Video: The Destruction Of Christian Churches and Businesses In Egypt By Muslim Brotherhood Activists

Human Rights Watch documents the destruction and looting of Christian churches, businesses, schools, and even an orphanage by Muslim Brotherhood activists and other Islamists all over Egypt. All of this in retaliation after police and security forces tried to break up the Muslim Brotherhood sit-ins in Cairo.

Two employees on a tourist boat restaurant who were hiding when it was attacked, were found dead. One was a Christian, the other was a Muslim.

No-one came to help before or after the attacks.

We Will Burn Christians and Become Suicide Bombers, Claim Pro-Morsi Islamists

Once again, Islamists proving what violent animals they are.

At a pro-Morsi demonstration in Egypt, Islamists tell General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi that with the ousting of Mohammad Morsi, he has created a new Taliban and al-Qaeda in Egypt, and that they (the Islamists) will turn into suicide bombers and destroy him and Egypt if "matters" are not brought "to where they were." I assume he means reinstate Morsi to the presidency.  Al-Sisi will also be to blame for the death of secularists, Christians, Shiites and all those who opposed Morsi.

Then the treat: an old, niqab-clad woman, claiming she's not part of the Muslim Brotherhood, just a religious Egyptian lady who vows to set her Christian neighbours on fire.

How's that for Muslim piety.

Video: Continued Harassment Of Jews In Malmö, Sweden In 2013

Anti-Semitism runs very deep in Malmö, the third largest city in Sweden. The harassment of Jews is an ongoing, escalating problem with no solution in a city that has a large Muslim immigrant population.  It doesn't help that the mayor, Estonian-born Social Democrat Ilmar Reepalu, is himself an anti-Semite who blames Jews for the problem.

One of the targets of harassment is Shneur Kesselman, Rabbi at a synagogue in the city.  Ironic that they would harass orthodox Jews who have so much in common with conservative Muslims.

YouTube video here.

Pakistani Fanatics Vow To Kill Christians Who Protest Blasphemy Violence

On March 9, a pack of angry Pakistani Muslims (3,000 strong) torched hundreds of houses in a Christian area of Lahore after one of their own accused a Christian man of blasphemy. Christians took to the streets in protest asking for protection. As a result, extremists are now threatening Christians that if they don't stop protesting they will be killed. So, basically, take your beatings and don't complain.

Two hundred homes in the Joseph Colony were turned to ashes and poor Christians of the neighbourhood are now living in the streets, desperate for food and other needs.

Their children cannot attend school or college due to the destruction and fear. Many residents have expressed great dismay and sorrow, and depression is seeping through the entire community, the Daily Times reports.

Pastor Naeem Bhadhar, a Presbyterian missionary living in a village Kalaswala, district Sialkot, 140 kilometres away from Lahore city, said that he had arranged a protest rally in their city. But on March 14 when he was travelling back to his village a few radical Muslims from Jamaatud Dawa severely beat him with sticks and destroyed his motorcycle. He told the paper that he was warned by the extremist group that if any Christian organises further protests, he will be killed.

The paper also pointed out that Muslims of Jhelum city threatened to burn Christians home in response to the protests.

Now the community is living in fear of reprisals for their simple act of condemning violence and the blasphemy laws of Pakistan, the paper added. 

More Muslim bullying.

Pakistani Mob Burn Down Dozens Of Christian Houses Over Blasphemy Accusation

In Pakistan where blasphemy laws reign supreme, and all it takes is an unfounded accusation to spark an uproar, Pakistanis (who seem to easily bear grudges), took to the streets, once again, causing the usual havoc and destruction.

This time, a Christian man was falsely accused of blasphemy by a young Muslim man, and in order to appease the angry mob police arrested and charged him under Section 295-C.  The mob then headed on over to a predominately Christian enclave in Lahore (Joseph Colony) where they proceeded to torch dozens of houses.

The story goes:

The Christian, Sawan Masih, and the Muslim guy apparently got into a fight at a bar where they both had been drinking the night before. In retaliation, the Muslim accused Masih of insulting the Prophet, something that happens quite often, and has- at times- ended in the death of the accused blasphemers at the hands of vigilantes. In this case, after the mob made their way to Masih's house and the young man was taken away by the police, neighbours locked up their homes and went to stay with relatives elsewhere. That's when the destruction of 150 or so houses and two churches (including the burning of Bibles and crosses) began. They'd like us to believe that they don't burn Bibles, but that's not quite the truth.

According to Akram Gill, a local bishop, mostly poor people were living there, and they have been left with virtually nothing. An AP reporter witnessed massive destruction  of personal property.

One man was seen carrying a dog and some puppies from a burning house. Refrigerators, washing and sewing machines, cooking pots, beds and other household goods were ripped from homes, smashed and burned in the streets.

"They have burnt each and every thing in my whole house. Nothing is left here. I don't know why this happened," said Samina Riaz. "Now we don't have even enough to eat."

Although Christians are most often the targets when it comes to accusations of blasphemy, Muslims have also been accused. But it's only with the Christians that angry mobs bother to target the whole community, as opposed to just the individual. As for motive? Zohra Yusuf of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said:

"Most of the time there are other motives involved," she said, such as scaring off Christian residents to grab their property.

Or other personal grudges.

Officials have said they will make arrests, but nothing will come of it. It never does. Remember the imam who falsely accused the young Christian girl of desecrating the Quran? Released.

One shining light in the darkness that is Pakistan:

One Christian couple from the neighborhood said they went to their Muslim neighbors' house on Friday night after people came looking for the Christian man accused of blasphemy. Ishaq Masih said the Muslim neighbors sheltered the couple for the night and then gave them money to leave the area in the morning.

Sources: Dawn, AJC

Escalating Violence Against Religious Minorities In Indonesia

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), violence against religious minorities in so-called 'moderate' Indonesia is escalating, and it's not just focused on Christians. Shia and Ahmadiyah Muslims are equally targeted by an increasingly militant cadre of  Sunni Muslim thugs.

HRW blames an impotent government- headed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono- that does nothing to protect its religious minority population. This inaction only serves to embolden the militants.

Brad Adams, the Asia director of HRW, said:

“The Indonesian government’s failure to take decisive action to protect religious minorities from threats and violence is undermining its claims to being a rights-respecting democracy." “National leadership is essential. Yudhoyono needs to insist that national laws be enforced, announce that every violent attack will be prosecuted, and map out a comprehensive strategy to combat rising religious intolerance.”

Apparently the victims are often blamed, and those responsible for the violence, more often than not, get off scott-free. The police rarely defend the victims, and in some cases join in.  Even members of the government have been complicit in inciting violence against religious minorities, with no censure from Yudhoyono.

Yudhoyono has failed to use powers at his disposal to defend religious minority communities and has not effectively disciplined cabinet members when they have encouraged abuses, Human Rights Watch said. Ali [the minister of religion, Suryadharma Ali] made discriminatory remarks about the Ahmadiyah and Shia in a March 2011 speech at a political convention, claiming: “We have to ban the Ahmadiyah. It is obvious that Ahmadiyah is against Islam.”In September 2012, he proposed that Shia convert to Sunni Islam. Ali was not sanctioned for either comment.

“The government has shown a deadly indifference to the growing plight of Indonesia’s religious minorities, who reasonably expect their government’s protection,” Adams said.

Read the rest of HRW's article on the rising persecution and violence against religious minorities.