"Islamic! Islamic!

"
Muslim Persecutions of Christians, April, 2015
by Raymond Ibrahim
June 20, 2015 at 5:00 am
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6001/islamic-persecution

He could hear from inside his room where he was hiding the gunmen opening
doors and inquiring if the people inside were Muslims or Christians.

"The motorbike riders got down from their bike and started beating [Christian
journalist] Shamim Masih and... warned him that if he did not stop reporting on
Christian issues, they knew his family and home and would teach him and his
family a lesson." Nazir S. Batti, Pakistan Christian Congress Party.

"The city of Mosul alone had 45 churches. Now there is not a single one. The
buildings have been destroyed. Four hundred churches have been destroyed in
Syria. ... The same is happening in Nigeria, Pakistan, and Northern Africa."
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia

"What happened to Christians in Iraq and Syria... does not receive Arabic media
coverage that befits human beings, whatever their religion." Hani
Naqshabandi, Saudi writer.

Islamic State Slaughters Christian Ethiopians

Just two months after the Islamic State [IS] published a video depicting its membersslaughtering 21
Coptic Christians in Libya, on Sunday, April 19, the jihadi Islamic groupreleased another video of
more Christians in Libya -- approximately 30 Ethiopians -- disparagingly referred to by an IS
spokesman as "worshippers of the cross" -- being butchered for not paying jizya, extortion money
demanded of the "People of the Book" who refuse to convert to Islam, according to Koran 9:29.
Some of the Christians were shot execution-style in the back of their heads, the others had their
heads carved off, like the Copts before them.
The IS spokesman further addressed "Christians everywhere":
We say to Christians everywhere, the Islamic State will expand, with Allah's permission. And it will
reach you even if you are in fortified strongholds. So whoever enters Islam will have security, and
whoever accepts the Dhimmahcontract [subjugated, third-class treatment and social status] will have
security. But whoever refuses will see nothing from us but the edge of a spear. The men will be killed

and the children will be enslaved, and their wealth will be taken as booty. This is the judgment of
Allah and His Messenger.
In a statement, the Coptic Christian Church of Egypt pointed out that the Ethiopian martyrs, like the
21 Copts before them, were "murdered purely for refusing to renounce their faith."
Al Shabaab Murders 147, Separates Muslims from Christians
On April 2 in Kenya, gunmen from the Somali Islamic group, Al Shabaab -- "the [Islamic] youth" -stormed Garissa University, singled out Christian students, and murdered them, beheading some. A
total of 147 people were killed in the attack -- making this jihad more "spectacular" than the 2013 Al
Shabaab attack on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, which left 67 people dead (then too, Islamic
gunmen singled out Christians for slaughter).
Islamic gunmen were careful to separate Christians from Muslims before beginning the carnage,
eyewitnesses said. (While Kenya is 83% Christian, it still has an 11% Muslim minority.) Collins
Wetangula, vice chairman of the student union, said he could hear, from inside his room where he
was hiding, the gunmen opening doors and inquiring if the people inside were Muslims or Christians.
"If you were a Christian you were shot on the spot. With each blast of the gun I thought I was going
to die."
Al Shabaab has a long history of singling out Christians from among Muslims for slaughter
(here are four examples). Other jihadi groups, including Boko Haram and the Islamic State, also
make it a point to select out Christians before slaughtering them -- a fact often omitted by the
"mainstream media."
Egyptian Churches under Attack
On April 5, as Coptic Christians were celebrating Palm Sunday, a church was attacked in Alexandria,
Egypt. Gunmen in a vehicle opened fire on the church during the night, injuring a police officer and
two civilians.
On April 12, Easter Sunday according to the Orthodox calendar, two explosions targeting
churches took place in the Zagazig area. One car explosion took place near a Coptic Orthodox
church and another bomb exploded near the Evangelical Church in the same area. Although no
casualties were reported, large numbers could have easily resulted, based on precedent. For
example, on January 1, 2011, as Egypt's Christians ushered in the New Year, car bombs went off
near the Two Saints Church in Alexandria, resulting in 23 dead worshippers and dozens critically
injured.
Muslims rioted because President Sisi had agreed that Copts could build a church in Al-Our, where
13 of the 21 Christians beheaded by the Islamic State had grown up, and where their families still

live. Local Muslims arose in violence soon after Islamic prayers on Friday, April 3. They shouted that
they would never allow a church to be built, that "Egypt is Islamic!" By nightfall, Molotov cocktails and
stones were thrown at another Coptic church, cars were set ablaze -- including one belonging to a
relative of a man decapitated by the Islamic State -- and several people were injured.[1]
A day later, on April 4, Muslims rioted and attacked the Christians of the village of Gala', Samalout
district. After waiting for years to repair their dilapidated church (see pictures), local Copts finally
received all the proper permits to begin restoration. Soon Coptic homes, businesses and persons
were attacked with hurled rocks. Christian-owned farms were destroyed and their crops uprooted.
Islamic slogans were constantly shouted, including "There is no god but Allah" and "Islamic! Islamic!"
After waiting for 44 years, the Christians of Nag Shenouda, in the city of Sohag, finally received the
necessary permit to build a new church. Muslims rioted and burned down the tent the Christians had
erected to worship under. The Christians of Nag Shenouda were forced to celebrate Easter in the
street (picture here). When one of them tried to hold a worship service in his home, a Muslim mob
attacked him and his household.
More Islamic Attacks on Christian Churches
Syria: The Islamic State destroyed at least three churches under its control:
On Easter Sunday, the Islamic State destroyed the Virgin Mary Church -- an Assyrian church built
and consecrated in 1934 -- in Tel Nasri, northeast Syria. Tel Nasri, loosely translated as "Christian
Hill," is one of the dozens of Assyrian Christian villages along the Khabur river; all were attacked and
occupied by the Islamic State in late February (more here and here).
On April 28, the St. Odisho Assyrian Church in Tel Tal, and the St. Rita Tilel Armenian Church in
Aleppo, were also destroyed.
Nigeria: A Muslim mob set fire to a church in a Christian village in Nigeria's northern Kano State on
April 1. Muslims were searching for a young man in order to kill him; he had renounced Islam and reconverted to Christianity. The mob with machetes also attacked Christian villagers, torched the home
of a pastor, and killed one of his daughters. According to a local official, General Dikko:
The church and all the properties were burnt down in the presence of the Christian community
despite all pleadings for them to stop the destruction. The arsonists gathered cornstalks and put
them inside the church in order to cause greater damage.... We have the right to belong to any
religion of our choice and live anywhere in this country. We call on the authorities at all levels to rise
up to their responsibilities of protecting lives and properties of every citizen in this country.
Pakistan: Two assailants on motorbikes opened fire on the main gates of a church and Christian
school in Lahore; in the crossfire, two passersby were injured.

Malaysia: On Sunday, April 19, a Muslim mob of approximately 50 people rioted and
protestedagainst a small Protestant church in the capital of Kuala Lumpur The object of their wrath
was the cross atop the building of worship. Members of the mob said that the cross, the central
symbol of Christianity, represented "a challenge to Islam" and could "influence the faith of young
people." The cross was removed.
More Muslim Slaughter of Christians
High Seas: On April 16, during a recent crossing from Libya, Muslim migrants threw as many as 53
Christians overboard, according to police in Sicily. The reported motive was that the victims
"professed the Christian faith while the aggressors were Muslim." Another report said that the reason
the Christians were thrown overboard is because a boy was seen praying to the Judeo-Christian
God. Muslims commanded him to stop, saying "Here, we only pray to Allah." Eventually the Muslims,
in the words of a witness, "went mad," and started screaming, "Allahu Akbar!;" then began hurling
Christians into the sea.[2]
Nigeria: "All 276 Christian schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014 may have been among a
group of women slaughtered by Boko Haram last month [March], Nigerian media reported Monday,
April 6,"[3] according to a "U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights."
Syria: Islamic rebels fired rockets at a Christian neighborhood in Aleppo on the night of April 10-11.
The attack left massive destruction in the eastern section of the predominantly Assyrian and
Armenian Sulaymaniyah district. At least 40 people, mostly Assyrians -- including women and
children -- were killed. An Assyrian Catholic Cathedral was also shelled, injuring three civilians. "Our
Easter feast has turned to grief," a nun in Aleppo said: "Some people woke up to find themselves
without a home and others did not see the life died under the rubble because they were victims of
violence."
Egypt: A Muslim man repeatedly stabbed a Christian woman with a knife, then threw her body into a
canal. The Coptic woman, Gamila Basilious, 48-years-old and married, lived in Minya. According to
police reports, the man, Mahmoud Hassan Abdulhamid, came to her door inquiring about her
husband. When he discovered her husband was not present, he took advantage of the situation by
attacking her with a knife, repeatedly stabbing her neck and chest. As "infidels," Coptic Christians
are regularly attacked in Egypt. The attacks include kidnapping, church attacks, and random
slaughter.
Islamic Attacks on Christian Freedom: Apostasy, Blasphemy, Proselytization
Uganda: Five Muslim men gang-raped and beat a Christian pastor's 17-year-old daughter. The
attacks were reportedly done in "retaliation" for the pastor's refusal to stop Christian worship services
in a Muslim-majority region. The girl was approaching the New Hope Church building where her

father serves as pastor when she was abducted and taken to nearby bushes by the rapists. In her
words:
The five Muslims took hold of me, and they raped me there. I tried to scream, but they threatened to
kill me. One of them said, "Your father should stop this prayer meeting of trying to change Muslims to
become Christians and close the church building we have warned him several times.
The suspects fled when church members arrived for an all-night prayer vigil. They rushed her to a
local clinic, where she was treated for serious injuries and mental trauma. According to her father,
"The girl still has problems communicating. She just says a few words and then keeps quiet. She
needs trauma counseling." Earlier, the father had received messages threatening him and
demanding he cease holding Christian worship services. One text message said, "Be you informed
that we do not want your church in this area. If you continue worship here, then you will live to regret
it."
Bangladesh: A Muslim mob attacked a former Muslim and his wife for converting to Christianity. The
couple was attacked while coming home after being baptized. The man was slapped across the face
by a Muslim imam in front of the convert's two young children. The Islamic mob further broke the
fence of the new Christians' family home and said they would chase the "apostates" out of the village
for leaving Islam. The man who baptized the couple was also attacked, beaten by the mob at his
home, and later lost his job.
Egypt: Gad Yunan, a Coptic Christian teacher, and five of his Coptic students were arrested on the
charge of "contempt of religions." Their "crime" was to have made a 30-second video on Yunan's
iPhone, poking fun at the Islamic State -- which Egypt's Muslims and authorities apparently equate
with making fun of Islam, even as Muslims in the West insist that IS has "nothing to do with Islam."
Yunan was "banished" from his village of al-Nasriya in an effort to appease local Muslims; they had
reacted to the video with violence, including pelting the homes and businesses of Christians with
stones. According to Khamis, Yunan's brother: "I don't see any insulting of Islam in the video. They
were joking and making fun of Daesh (the Arabic acronym for IS), not Islam. My brother didn't intend
to insult the Islamic religion." [4]
Ethiopia: Gemechu Jorgo and Sheikh Amin -- two men who were distributing Bibles in Ethiopia's
Melka Belo region -- were arrested. Islamic law bans the advertisement and dissemination of any
religion other than Islam. While imprisoned, both men endured harassment and physical abuse by
authorities. At one point, Jorgo reminded District Administrator Jamal Adam of his constitutional right
to practice his Christian faith freely. In response, the Muslim administrator used Jorgo's Bible to slap
him in the face three times. Amin, formerly a Muslim sheikh and prayer leader of a mosque, is a
recent convert to Christianity. While in prison, officials persistently pressured the apostate to
renounce Christ and return to Islam. He refused. Both men were eventually released. Ethiopia is a
Christian-majority nation, although Muslims make up about one-third of the population.

Uzbekistan: Reports appearing in April told of the harassing, jailing and fining of several Christians
for exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief. One of the prisoners of conscience -- Council
of Churches Baptist Doniyor Akhmedov -- was fined more than three years' official minimum wage
after his release from 15 days in jail. Other prisoners of conscience to be jailed for short periods
include a Protestant in Bukhara, who received seven days' imprisonment for "illegal" religious activity,
and another Protestant, who received 10 days' jail time for "teaching religion illegally." Their identities
remain anonymous for fear that they might suffer further reprisals. Nine more Protestants were fined
for "illegally storing" Christian literature and materials. Their homes were raided by police, who
confiscated Christian books, CDs and DVDs. "Religious minorities face tight scrutiny in Uzbekistan
as they are unable to openly practice their beliefs without facing major penalties such as jail terms or
heavy fines," Forum 18 News reported.
Dhimmitude: Generic Violence and Hostility against Christians
France: On April 15, 215 Christian gravestones and crosses in the cemetery of Saint-Roch de
Castres (Tarn) were damaged and desecrated (pictures here). The man responsible was later
arrested. According to the prosecutor, Charlotte Beluet: "The suspect, arrested at 12:45 on Thursday,
matches the description given by a witness, a cemetery employee, who came across the man
dressed in a white djellaba [Arab/Muslim garb], and followed him... The man repeats Muslim prayers
over and over, he drools and cannot be communicated with: his condition has been declared
incompatible with preliminary detention." He was hospitalized on the assumption that he is "mentally
unbalanced."
Iraq: The Islamic State published pictures of its members destroying Christian tombstones and
crosses in cemeteries under its control, including Mosul's oldest Christian cemetery near the Syrian
Orthodox Cathedral. IS quoted Islamic scriptures justifying its actions. Several jihadi websites posted
these pictures. Some include Islamic State members using sledgehammers to destroy gravestones
and efface the crosses carved on them.

An Islamic State member is shown destroying a Christian tombstone in Mosul, Iraq, in April 2015. (Image source: MEMRI)

Bangladesh: On Easter day, a Catholic Christian village made up of tribal Khasia people
wasattacked by Muslims. The Muslim owner of a tea plantation, Syed Ara Begum, along with a
Muslim mob, attacked the Christian village as its population was celebrating Mass. The plantation
owner is reportedly seeking to seize the Christians' land. Apparently after hearing the cries of his
flock, Fr. James Kiron Rozario ran to the site of the attack. Once there, the crowd of Muslims
attacked him with a knife, seriously wounded him and threatened to kill him. The Muslim mob went
on to steal items worth almost $4,000. They also destroyed Bibles, crosses, holy pictures, musical
instruments and homes; and randomly killed chickens and goats. According to Msgr. Bejoy N.
D'Cruze OMI, Bishop of Syleht, "We live in fear. ... We want justice and security for our priests and
our faithful. We hope that the government will find a peaceful solution and that our people can live
free from tensions.... They [Catholic Khasia] are a very peaceful community but often fall victims of
the Bengali [Muslim] majority."
Pakistan:
On the morning of April 17, suspected Islamic gunmen opened fire on St Francis High School, a
Catholic school founded in 1842 in Lahore and long considered one of the finest schools in the city.
One student and two security guards were injured and taken to hospital. Although the motive behind
the attack has yet to be established, Christian lawyer Sardar Mushtaq Gill, a prominent Christian
rights official in Pakistan, said in a statement that this "new attack witnesses the deterioration of the
situation of Christians in Pakistan and spreads even more fear."

On March 29, Shamim Masih -- a Christian reporter exposing Muslim persecution -- wasattacked in
Islamabad by two men on a motorcycle. According to the leader of the Pakistan Christian Congress
party, Nazir S. Bhatti "The motorbike riders got down from their bike and started beating Shamim
Masih.... [They] broke his arm and warned him that if he did not stop reporting on Christian issues,
they knew his family and home and would teach him and his family a lesson." As usual, police failed
to register the incident. In the words of Bhatti: "as Shamim Masih is a Christian journalist... the police
and administration are not paying any attention or interest to investigate this incident."
On April 1, Islamic militants shot and wounded the brother of the Christian lawyer and activist Sardar
Mushtaq Gill. This is the latest attack on Gill and his family by Islamic militants, apparently angered
at him for criticizing the controversial blasphemy laws -- an excuse routinely used to attack Pakistan's
Christian minority. According to the human rights official, "Pervaiz Gill [his brother] suffered a bullet
wound to his lower back, and was rushed to Jinah Hospital in Lahore where it was removed."
However, "the police is not arresting the shooter," publicly identified as Muhammad Bilal; "Our life
remains under threat if the shooter is not arrested." Last August, Gill's home was sprayed with
bullets during the night, for the second time.
Syria: Since the city of Idlib fell to Islamic rebels on March 28, its Christian inhabitants have been
attacked, and a 57-year-old Greek Orthodox priest, Ibrahim Farah, head of the Greek-Orthodox
parish dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was kidnapped. As of last reports, Farah, who chose to remain
in the city and tend to other Christians unable to flee, was awaiting a "trial."
Encouraging Words, No Actions
Because the Muslim persecution of Christians is growing exponentially, more Christian and political
leaders are beginning to mention it, although there is no commensurate response. During a Mass in
April, Pope Francis said that today's Church is a "Church of martyrs." He continued:
In these days how many Stephens there are in the world! Let us think of our brothers whose throats
were slit on the beach in Libya [by the Islamic State]; let us think of the young boy who was burnt
alive by his; let us think of those migrants thrown from their boat into the open sea by other migrants
because they were Christians; let us think just the day before yesterday of those Ethiopians
assassinated because they were Christians... and of many others. Many others of whom we do not
even know and who are suffering in jails because they are Christians... The Church today is a
Church of martyrs: they suffer, they give their lives and we receive the blessing of God for their
witness.
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia -- who once wrote a letter to Barack Obamabeseeching the
president to reconsider his foreign policies that enable the persecution of Christians in Syria -- spoke
again of the threat of Christian extinction in the Mideast:

I regularly get reports of horrible crimes that are committed there against Christians, especially in
northern Iraq. I have visited those places and I remember that there were many churches and
monasteries there. The city of Mosul alone had 45 churches. Now there is not a single one. The
buildings have been destroyed. Four hundred churches have been destroyed in Syria... Now
Christianity is the most persecuted religion. The same is happening in Nigeria, Pakistan, and
Northern Africa.
According to Saudi novelist and writer, Hani Naqshabandi, "Our religious institutions do not give us
room to exercise free thought... They [Saudi institutions] said that the Christian is an infidel, a
denizen of hell, an enemy to Allah and Islam. So we said, 'Allah's curse on them.'" He also stated the
little-known fact that "Christians are in need of protection ... What happened to Christians in Iraq and
Syria, and further regions like Algeria, does not receive Arabic media coverage that befits human
beings, whatever their religion."
Even United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron, regularly criticized for being too soft on
Islamists, said the following remarks during his Easter message:
We have a duty to speak out about the persecution of Christians around the world too. It is truly
shocking that in 2015 there are still Christians being threatened, tortured, even killed because of their
faith. From Egypt to Nigeria, Libya to North Korea. Across the Middle East Christians have been
hounded out of their homes, forced to flee from village to village; many of them forced to renounce
their faith or brutally murdered. To all those brave Christians in Iraq and Syria who practice their faith
or shelter others, we will say, "We stand with you."
About this Series
While not all, or even most, Muslims are involved, persecution of Christians is expanding. "Muslim
Persecution of Christians" was developed to collate some by no means all of the instances of
persecution that surface each month.
It documents what the mainstream media often fails to report.
It posits that such persecution is not random but systematic, and takes place in all languages,
ethnicities and locations.

[1] According to a local priest and Coptic spokesman, the Muslim assault on a Coptic Christian
church proposed to be built, with President Sisi's permission, to honor the 21 Coptic Christians who
were slaughtered by the Islamic State in Libya, was all too typical and a reminder that Islamic Sharia
sentiment continues to trump the sovereignty of the Egyptian state. During aninterview he said:

First, what happened is that, when we make a decision for the church but then cannot implement this
decision [to build the church] because some of the Muslims do not want it, because they don't want
the churchthis is, first and foremost, a failure of the state and its authority and a failure of the rule
of law. When a group comes to oppose [with violence, several Copts were injured], and the police
leaves them free, this is like a disease that will spread everywhere.
Today, for example, there is a decision, but there are say 3-4 Brotherhood or Salafis opposing it, and
the government appears protesting with themin this case, you have given everyone who wants to
oppose [with violence] the opportunity to oppose.
[2] According to the Associated Press:
Palermo police said they had detained 15 people suspected in the high seas assault, which they
learned of while interviewing tearful survivors from Nigeria and Ghana who had arrived in Palermo
Wednesday morning after being rescued at sea by the ship Ellensborg.
The 15 were accused of multiple homicide aggravated by religious hatred, police said in a statement.
The survivors said they had boarded a rubber boat April 14 on the Libyan coast with 105 passengers
aboard, part of the wave of migrants taking advantage of calm seas and warm weather to make the
risky crossing from Libya, where most smuggling operations originate.
During the crossing, the migrants from Nigeria and Ghana believed to be Christians were
threatened with being abandoned at sea by some 15 other passengers from the Ivory Coast,
Senegal, Mali and Guinea Bissau.
Eventually the threat was carried out and 12 were pushed overboard. The statement said the motive
was that the victims "professed the Christian faith while the aggressors were Muslim."
The surviving Christians, the statement said, only managed to stay on board by forming a "human
chain" to resist the assault...
[3] The influential newspaper, This Day, cited Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein as saying that "The recent
recovery of territories in northeastern Nigeria has brought to light macabre scenes of mass graves
and more obvious signs of killings by Boko Haram." He cited various reports obtained by his office in
Geneva which "include the murder of the wives of combatants, women and girls actually held in
slavery."
[4] One Coptic shop owner told of the wild reaction of Muslims after they found out about the video:

There were three or four marches in different places in the village, as our village is a very big village.
They were chanting slogans against Christians and Christianity. They were chanting: "With our souls
and blood, we will defend you, oh Islam! We will not leave you; we will take revenge for you!"
They were pelting Christian homes with stones, pounding threateningly on doors and windows,
attacking shops owned by Coptic Christians. They destroyed the door of my shop and they destroyed
a photo studio owned by the father of one of the boys.
For three days we were living in terror and panic. We stayed in our homes and our children didn't go
to their schools. We also couldn't go to church to attend the masses for [Coptic] Holy Week.
Another local Copt described how his home was attacked:
On Thursday evening (9 April), the Muslim demonstrators attacked our home. They pelted it with
stones and insulted us. They were shouting, "Oh kafirs (infidels), we can't let you live here. We will
oust you from our village." They also stole the windows from our home.... We were unable to go to
the church during these events. Also, we didn't go to the church on Saturday to attend the Easter
mass. Until now, we have been staying at our homes and are afraid that the attacks against us will
be renewed.
Raymond Ibrahim is author of Crucified Again: Exposing Islam's New War in Christians(published by
Regnery in cooperation with Gatestone Institute, April 2013).
Previous reports

March, 2015

February, 2015

January, 2015

December, 2014

November, 2014

October, 2014

September, 2014

August, 2014

July, 2014

June, 2014

May, 2014

April, 2014

March, 2014

February, 2014

January, 2014

December, 2013

November, 2013

October, 2013

September, 2013

August, 2013

June, 2013

May, 2013

April, 2013

March, 2013

February, 2013

January, 2013

December, 2012

November, 2012

October, 2012

September, 2012

August, 2012

July, 2012

June, 2012

May, 2012

April, 2012

March, 2012

February, 2012

January, 2012

December, 2011

November, 2011

October, 2011

September, 2011

August, 2011

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