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Mojo_PeiPei · 10-17-2006, 09:03 PM

"Moderate" is the word eh?

Familiar, this is, I have seen this before... Ustwo addressed that here http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthr...ight=Indonesia, but for arguments sake....

Quote:

Persecution of Christians in Sudan

There is an abundance of evidence since the early 1990s of oppression and persecution of Christians, including by Sudan's own Sudan Human Rights Organization, which in mid-1992 reported on forcible closure of churches, expulsion of priests, forced displacement of populations, forced Islamisation and Arabisation, and other repressive measures of the Government. In 1994 it also reported on widespread torture, ethnic cleansing and crucifixion of pastors. Pax Christi has also reported on detailed cases in 1994, as has Africa Watch. Roman Catholic bishop Macram Max Gassis, Bishop of El Obeid, also reported to the Fiftieth Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, in Geneva, in February 1994 on accounts of widespread destrucution of hundreds of churches, forced conversions of Christians to Islam, concentration camps, genocide of the Nuba people, systematic rape of women, enslavement of children, torture of priests and clerics, burning alive of pastors and catechists, crucifixion and mutiliation of priests. The foregoing therefore serve to indict the Sudanese Government itself for flagrant violations of human rights and religious freedom.

In addition, it is estimated that over 1.5 million Christians have been killed by the Sudanese army, the Janjaweed, and even suspected Islamists in northern Sudan since 1984.

It should also be noted that Sudan's several so-called civil wars (which often take the form of genocidal campaigns) are often not only or purely religious in nature, but also ethnic, as many black Muslims, as well as Muslim Arab tribesmen, have also been killed in the conflicts. It is difficult to ascertain how many deaths are due to the conflict and how many are due to the numerous famines which have affected Sudan, costing thousands of lives.
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Persecution of Christians in Pakistan
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Blasphemy Laws

In Pakistan, 1.5% of the population are Christian. Pakistani law mandates that any "blasphemies" of the Quran are to be met with punishment. On July 28, 1994, Amnesty International urged Pakistan's Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto to change the law because it was being used to terrorize religious minorities. She tried but was unsuccessful. However, she modified the laws to make them more moderate. Her changes were reversed by the Nawaz Sharif administration which was backed by Islamic Fundamentalists.

Ayub Masih, a Christian, was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death in 1998. He was accused by a neighbor of stating that he supported British writer, Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses. Lower appeals courts upheld the conviction. However, before the Pakistan Supreme Court, his lawyer was able to prove that the accuser had used the conviction to force Mashi's family off their land and then acquired control of the property. Masih has been released [5].

On September 22, 2006, a Pakistani Christian named Shahid Masih was arrested and jailed for allegedly violating Islamic "blasphemy laws" in Pakistan. He is presently held in confinement and has expressed fear of reprisals by Islamic Fundamentalists[6].
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Attacks on Pakistani Christians by Islamists

On October 28, 2001 in Lahore, Pakistan, Islamic militants killed 15 Christians at a church. On September 25, 2002 two terrorists entered the "Peace and Justice Institute", Karachi, where they separated Muslims from the Christians, and then executed eight Christians by shooting them in the head.[citation needed]

On September 25, 2002, unidentified gunmen shot dead seven people at a Christian charity in Karachi's central business district. They entered the third-floor offices of the Institute for Peace and Justice (IPJ) and shot their victims in the head. All of the victims were Pakistani Christians. Karachi police chief Tariq Jamil said the victims had their hands tied and their mouths had been covered with tape. Pakistani Christians have alleged that they have "become increasingly victimised since the launch of the US-led international war on terror."[7]

In November 2005, 3,000 militant Islamists attacked Christians in Sangla Hill in Pakistan and destroyed Roman Catholic, Salvation Army and United Presbyterian churches. The attack was over allegations of violation of blasphemy laws by a Pakistani Christian named Yousaf Masih. The attacks were widely condemned by some political parties in Pakistan[8]. However, Pakistani Christians have expressed disappointment that they have not received justice. Samson Dilawar, a parish priest in Sangla Hill, has said that the police have not committed to trial any of the people who were arrested for committing the assaults, and that the Pakistani government did not inform the Christian community that a judicial inquiry was underway by a local judge. He continued to say that Muslim clerics "make hateful speeches about Christians" and "continue insulting Christians and our faith".[9].

In February 2006, churches and Christian schools were targeted in protests over the publications of the Jyllands-Posten cartoons in Denmark, leaving two elderly women injured and many homes and properties destroyed. Some of the mobs were stopped by police[10].

In August 2006, a church and Christian homes were attacked in a village outside of Lahore, Pakistan in a land dispute. Three Christians were seriously injured and one missing after some 35 Muslims burned buildings, desecrated Bibles and attacked Christians[11].

Based, in part, on such incidents, Pakistan was recommended by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in May 2006 to be designated as a "Country of Particular Concern" (CPC) by the Department of State.[12].
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Attacks on Christians by Islamists in Indonesia

Religious conflicts have typically occurred in western New Guinea, Maluku (particularly Ambon), and Sulawesi. The presence of Muslims in these regions is largely due to Suharto's transmigrasi plan of population re-distribution. Conflicts have often occurred because of the aims of radical Islamist organisations such as Jemaah Islamiah or Laskar Jihad to impose Sharia. The following list is far from comprehensive:

1998 - 500 Christian churches burned down in Java.

November, 1998 - 22 churches in Jakarta are burned down. 13 Christians killed.

Christmas Day 1998 - 180 homes and stores owned by Christians are destroyed in Poso, Central Sulawesi.

Easter 2000 - 800 homes and stores owned by Christians are destroyed in Poso, Central Sulawesi.

May 23, 2000 - Christians fight back against a Muslim mob. 700 people die.

June, 2001 - the Laskar Jihad declares Jihad against Christians. Muslim citizens are recruited by the thousands to exterminate Christians.

May 28, 2005 - A bomb is exploded in a crowded market in Tentena, killing 28. This marks the highest death toll due to bombing after the devastating attacks in Bali.[13]

On October 29, 2005 three school girls were found beheaded near Poso. The girls, students at Central Sulawesi Christian Church, were killed by six unidentified assailants while on their way to class.

Again Pakistan's cooperation is only due to the regime's preference, a defacto dictator, who has been the victim of 3 assassination attempts, who has entirely to many problems with Islamists in the military, who exerts little to no control in the Taliban sympathetic/controlled Pushtan region. This is a country that was blowning up churches after erroneous news stories about Quran desecration at Gitmo. Musareff is only as moderate and helpful as it suits him, on that note, I wonder where Bin Laden is???

India- Historical reference fact, where have the bloodiest religious wars ever been fought? When? What religions? Case in point India/Pakistan, four wars this century 47', 65', 71', 98', Moslems and Hindu's. Building off that seems to me problems and Kashmir still exist, also this doesn't take into account the problems in Bangladesh's formation. I wonder why they might want to fight in our war on terror? because they have been dealing with Islamic extremists for 60+ years!

Turkey- let's ask the Kurds what they think, also I am a little disconcerted about their whole reaction to the Pope's comments awhile back. They've seem to been dealing with their own inner problems with terrorism, some destructive acts, I wonder if it is not a discontent population or Al Qaeda?

Egypt- Ustwo made a good point in the linked above thread... they are the second biggest recipent of America aid. Similar to other countries they also have serious internal problems with Islamic extremists, seems to me a certain leader of theirs was assassinated a few decades back...

Also your point about Iraq and Sharian law bring up its own plethora of issues to deal with. Namely that Iran is starting to excert massive influnence in Iraq, don't know if you know but Iran is Shiite, so is majority of Iraq, there was a war that killed a million people, Saddam was secular ran off the clerics to Iran, they are back, there are ones like Al- Sadr one of the biggest problems we are facing. That's a lazy detailed commentary. I think most people monitoring the situation in Iraq, see it has a problem that Sharia law is being adapted, especially because of the situation with Iran.