Tag: Islamic State

Iraqi Christians in Jordan in need

December 16, 2014 Iraq Iraq, Islamic State, Jordan, Migrants, Mosul, Nineveh Plains, Refugees

According to Agenzia Fides, there are now more than 7,000 Iraqi Christian refugees in Jordan, and funds to care for them are running low, according to Wael Suleiman, director of Caritas Jordan, a Catholic charity. “We [Caritas Jordan] find ourselves in difficulty. We support the rents of Christian families, we distribute . . . Read More

Jihad not a war against Christians?

December 11, 2014 Global News -- No Particular Country Al-Qaeda, Barack Obama, Boko Haram, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Middle East, Nigeria

Christians are certainly under pressure in parts of the Middle East, but it must be emphasised that many more Muslims are killed as a result of jhadist violence, said a spokesman for a new BBC study on deaths attributed to Al-Qaeda and offshoot groups. Asked by presenter Justin Webb on . . . Read More

Pope Francis addresses plight of Christians in Turkish visit

December 1, 2014 Turkey Ankara, Greek Orthodox, Islamic State, Patriarch Bartholomew I, Pope Francis, Syria

Turkey’s tiny Christian population was grateful for Pope Francis’s Nov. 28-30 visit to their country, during which he called for an end to all forms of violent fundamentalism in the war-torn Middle East. In a Nov. 30 joint statement with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual head of the Eastern Orthodox . . . Read More

Warnings of draining the Middle East of Christians

November 21, 2014 Islamic State, Justin Welby, Middle East, UK

According to The Telegraph, “offering asylum in Britain to Christians fleeing the forces of the so-called Islamic State risks ‘draining’ the Middle East of communities which have been there since the time of St Paul, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has warned.” Welby said in extreme cases the UK . . . Read More

Syrian Christians have wedding despite IS threat

November 17, 2014 Syria Islamic State, Kurds, Nineveh Plains, Qamishli, Syria

Just 15 miles away from territory now occupied by Islamic State, the Syrian Christians of Qamishli gathered in the church of the Holy Virgin for the wedding of Malek Aissa and Ilana Hacho. At the wedding priests told the Independent how IS has brought their church to its knees. The . . . Read More

Analysis: Distinction between ‘moderate Islamists’ and ‘militant extremists’ is misleading for Western governments

November 14, 2014 Iraq Islamic extremism, Islamic State, USA

The fight against Islamic State is now a top-priority of the international community. Islamic State was seriously underestimated, not only by the US. It took the international community so long to acknowledge the threat of Islamic State and to confront them, that they now seem already rather well settled . . . Read More

IS urges militants to target Egypt’s Copts

November 10, 2014 Egypt Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, Copts, Egypt, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Suez

Islamic State leader Abu Musab al-Maqdisi has called on jihadists to target Egypt’s Copts and judges, saying, “Targeting, pursuing and killing them is a means to serve the cause of our chaste prisoners held by the tyrants.” Egypt’s most active Islamist militant group, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, allegedly pledged allegiance to . . . Read More

Understand concept of ‘infidel’ to understand risks of Islamic radicalization

October 21, 2014 Boko Haram, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Pakistan, Rwanda, Salafism

Iraqi Christian children driven out of their homes by IS. Photo taken at a refugee camp in Erbil on September 16.World Watch Monitor In recent history, genocides have often been accompanied by the preparatory dehumanization of victims. In 1994, in Rwanda, for example, the Hutu interhamwe labelled the Tutsis . . . Read More

1,800 Iraqi Christians now in Jordan

October 17, 2014 Jordan Amman, Iraq, Islamic State, Jordan, King Abdullah II, Refugees

The BBC reports the laments of some Christians who have just moved to Jordanian refugee camps and who say their lives have been destroyed by IS. About 1,800 Iraqi Christians from the area surrounding Mosul first escaped IS by going to Erbil, but are now temporarily sheltering in Jordan upon the . . . Read More

Heavy rain in northern Iraq floods refugee camps

October 17, 2014 Iraq IDPs, Iraq, Islamic State, Kurds, Refugees

Heavy rain on Thursday in the Kurdistan region of Iraq has flooded the refugee camps where many Christians live after fleeing Islamic State militia. It has forced the refugees to look elsewhere for accommodation, which will put further pressure on other camps and Christian homes already housing relatives and friends. . . . Read More

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