girl who wore a hijab and kept to herself and her small group of friends. He said he was surprised to learn she was a jihadi, and asked about he devotion to Islam, he said he never spoke to her about it.

After Fresh Tragedy, Syrian Christian Leader Warns: 'We Could Disappear'

"We read in the Bible that [the Devil] is the father of lies, the master of money, and the lord of blood and death. We see all three in this war...  I think perhaps ultimately this is a Satanic work, because it�s almost impossible to understand otherwise." �Archbishop Jean-Cl�ment Jeanbart, head of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archparchy of Aleppo

By John L. Allen Jr.

CruxNow.com � April 28, 2015

One of the many dozens of Orthodox churches destroyed in Syria
by ISIS and its affiliates. (Photo: OrthodoxyToday)

While most of the world celebrated Easter 2015 with church services and family get-togethers, Christians in the Syrian city of Aleppo spent the holiday digging through rubble to locate the bodies of 15 people who died after a ferocious round of rocket bombs rained down on a Christian neighborhood.

It was merely the latest assault on Christians in the city, which has seen some of the most intense fighting between jihadists and Syrian forces.

Archbishop Jean-Cl�ment Jeanbart, head of the Melkite Greek Catholic Archparchy of Aleppo, was on the scene immediately afterwards. Among the lost was an entire Melkite Greek family of four, crushed to death when a section of their apartment building collapsed. One of Jeanbart�s grim responsibilities was to find a suitable spot for their burial, since the cemetery used by his Church for centuries is now a battle zone ringed by snipers.

It was hardly the 72-year-old prelate�s first taste of tragedy.

In October 2012, his own priest secretary and prot�g�, the Rev. Imad Daher, was nearly killed when a bomb exploded near the archbishop�s residence. Daher had to be helicoptered to Beirut for the first of seven surgeries, which, among other things, cost him one of his eyes.

Not long ago, Jeanbart himself was driving to Beirut when an armed band shot out the tires of his car and forced it from the road, perhaps with the aim of either killing or kidnapping him. (Abducting Christian clergy has become a cottage industry.) Jeanbart and his driver escaped when a military convoy happened to pass by, prompting the assailants to flee.

Prior to the war, Christians were 10 percent of Syria�s population, but faced with such carnage, scores have fled. The roots of the faith in the country reach back to the age of the apostles, but today Jeanbart warns ominously, �We could disappear.�

Despite it all, Jeanbart vows he will �never stop fighting� to keep the Church alive. (The Melkite Greek church is an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See.)

Jeanbart sat down for an exclusive interview with Crux on April 25 during a tour of the United States sponsored by Aid to the Church in Need, a Catholic group supporting persecuted Christians. Among other topics, he discussed calls for an international military response to ISIS, charges that Christian clergy in Syria are too close to the Assad regime, and the role played by Pope Francis on the Syrian conflict.

The following are excerpts from that conversation.

* * *

Crux: How many Christians are left in Aleppo?

Archbishop Jean-Cl�ment Jeanbart of Aleppo, Syria

Jeanbart: Before the war we were around 170,000. We don�t have reliable statistics today, but we may be around 100,000, maybe less. Most [who have left] aren�t very far away, in the southern part of the country or in Lebanon. On the other hand, some have gone to Europe, Canada, the United States, Australia, Sweden, and so on. We worry about these people, because we�re not sure they�ll ever come back.

After what happened on Easter, people don�t know what to do. They�re afraid we�ll have the same scenario as Mosul. (Mosul is an Iraqi city under ISIS domination where virtually all Christians have been driven out, and where militants destroyed Christian gravesites over Easter in an effort to eradicate remaining symbols of the faith.)

How are you helping people to hold on?

We provide a monthly stipend to around 475 families, with the idea being to pay them roughly half of what their salary used to be, since for the last two years there�s been no work. We offer food baskets, we pay scholarships to allow children to go to school, we provide some money for heating costs, we offer health care and we also offer shelter to those who need it.

Has the Melkite Greek Church had any priests kidnapped?

So far, just one. We have no news about him, and no means of communication [with his kidnappers].

Let�s say you were kidnapped and somebody wanted $100,000 to get you back. Would you want your Church to pay?

I hope it won�t happen, because I�m helping thousands of people. It�s not that I�m something special, but � the truth is that $100,000 would represent very little compared to what I�m offering my people. If it came to that, it would be a good bargain! But I am not sure if paying ransom is a good idea.

Where does the money you raise come from?

I�ve been a bishop for 20 years, and I�d never asked anyone for donations. Two years ago, when I saw what was happening, I wrote to a number of friends around the world, and they answered. There are also organizations such as Aid to the Church in Need that have helped, including some in the United States such as the Knights of Columbus.

My aim is more than emergency relief, because for the most part that�s coming. Caritas and the Red Cross are helping, we�re helping, and in a way basic needs are being satisfied. What�s most important is that afterwards, we can do something to help people reestablish themselves and to be able to stay.

This is my program, which we call �Built to Stay,� and it�s what I�m persuaded I have to do. I have to give Christians hope and confidence that their future could be good in this country.

Why is the Christian presence in Syria so important?

I feel responsible for the survival of a Church founded by the apostles themselves. The first Christians in Syria were baptized the day of the Pentecost in Jerusalem, by Peter and the other apostles. � They spread all over the region and founded the Church. The Lord gave me this responsibility in Syria, and I cannot simply accept that during my mandate, the Christians disappear. I�ll never stop fighting so they can hold on.

Do you believe there�s no alternative to an international military force to dislodge ISIS?

As far as Syria is concerned, there is an alternative. Nations such as the United States could pressure Turkey to stop allowing mercenaries to pass through its airports and borders. The same applies to Jordan. The army of Syria would be able to handle things very quickly if these terrorists are not fed money, weapons, fighters, and logistical support.

You don�t see a need for boots on the ground?

It is not needed. I would like an international coalition committed to stopping the war, but they don�t need to come in. They just need to stop feeding the insurrection and terrorism.

What about Iraq?

I would say the situation is different, because the country�s structures have been destroyed and they�re rebuilding their army and national unity. They may need more help.

Over the years, Christian clergy in Syria have been accused of being too close to the Assad regime. What�s the truth?

We are not pro-Assad. We�re in favor of a government that�s open to all denominations. We�re in favor of a secular government. It may be led by Assad or someone else, but that�s what we want.

Personally, I would say that Bashar al-Assad is a good man. I don�t want to pass judgment beyond that, but I�ve met him a couple of times and all my colleagues, my fellow bishops and the priests and nuns, appreciate him. That doesn�t mean he�s an angel.

Is the realistic choice not between Assad and democracy, but Assad and ISIS?

In a sense, yes. If we have to choose between ISIS and Assad, we choose Assad. If the choice were between a real democratic opposition and Assad, we�d wait and see. We�d leave our faithful free to do what they like.

It seems sometimes that all the countries of the world are against Assad, but we feel we don�t have any other alternative. Honest to God, this is the situation. I think [Assad] wants to reform. Let him prove his good intentions, and let�s give him the chance to see what he will do.

What�s your view of the role Pope Francis has played regarding the Syria conflict?

The first time I ever heard a [Syrian] government official saying a word of thanks to the Catholic Church was when our foreign minister, who�s the second most important figure in Syria, declared thanks for the Holy Father�s position against [Western] strikes on Syria in 2013.

For Syria, a Muslim country, to recognize that the only one in the world who stood with us and stopped it was very important. All Syrians will never forget it, and for us it will always be a source of pride. What would have happened would have destroyed all of Syria, like what happened in Iraq, what happened in Libya, and what�s happening now in Yemen.

Spiritually, how do you make sense of what�s happening in your country?

Reading the Gospel and trying to see things that way, I think about how the Devil manifests himself and his actions. We read in the Bible that he is the father of lies, the master of money, and the lord of blood and death. We see all three in this war: It�s a blend of money, lies, and blood. Of course I know there are strategic dimensions to it, but sometimes I think perhaps ultimately this is a Satanic work, because it�s almost impossible to understand otherwise.

Last fall, there was a Synod of Bishops on the family that triggered massive debates over matters such as Communion for the divorced and remarried and outreach to gays and lesbians, and this fall, another synod will likely take up the same issues. Does it frustrate you that the life-and-death challenges facing Christians in countries such as Syria often don�t seem to attract the same attention?

Yes, indeed. Of course the bishops have to talk about the topics they�ve been given, but the suffering and death of so many people in our country, and the huge sacrifices they are making to remain faithful to the Lord, seems to be forgotten. What I see, both in the Church and society in general, is that they�re discussing everything else, but they ignore the execution of our people.

ISIS Posting Pics of Targets in Rome and Milan via Social Media

Photos of handwritten notes in front of landmarks read, �We are on your streets, we are locating targets.�

Related:

• Ominous Sign of the Future: Muslim Migrants from Libya throw Christians Overboard
• For ISIS, 'All Roads lead to Rome'
• ISIS Targets Rome, 'Nation of the Cross', in Libya beheading video

Handwritten ISIS notes �in front of Rome, Milan monuments'

ANSA, April 28, 2015

(ANSA) � Rome, April 27 � ISIS supporters are tweeting photos of handwritten pieces of paper signed by ISIS being held in front of well-known locations and monuments in Rome and Milan, intelligence and counter-terrorism expert Rita Katz said on the website of her organisation SITE. �We are on your streets, we are locating targets,� the signs reportedly say.

Top Islamic Recipes Foods

There are over 55 Islamic countries around the world were many types of Halal Islamic Recipes are made. In this post we are going to share some of the top Islamic recipes which are also made specially in Ramadan by Muslims.

Al Kabsa: Its a famous Saudi Rice recipe.

Afghan Beef Raviolis:

Moroccan Spicy Salad:

Pakistani Biryani: this is perhaps Pakistan's most famous and most delicious recipe.

Kofta Kebabs:

Falafel:

Baba Ghanoush:

Lebanese Rice:

Ramadan is coming closer so you can try all these awesome recipes in it for Sehr and Iftar.

Raymond Ibrahim: 'The Islamic Genocide of Christians: Past and Present'

"There is no denying that religion � or in this context, the age-old specter of Muslim persecution of Christian minorities � was fundamental to the genocide of Armenians, Greeks, and Assyrians... This is daily demonstrated throughout the Islamic world today, where Muslim governments, mobs, and jihadis persecute Christian minorities � minorities who share the same ethnicity, language, and culture as Muslims, but not religion."

by Raymond Ibrahim � April 26, 2015

Last Friday, April 24, we remembered how exactly 100 years ago the last historic Muslim caliphate, the Ottoman Empire, tried to cleanse its empire of Christian minorities � Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks � even as we stand by watching as the new caliphate, the Islamic State, resumes the genocide.

And in both cases, the atrocities were and are being committed in the name of Islam.

In November, 1914, during WWI, the Ottoman caliphate issued a fatwa, or Islamic decree, proclaiming it a �sacred duty� for all Muslims to �massacre� infidels � specifically naming the �Christian men� of the Triple Entente, �the enemies of Islam� � with promises of great rewards in the afterlife.

The same Koran verses that the Islamic State and other jihadi outfits regularly quote permeated the Ottoman fatwa, including:  �Slay the idolaters wherever you find them � seize them, besiege them, and be ready to ambush them� (9:5) and �O you who have believed! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are but friends of each other; and whoever among you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them� (5:51) � and several other verses that form the Islamic doctrine of Loyalty and Enmity.

Many Muslims still invoke this doctrine; it commands Muslims to befriend and aid fellow Muslims, while having enmity for all non-Muslims (one Islamic cleric even teaches that Muslim husbands must hate their non-Muslim wives, while enjoying them sexually).

As happens to this very day, the Muslims of the Ottoman caliphate, not able to reach or defeat the stronger infidel � the �Christian men� of Britain, France, and Russia � satiated their bloodlust on their Christian subjects.  And they justified the genocide by projecting the Islamic doctrine of Loyalty and Enmity onto Christians � saying that, because Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks were Christian, they were naturally aiding the other �Christian men� of the West.

As happens to this day under the new caliphate � the Islamic State � the Ottoman caliphate crucified, beheaded, tortured, mutilated, raped, enslaved, and otherwise massacred countless �infidel� Christians.  The official number of Armenians killed in the genocide is 1.5 million; hundreds of thousands of Greeks and Assyrians each were also systematically slaughtered (see this document for statistics).

[See also The Orthodox Christian Holocaust, 1894-Present, with data compiled by Archimandrite Nektarios Serfes.]

(Although people often speak of the �Armenian Genocide,� often forgotten is that Assyrians and Greeks were also targeted for cleansing by the Ottoman caliphate.   The only thing that distinguished Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek subjects of the caliphate from Turkish subjects was that the three former were Christian.  As one Armenian studies professor asks, �If it [the Armenian Genocide] was a feud between Turks and Armenians, what explains the genocide carried out by Turkey against the Christian Assyrians at the same time?�)

Henry Morgenthau, the U.S. ambassador to the Ottoman Empire and personal witness of the atrocities, attested that �I am confident that the whole history of the human race contains no such horrible episode as this.�   He added that what the Turks were doing was �a carefully planned scheme to thoroughly extinguish the Armenian race.�  In 1918, Morgenthau wrote in Red Cross Magazine:

Will the outrageous terrorizing, the cruel torturing, the driving of women into the harems, the debauchery of innocent girls, the sale of many of them at eighty cents each [today the Islamic State sells enslaved Christians and  Yazidis for as little as $43], the murdering of hundreds of thousands and the deportation to, and starvation in, the deserts of other hundreds of thousands, the destruction of hundreds of villages and cities, will the willful execution of this whole devilish scheme to annihilate the Armenian, Greek and Syrian [or Assyrian] Christians of Turkey  �  will all this go unpunished?

Because this genocide of Christians is usually articulated through a singularly secular paradigm � one that recognizes only those factors deemed intelligible from a modern Western point of view, one that never uses the words �Christian� and �Muslim� but rather �Armenian� and �Turk� � few are able to connect these events from a century ago to today.

War, of course, is another factor that clouds the true face of the genocide.  Because it occurred during WWI, so the argument goes, it is ultimately a reflection of just that � war, in all its chaos and destruction, and nothing more.  This has been the stance of all successive Turkish governments. Turkish President Erdogan, who staunchly denies that his ancestors committed genocide against Christians by arguing that they were just wartime casualties, also absurdly accused China of committing �genocide� in 2009, when less than 100 Muslim Uighurs were killed in clashes with Chinese security.

War was � and, as shall be seen, still is � a pretext to sate jihadi barbarity.  Winston Churchill, who described the genocide as an �administrative holocaust,� correctly observed that �the opportunity [of World War I] presented itself for clearing Turkish soil of a Christian race.�  Talaat Pasha, one of the Ottoman Empire�s �dictatorial triumvirate� during WWI, pointed out that �Turkey is taking advantage of the war in order to thoroughly liquidate its internal foes, i.e., the indigenous Christians, without being thereby disturbed by foreign intervention.�

A century later, consider how Christian minorities today are still being systematically decapitated, crucified, tortured, raped, and enslaved � also under the pretext of war.  In every Arab nation the U.S. has helped oust (secular) autocrats � Iraq, Libya, Syria � indigenous Christian minorities have been massacred by the jihadi elements that were once contained by Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gaddafi, and Bashar Assad (read here for details).

The Islamic State�s recent slaughter of some 30 Christian Ethiopians in Libya � and two months earlier, 21 Christian Egyptians � is merely the latest serving of Christian persecution in post �Arab Spring� Libya.

Nor is this limited to the Arab world.  In Muslim-majority northern Nigeria, Muslims, spearheaded by the Islamic organization Boko Haram, are waging a savage jihad on the Christian minorities in their midst.  Boko Haram�s stated goal is to cleanse northern Nigeria of all Christians � a goal that should be reminiscent by now.

But even in non-war-torn nations, from Indonesia in the east to Morocco in the west, from Central Asia in the north, to sub-Sahara Africa � in lands of different races, colors, languages, politics and economics, in lands that share only a Muslim majority � Christians are, to varying degrees, being eradicated.  Indeed, in Turkey today, even indigenous Turks who convert to Christianity are regularly persecuted and sometimes slaughtered in the name of Islam. See my book, Crucified Again: Exposing Islam�s New War on Christians, for a comprehensive account of what may eventually culminate into the Genocide of the 21st century.

There is no denying that religion � or in this context, the age-old specter of Muslim persecution of Christian minorities � was fundamental to the genocide of Armenians, Greeks, and Assyrians.  Even the most cited factor, ethnic identity conflict, while legitimate, must be understood in light of the fact that, historically, religion sometimes accounted more for a person�s identity than language or heritage � certainly it did for Muslims, in context of Loyalty and Enmity.   This is daily demonstrated throughout the Islamic world today, where Muslim governments, mobs, and jihadis persecute Christian minorities � minorities who share the same ethnicity, language, and culture as Muslims, but not religion � often in retaliation to the West (just as the Ottomans, as seen, were also �retaliating� to the Triple Entente).

Finally, to understand how the Ottoman Genocide of Christians is representative of the modern-day plight of Christians under Islam in general, the Islamic State in particular, one need only read the following words written in 1918 by President Theodore Roosevelt � but read �Armenian� as �Christian� and �Turkish� as �Islamic�:

The Armenian [Christian] massacre was the greatest crime of the war, and the failure to act against Turkey [the Islamic world] is to condone it� the failure to deal radically with the Turkish [Islamic] horror means that all talk of guaranteeing the future peace of the world is mischievous nonsense.

Indeed, if we �fail to deal radically� with the �horror� currently being visited upon millions of Christians around the Islamic world � which in some areas has reached genocidal proportions according to the United Nations � we �condone it� and had better cease talking �mischievous nonsense� of a utopian world of peace and tolerance.

Put differently, silence is always the ally of those who would commit genocide.  In 1939, on the eve of World WWII, Hitler rationalized his genocidal plans against the Jews, when he reportedly asked: �Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?�

And who speaks today of the ongoing annihilation of Christians under Islam?

Pictures from the Ceremony held at the Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex

Courtesy of OCP Media, April 24, 2015

Many more photos and links to additional sources at OCP Media.

Christians Pay Islam�s Price for Freedom: Muslim Persecution of Christians, January 2015

Following the Charlie Hebdo murders in Paris, Muslims around the Islamic world avenged Muhammad over the satirical magazine's cartoons of the false prophet by attacking Christian minorities in the context of �collective punishment.�

by Raymond Ibrahim � April 19, 2015

The New Year began with Muslim gunmen killing a dozen people at the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris on January 7.  The attack was motivated by the publication of unflattering caricatures of Islam�s prophet Muhammad.

Lesser known is that, all throughout the Islamic world, the magazine�s caricatures of Muhammad were blamed on Christianity by Muslims who seem not to realize that the magazine habitually pokes fun at Christ, Moses, and all other religious figures.   In Palestinian territories, for example, protesters held up a sign with images of the Muslim killers behind the Charlie Hebdo massacre; the caption below said �Expect more from the champions of Islam, O you slaves of the Cross� (bold in original Arabic).

Accordingly, Muslims around the Islamic world attacked Christian minorities in the context of �collective punishment.�

In Niger, Muslim mobs, reportedly spurred on by the Islamic terrorist group, Boko Haram, torched approximately 45 Christian churches, a Christian school and orphanage, two nuns� convents, and pastors� homes in response to the Muhammad cartoons.  At least 10 people were killed in the clashes; pastors in the capital Niamey said anyone associated with churches�anyone exposed as Christian�was targeted.

According to a nun who escaped the violence, �the intention was to torch all the churches with us inside them� and thus �burn us alive!�  Added the nun: �Boko Haram students believe they must kill Christians in order to take their place in paradise but we won�t surrender to fear because love must prevail over hatred.�

In Pakistan, some 300 Muslim students armed with iron bars and sticks and shouting anti-Christian slogans, attacked a Christian boys� school in �retaliation� to the Muhammad cartoons, leaving four Christian students injured.  According to eyewitnesses, the three officers deployed to guard the school stood by and watched.

Regarding this attack, Nasir Saeed, director of the NGO Center for Legal Aid Assistance & Settlement, said: �It is very sad that Islamic radicals attack Pakistani Christians because of Charlie Hebdo. Christians condemn the blasphemous cartoons. It is a shame that even after 67 years since the birth of Pakistan, Christians have not yet been considered Pakistani citizens, but are seen as �Western allies��.  Whenever incidents occur in western countries, the faithful Pakistanis are attacked. Christians, who are already living under constant fear for their lives, become even more vulnerable.�

In fact, from an Islamic perspective, peoples are not classified according to nationality but religion.  It is irrelevant that those who insult the prophet of Islam are French, or European, or American.  To Muslims around the world, all those terms are synonymous with �Christians.�  Thus, years before the world heard of �ISIS,� Christian minorities in Iraq were being targeted and killed �over their religious ties with the West.�

The rest of January�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.

Death and Destruction at Christian Churches

Egypt: The courtyard of St. George the Martyr, a partially constructed Catholic church in Hijazh village, was set on fire by unknown persons on Christmas day (January 7 for Egyptian Christians).  Christian worshipers were planning on praying in the church�s courtyard � since the church building had been left unfinished for 23 years due to Muslim protests�and had furnished the courtyard with chairs and tents.  They �were surprised� to find �flames� engulf much of the courtyard.  In 2010, a wooden church build aside the unfinished church was also burned down, though at that time faulty electricity was blamed.  Pictures can be seen here.   Separately, on January 25� the anniversary of Egypt�s �Arab Spring��gun shots were fired at the church of St. Raphael the Archangel in Maadi.  Several Coptic Christians were killed, including a child, Mina Rifa�at.  In other areas, such as Beni Suef, security forces closed the streets around the churches to prevent attacks by Muslim Brotherhood affiliated gangs.  According to the local bishop, Antonios Aziz Mina, �clashes occurred between the police and groups linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, that aim to credit the image of a still destabilized Egypt.�

Italy:  Churches, crosses, and religious statues were attacked in the European, Catholic-majority nation:  On New Year�s Day, a 67-year-old Moroccan man seen mumbling verses from the Koran hurled to the ground and severely damaged five statues and other religious objects in the parish church of Santa Maria Assunta in Cles, Trentino.   He used an iron rod to throw to the ground the statue of the Madonna and Child, the Immaculate, those of Our Lady of the Rosary and Our Lady of Sorrows and the statue of St. Joseph with the Child.  The Koran-quoting vandal also targeted the marble altar and the baptistery�which were shattered�two altars and a large painting of the Assumption.  All damaged items are cataloged at the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage of the Autonomous Province of Trento.  The man was arrested by police on the charge of aggravated damage.   Then, on January 9, in the chapel of St. Barnabas in Perugia, as a man was kneeling in prayer before a St. Mary statue, while holding the photograph of a loved one, five �foreigners,� described as being of North African descent, attacked him: �The first thing they did was rip the photo from his hands.  Next they unleashed their hatred against the image of the Virgin Mary. They broke the statue to pieces and then urinated on it.� Finally, on January 17, a crucifix was destroyed in Cinisello Balsamo, a municipality in the Province of Milan, in close proximity to a populated mosque.  The municipality�s Councillor, Giuseppe Berlin, did not mince words concerning the identity of the culprit(s): �It�s time to put an end to the do-gooders� policies of welcoming and integrating by a certain political party.  Before we put a show of unity with Muslims, let�s have them begin by respecting our civilization and our culture. We shouldn�t minimize the importance of certain signals; we must wake up now or our children will suffer the consequences of this dangerous and uncontrolled Islamic invasion.�

Kenya:   An unknown gunman shot a Christian dead at the gate leading to a church on Sunday, January 11 in Mombasa.  One of two men following 25-year-old George Muriki as he arrived with two other church members at the gate leading to Maximum Revival Ministries Church shot him three times in the back, after mistaking him for the church pastor.  According to the pastor, �The two other church members, who happened to be ladies, were pushed aside and one of the attackers said, �This is the church pastor,� and there and then the attackers fired three times right at the back of George, who died at the spot�.  My life is in danger�I know I was the target, but God protected�.  Someone has been following me for the last one month.�  The pastor later named his stalker as one �Mohammed.� �The school hall also is not safe,� he added. �We have to move to another location; otherwise we are going to lose many members who are now afraid to come to church.�

Nigeria:  During a New Year church service, an Islamic suicide bomber blew himself up at the gates of a church in the city of Gombe.  Eight people were wounded.  In the words of a Red Cross official: �This morning [January 1] while people were in church for the New Year worship, a suicide attacker rode on a motorcycle trying to gain entrance to the premises of the church. When he was stopped at the gates by the church guards � he blew himself up and injured eight people.�  Separately, after several Western mainstream media reported that Nigeria�s Muslims protected Christian churches during Christmas Day celebrations, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) debunked such claims, saying in a statement: �It has become imperative for us to clarify this falsehood and confusion in local and international media. Many of our members have been calling and asking questions whether a Church was protected from being attacked by Muslims in [the] Sabo area on Christmas day? And we said it is not true.� CAN added that not one of 600 churches was protected by Muslims on Christmas., contrary to Western media reports.

Pakistan: On December 29, a Protestant Christian church was set on fire, leaving the Christian community in �dismay and terror.� According to Pastor Qamar Zaman, in charge of the pastoral care of the affected community, �it is an act of intimidation to spread terror and create enmity between Christians and Muslims.�  Responding to this incident, lawyer and activist Sardar Mushtaq Gill said: �Christians in Pakistan suffer from a sense of distrust and fear. Extremists continue to sow terror in the minds of citizens and have no regard either towards the people or the holy places. They want to create disharmony among the faiths in Pakistan and create unrest in the country. Our answer can only be a response of faith and prayer.�

Syria: On January 9, a  number of Christian churches in Aleppo, some around 200 years old, were bombed by Islamic rebels.  Among them was the Armenian Catholic Cathedral, St. Rita � or, �Our Lady of Pity,� built in 1830 � which was left partially destroyed (pictures here).  According to the Aleppo-based Rev. Fr. Krikor Milad, the bombing took place around 5:30 a.m., while everyone slept: �If the bombing had taken place just two hours later, the church would have been full of worshippers.  God saved them.�  Four months earlier, the Armenian Genocide Memorial and Church of Der Zor was destroyed by the Islamic State.  Separately, on January 30, two pickups carrying twenty armed members of the Islamic State entered the Assyrian town of Tel Hormizd in Hassaka and forced the residents to remove the cross from the church tower. The leader threatened to bomb the church if the cross was not removed. Unable to defend themselves, the residents complied with the order.  And the aftermath of the March 2014 Islamist takeover of the Armenian town of Kessab was detailed in a Telegraph report following the Christian town�s liberation by government forces.  The report tells of the many churches destroyed, crosses broken, and images of Christ and Virgin Mary defaced: �The perpetrators had shown both purpose and glee in their destruction of Christian sites in this ancient Armenian town. Statues were riddled with bullets and Islamist slogans were scrawled across the walls of homes and shops�.  Nearby, the Holy Trinity Armenian Evangelical church was little more than a burned shell. Walls were blackened by smoke; wooden pews, tapestries, Bibles and kneeling cushions had all been incinerated in a fire that appeared to have raged until there was nothing left to burn.�  Zavinar Sargdegian, a 58-year-old resident, explained her ordeal: �I was at home with my husband when they raided the house.  They broke down the front door. They pushed us on to the street. We were on our knees and they put a gun to our heads. From the road I saw the Angelic Church burning. Fire was coming out of the doors and windows.�

Death to Apostates 

Uganda:  A Muslim father and imam, or prayer leader, beat his 15-year-old daughter to death for converting to Christianity and was reportedly trying to kill her hospitalized, traumatized 12-year-old sister, also for abandoning Islam for Christ.  According to a local source, around mid-December, �Their father got the information that his daughters have converted, and he organized a small group of fellow Muslims, about 17 people, to go and attack the Christians.  He found the [church] campaign had finished but went back to his home and waited for the daughters. When they went back home, the father picked up the club and started beating them badly till one called Jamirah died.�  The younger, Saidah, described her ordeal as follows: �My father took us to the house and then locked the house.  He questioned us why we attended a Christian meeting and started beating us up with a club. My sister was hit on the forehead and fell down. I tried to hide myself in the bed, but he got me out and began beating me up as my sister lay down bleeding.�  Saidah began shouting for help, but her father covered her mouth with such force that she nearly suffocated. She fell down, unconscious.  A pastor eventually helped her to �a medical clinic, where she was treated for two weeks, while her father began organizing area Muslims to kill her.� 

Murder and Dhimmitude

Egypt: On January 13, a Christian man was shot to death in broad daylight �for what family members believe was their refusal to drop charges against the suspect�s relatives in other religiously motivated killings in 2013.�  The gunman, Hasan Baghdadi, was arrested the following day.  He and his brother, Mohamed, ambushed 38-year-old Shaheed Nesemis Saroufeem�a cousin of a Christian who was killed along with three other Copts in July 2013.  The Baghdadi brothers are related to at least one of those accused in the 2013 killing.  Mohamed, said local Copts, is an Islamist who regularly incites violence against Christians in the area.  Separately, another young Coptic Christian girl, Sabrine Mushir, was kidnapped in the village of Dalga.  Coptic activists complained that not a single person from among the authorities and security apparatus did a single thing to try to find the hapless girl.  As one family member opined, �If this was the daughter of one of the local authorities, she would have been retrieved in seconds.� Dalga, where the young Christian girl was kidnapped, is the same Upper Egyptian village where, in September 2013,  Muslim Brotherhood sympathizers forced the Christian inhabitants to pay Islamic jizya�the money, or tribute, that conquered non-Muslims historically had to pay to their Islamic overlords �with willing submission and while feeling themselves subdued,� in the words of Koran 9:29.  In some cases, those not able to pay were attacked, their wives and children beaten and/or kidnapped.

Iraq:  The Islamic State expelled 10 elderly Christians from Mosul after they refused to renounce their Christian faith and convert to Islam. On Wednesday, January 7 the group of elders�some with serious health problems�was welcomed in Kirkuk, after spending two days in the cold and traveling in �no man�s land.�  �They had thrown us out from our villages and our homes to occupy them�said one Rachel�and then we were all clumped together in a residence in Mosul.

Kazakhstan: Nikolai Novikov, a devoted Baptist church member, was banned from leaving the country and faced other charges because he refused to pay fines equivalent to a monthly wage for attending a Christian worship meeting without state permission: �I didn�t pay because I don�t consider myself guilty,� said the Christian, who was also jailed for five days.  Novikov, a 34-year-old married father of four living in the city of Oral (Uralsk), is among the most vocal voices against a government crackdown on Christians who gather without state permission or express their faith openly.

About this Series

The persecution of Christians in the Islamic world has become endemic.  Accordingly, �Muslim Persecution of Christians� was developed to collate some�by no means all�of the instances of persecution that surface each month. It serves two purposes:

1)          To document that which the mainstream media does not: the habitual, if not chronic, persecution of Christians.

2)          To show that such persecution is not �random,� but systematic and interrelated�that it is rooted in a worldview inspired by Islamic Sharia.

Accordingly, whatever the anecdote of persecution, it typically fits under a specific theme, including hatred for churches and other Christian symbols; apostasy, blasphemy, and proselytism laws that criminalize and sometimes punish with death those who �offend� Islam; sexual abuse of Christian women; forced conversions to Islam;  theft and plunder in lieu of jizya (financial tribute expected from non-Muslims); overall expectations for Christians to behave like cowed dhimmis, or third-class, �tolerated� citizens; and simple violence and murder. Sometimes it is a combination thereof.

Because these accounts of persecution span different ethnicities, languages, and locales�from Morocco in the West, to Indonesia in the East�it should be clear that one thing alone binds them: Islam�whether the strict application of Islamic Sharia law, or the supremacist culture born of it.

Previous Reports available here...