Truth of the day Graphic: Muslims And Rights

Sad, but true.

"In every country that Muslims are a minority, they are obsessed with minority rights.In every country with a Muslim majority, there are NO minority rights."

And in the case of Iraq, they are systematically being wiped out.  Including the 'wrong kind' of Muslim.

ISIS Forces Out The Last Christians In Mosul, Iraq With Their Jizya Or Convert Demands

After living there for centuries, there are no more Christians in Mosul.  ISIS/ISIL gave them an ultimatum after gaining control of the northern Iraqi city- Convert to Islam, retain Dhimma status and pay the jizya (infidel tax), or death by the sword. They had until yesterday, July 19th to decide. The few remaining families left on the eve of the deadline, most with just the clothes on their back. Apparently, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the appointed Caliph of the Islamic State, announced that those who chose to leave would not be allowed to take any of their possessions. The few who tried, claim they were robbed.

Many fled to Iraqi Kurdistan, others to Hamdaniya, a predominately Christian town southeast of Mosul protected by Kurdish forces. One 60-year-old woman had this to say about leaving:

"We have lived in this city and we have had a civilisation for thousands of years - and suddenly some strangers came and expelled us from our homes."

Another man spoke about being robbed:

"The Islamic State stopped my relatives at a checkpoint when they were fleeing and when they found out they were Christians, they took everything they were carrying, including their mobile phones. They left them only with the clothes they were wearing."

But the Christians aren't the only ones ISIL has targeted, the Sunni radicals have forced Kurdish Yazidis, and Turkmen and Shabak Shi'ites to flee as well. Those they haven't captured or killed.

And that area was once considered the "cradle of civilization."

More on what they have endured.

Sources: Reuters,, HRW,

The Dwindling Jews and Christians In Muslim Countries

Jews used to coexist with Muslims in Yemen in past centuries.  But rabid anti-Semitism in this century has forced most of what was a thriving community to leave the country. Amran province boasted of being home to one of the largest Jewish communities in Yemen- only three families remain, and even they are considering emigrating, albeit reluctantly so. These are people who were born and raised there, and would rather remain. And then Arab Muslims bitch about Israel (one of the few places that will take those Jews) even though they are instrumental in forcing Jews and Christians out of their Muslim majority lands.

The Christians are having just as hard a time in Muslim countries. Iraq's Chaldean church leader, Patriarch Louis Sako, fears for the Christians in that country and worries about the dwindling numbers. He predicts that in a mere 10 years only a few thousand will remain.

Iraq's Christian community is a shadow of what it used to be -- once numbering more than a million nationwide, with upwards of 600,000 in Baghdad alone, there are now fewer than 400,000 across the country.

"The daily migration of Christians from Iraq is terrifying and very worrying," Sako told AFP from the ethnically-mixed northern city of Kirkuk on Friday evening.

"The church is facing a disaster, and if the situation continues along this course, our numbers in the coming 10 years will be not more than a few thousand."

Sako blamed worsening security and religious extremism, and cited death threats against Christians and the forcible seizure of their property by armed gangs purporting to be members of powerful militias.

He also blames  "Western countries who encourage migration of Christians."

But what other options do they have. Should they remain in countries that persecute and kill them? I think not.

I think the Muslims over there would be very happy to see no minority religious groups left in their lands.

Muslims Kill Christians In Iraq On Christmas

So yesterday was Christmas, but not such a merry day for Christians in Muslim-majority countries, however. Especially in Iraq where more than 37 Christians were killed in two different bomb attacks on one of their most holiest of days. And this in spite of high security, barbed wire and blast walls.

There aren't many Christians left in Iraq, they've either left the country or been killed. Of 1.5 million pre-Iraq War, only about half that amount are still there. According to rights activist William Warda every single day around 10 to 20 Christians leave.

“Many Christians ... are fleeing from the country because of this issue, because there is no sign of a bright future.”

Who can blame them. He does have a wee bit of hope: the government declared Christmas a national holiday this year. Not that it prevented the massacres from occurring.

And Christian religious leaders are trying to persuade their flock not to desert the Arab world.

“Immigration is not the solution,” said Monsignor Pios Cacha, a priest at Mar Yousif.

“Leaving the country means wiping out our identity, it means the end of our presence here. And our presence as Christians is a symbol of peace.”

And the Shi'ites (although the majority) are reaching out to the Christian minority, since they too are targets of al-Qaeda terrorists. In fact, Shi'ite politician Ammar Al-Hakim made an appearance at the Mar Yousif's Christmas Eve mass.

Hakim, head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, a Shi’ite party that has sometimes allied with and sometimes opposed Maliki, rose after the sermon and spoke of tolerance, forgiveness and peace, saying Jesus Christ was an example. Then he turned to al-Qaeda.

“They target you like they target us. There are people in this country who believe that anyone who has a different opinion should be killed,” he said as a small army of burly bodyguards in suits fanned out through the church.

“We are partners as targets. We are partners in this challenge. And we will remain partners in confronting extremism, violence and terrorism,” Hakim said.

One car bomb exploded near a church as worshippers were leaving a Christmas Day mass, 27 were killed, 56 or so wounded.  The other bomb exploded near a predominately Christian outdoor market killing 11 and wounding around 14. As is usually the case, those numbers could change.

People used to say that the violence in Iraq was a direct result of foreign 'occupation'- that was when foreign troops were still there- but they've been gone a few years and the violence continues. Big time. So much for that theory.  Extremists just like to fight, and kill, and that's not going to change any time soon.

Video- 100s of Qaeda Jihadists Headed For Syria

Hundreds of al-Qaeda jihadists entering Syria willing to fight for their 72 and slaughter other Muslims.

Apparently they're from al-Qaeda in Iraq and the Levant and are headed towards Shiite villages in Aleppo province in the north.  They don't like the Shiites so we know what their goal is.

Video- Aussie Sheik Asks Allah To Kill All Buddhists and Hindus And Other Stuff

In this video- Australian Muslim Sheik Sharif Hussein blames the Jews' influence on "presidents, ministers or leaders of secular pan-Arab movements" for creating strife "within Muslim societies."  Right, the Western infidels have caused all that Muslim on Muslim violence all over the Middle East and elsewhere.

He also claims British and American "Crusader troops" aided by Australia, raped tens of thousands of women in Iraq. And because of that, he believes former Prime  Minister John Howard should have (and would have had Muslims had any say) been tried as a war criminal for razing Afghanistan and Iraq to the ground. As far as I know both those countries are still standing, and just as well they don't have any say. 

Then he warns "enemy of Allah" Barack Obama, who kisses "the shoes and feet of the Jews,"  that some day he will be "trampled upon by the pure feet of the Muslims." 

Then he asks Allah to kill all the Hindus and Buddhists.

Charming.  And this guy is allowed to live in Australia?  These types need to have their posteriors deported back to where they came from.

(He's not anywhere on Google, so not sure if this is actually the correct name.)

Iran's Khamenei Issues New Anti-Baha'i Edict

Iran's religious head honcho Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is making things even worse for followers of the banned Bahai faith, if that's at all possible. They're already severely persecuted for their religious beliefs- they are jailed for no reason, and earlier this year were banned from access to higher education.  Now Khameini is telling Iranians to "avoid all dealings" with the Baha'is.  Many fear this will lead to more arrests.

Khamenei was said to have called Baha'i adherents "deviant and misleading."  Ironic, since Sunnis consider Shiites (of which Khamenei is one) to be "deviant."

Sources: Baha'i Rights, Al Arabiya

More Christians Sentenced To Jail Time In Iran

More Christians have been sentenced to jail time in Iran.

The Revolutionary Court in Shiraz, 571 miles (920 kilometers) south of Tehran, issued prison sentences of 44 months to Mojtaba Seyyed-Alaedin Hossein, Mohammad-Reza Partoei, Vahid Hakkani, and Homayoun Shokouhi for “attending a house church, spreading Christianity, having contact with foreign ministries, propaganda against the regime, and disrupting national security,” according the Mohabat News Agency. They were tried in absentia.

They had been arrested in February 2012, when police raided their house-church meeting. Officials rejected their appeal for release on bail. Hossein and Shokouhi, previously arrested in 2008 on similar accusations and handed five-year suspended sentences, received an additional eight months of imprisonment above last week’s sentence of 44 months. Additionally, Shokouhi’s wife, Fariba Nazemina, and their son, Nima Shokouhi, each received two-year suspended prison sentences.

The four men are being held in Adel Abad Prison in Shiraz, which houses hardened criminals and often lacks heating or health facilities. Officials also routinely deny medical treatment to prisoners, and as a result, Hakkani is in critical condition due to internal bleeding, according to Mohabat. Prison doctors say he is in urgent need of surgery but has little chance of receiving treatment.

Will moderate Hassan Rohani make any changes when he takes over from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? I sincerely doubt it, but I hope I'm wrong.

Christian Women Beaten and Paraded Naked In Pakistan

According to the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), as an act of revenge, Muslim thugs in Pakistan beat up and then proceeded to rip the clothes off of three Christian women. The women were then paraded around in public as a show of power.

Three Christian women – Arshad Bibi, Sajida Bibi and Sauriya Bibi – the daughter-in-laws of Sadiq Masih, a resident of Sereser Chak No 21, Kasur, were brutally beaten and then paraded naked by armed men employed by Muhammad Munir, the son of Abdul Rasheed, a landlord who has the support of the ruling party, the PML-N. The incident occurred on the night of June 3 when the male members of the family were attending to their jobs. The attackers, armed with weapons and batons, were able to enter the house by scaling the boundary wall and unlocking the gate from the inside. At that time, the women were sleeping in the house along with their father-in-law Sadiq Masih, 73, and mother-in-law Rani Bibi, 70.

The mob, lead by Muhammad Munir, Abrahim, Muhammad Rafique and their sons Ahmed, Asif, Abid, Wassem, Waqas and Shabir and three unidentified persons, entered the house. When the attackers invaded the house, they started looking for the sons of Sadiq Masih, checking all the rooms and throwing their belongings about. When they could not find his sons, they started beating the three women.

The reason for the attack:  Sadiq's goats wandered onto the landlord Munir's fields, several times, so he confiscated them. When one of Sadiq's sons, Shaukat,  accompanied by the sister-in-laws, asked for his goats back, Munir beat him up. Shaukat slapped him back, and the rest is history.

Since the landlord is a supporter of the ruling party (PML-N) nothing will happen to the attackers. The family filed a complaint, but the police filed a counter complaint on behalf of the landlord. End of story.

More  here.

Ahmadi Muslims In Pakistan Face Persecution and Violence

Interesting article on the persecution of Ahmadiyya Muslims in Pakistan. The Ahmadis are the only Muslims who have rejected "armed jihad" and have therefore been shunned by mainstream Muslims. In fact, they are not considered Muslims at all, hence the persecution and marginalization. They have also become major targets of sectarian violence not only in Pakistan but elsewhere.

One of the many religious minorities whose plight is documented in the latest U.S. State Department report on religious freedom is the Ahmadiyya community, or the Ahmadis.

The Ahmadis consider themselves Muslim, but that is a view rejected by mainstream Islamic sects. And in Pakistan, as RFE/RL correspondents Daud Khattak and Frud Bezhan report, Ahmadis have come under assault not only from extremist religious groups but also from the government.

Pakistan’s minority Ahmadi sect has become the target of rising sectarian violence, with its burial grounds, mosques, and homes coming under assault.

Authorities have done little to stem the attacks, with the government still refusing to grant the community equal status.

Their story on RFE/RL.

UN Report: Iran Escalating Persecution Of Non-Muslims- Nursing Moms Jailed

The UN is acknowledging that the Iranian government is continuing its persecution of religious minorities (including Bahais and Christians) in a just released report by Ahmed Shaheed. In fact, according to the report, it's escalating.

“The persecution of Christians has increased,” said Ahmed Shaheed, the UN’s expert on human rights in Iran. “It seems to target new converts and those who run house churches.”

At least 13 Protestant Christians are currently in detention centers across Iran, and more than 300 Christians have been arrested since June 2010, according to the report. In addition to Christians, the nation’s 350,000 Bahai, who form Iran’s largest non-Muslim faith, have suffered under Tehran’s repression.

[snip]

There is a “new Islamization in part of the government” that might explain the spike in repression targeting Christians, he added.

The UN report is the latest evidence that Iran’s clerical leaders seek to stamp out religious freedoms for minorities and dissent in the authoritarian Islamic Republic.

Dwight Bashir, of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, says of the situation:

"Over the past year, the Iranian government has stooped to new lows by incarcerating infant children with their Baha'i mothers and more brutally, clamping down on Christian converts from Islam,” Bashir said. “The U.S. government also should sanction Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and President Ahmadinejad for their culpability in committing serious human rights abuses.”

Shaheed found “that 110 Bahais are currently detained in Iran for exercising their faith, including two women, Zohreh Nikayin (Tebyanian) and Taraneh Torabi (Ehsani), who are reportedly nursing infants in prison. It was further estimated that 133 Bahais are currently awaiting summonses to serve their sentences, and that another 268 Bahais are reportedly awaiting trial.”

He called the Bahai group the “single most important persecuted community in country.”

Bahais also happen to constitute the largest non-Muslim minority group in Iran. Founded in 1863 by Bahá'u'lláh in Iran, there are approximately 350,000 Bahai living in the Islamic Republic, many of whom are incarcerated for their faith, and all are marginalized and discriminated against. They are even banned in Iran from higher education.