Syria: News concerning Christians

Syria: News concerning Christians

I have been following recently the sad and alarming situation in Syria. For many reasons. One of the reasons is that many countries are getting involved, and concerns about the coming of a 3rd world war are growing rapidly. But  there is a side of the drama, that hits us very close. And that is, the situation that our Christian brothers and sisters are living there. I would like to tell you what is going on over there, but I think you will appreciate if I arrange a brief compilation of different reports from different news sites.
Two groups
Well, first you should know that there are 2 groups in Syria, one known as "the rebels" or "the resistance" or "the opposition". And the others are the military the the president's army.

-Syria's Sunni majority makes up the backbone of the opposition, and minorities such as Christians have generally stuck to the sidelines, in part out of fears that they will be marginalized - or even targeted - if Sunnis take over.
Assad and the ruling elite also belong to a minority sect, the Alawites. Assad's regime always pushed a secular ideology, which was seen as giving minorities a measure of protection.
Christians hold senior positions in the state,- (Fox news)

So here is what is going on in Syria :


The situation in Syria 
-The uprising since 2011 in Syria has been driven by fiery sermons from the pulpits of mosques in more Islamic conservative areas such as Homs. The revolt against President Assad is not a popular secular uprising despite the delusional visions of Sen. John McCain, President Barack Obama and the mass media. The choice in Syria is the same as it was in Iraq: Live under a secular dictator or perish under Shariah law.
Christians have already been targeted in areas that have fallen to what McCain lovingly calls "the rebels." Christians have been forced from their homes, and without the rule of secular law, young Christian girls are being kidnapped and forced into Islamic marriages. The "rebels" are supported by AL-Qaida and other Islamic extremist organizations.
It is for that reason that most Christian leaders in Syria have supported the current government. They face a "devil I know versus a devil I don't know" situation, but they are pretty sure that the incoming devil will probably be worse.
Billions in American tax dollars go to Pakistan and other nations where Christians rot in jail for religious crimes such as blasphemy and apostasy against Islam.- (WorldNetDaily - WND.com)


-Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Syria's population, say they are particularly vulnerable to the violence sweeping the country of 22 million people. They are fearful that Syria will become another Iraq, with Christians caught in the crossfire between rival Islamic groups.
The Christians, who are trapped in Homs' Hamidiyeh and Bustan Diwan neighborhoods, include four children under the age of 10. There is barely any electricity or running water, telephone lines are unreliable and they are forced to hide in shelters during daily shelling.
Pictures posted online from the neighborhoods show empty streets full of debris, bullet-riddled buildings and churches with blown up walls and windows. Al-Jamal said a Greek Orthodox and a Protestant church were destroyed.- (Fox News)


Christians afraid
-Under AL-Assad, Christians enjoyed relative religious freedom. Now they fear that regime change could lead to an increase in persecution by Islamist militants, similar to the experience of Iraqi Christians after the fall of Saddam Hussein.
Christian groups working in the country have reported attacks on Christians, including kidnap and murder, since the start of the uprising.- (Christianity today)
 
Christians expelled
-This March, months before the Qusayr ultimatum, Islamist militants from the opposition's Faruq Brigade had gone door to door in Hamidiya and Bustan al-Diwan neighborhoods of Homs, expelling local Christians. Following the raids, some 90 percent of Christians reportedly fled the city for government-controlled areas, neighboring countries or a stretch of land near the Lebanese border called the Valley of Christians (Wadi al-Nasarah). Of the more than 80,000 Christians who lived in Homs prior to the uprising, approximately 400 remain today.....
Syria's Christians continue to be expelled or held at the mercy of an increasingly extremist Sunni opposition.- (New York Times)


-Syrian Christians are being given ultimatums by military commanders of the nation’s opposition movement to leave their homes, prompting what observers say is a form of ethnic cleansing.
Christians, who make up some 10 percent of the 22 million Syrian population, have shown support for the existing Syrian government, much to the consternation of the opposition, which increasingly is being infiltrated by al-Qaida and other Islamic fundamentalist groups.
Among those is the Muslim Brotherhood, which considers the Christians to be infidels. As a result of the ultimatums, Christians are being forced from their home towns and the surrounding countryside, where they are strong and are taking refuge with friends and family in Damascus.
In turn, sources say the opposition has confiscated their goods and property, burned down churches, committed executions and launched what now amounts to a sectarian war.- (WND)

 Rebels block civilian evacuation

-On Tuesday, Syria's government said it was ready to act on a U.N. call to evacuate civilians trapped in Homs for more than a week, but blamed rebels for obstructing efforts to get them out.- (Fox news)

Syrian rebels desecrate Christian churches
-Shocking images have surfaced, revealing the alleged desecration of Christian churches in Syria by Western-backed rebels. The pictures, taken by local Christians outraged at the violence.
Christian minorities are facing a growing threat and thousands are being forced to flee their homes as they face harassment and discrimination from opposition radical Islamist factions. At least 9,000 Christians from the western Syrian city of Qusayr were forced to seek refuge after an ultimatum from a local military chief from the armed opposition, the Vatican’s Fides news agency said.- (RT.com)
But sadly things get a even worse.

Rebels killing christians
-According to reports by the Vatican's Fides News Agency collected by the Centre for the Study of Interventionism, the US-backed Free Syrian Army rebels and ever more radical spin-off factions are sacking Christian churches, shooting Christians dead in the street, broadcasting ultimatums that all Christians must be cleansed from the rebel-held villages, and even shooting priests.- (AINA Assyrian international news agency)

Christian brothers and sisters are being killed. I'll just give you some more video links that report about this so you can see it for your self.  (link 1), (link 2)
Now one thing is to read about it and listen to an video report about it. But a whole different thing is to see it for your self. So, if you think you can handle it, here are two links that will take you inside Syria and witness what is really going on there (this is what motivated me to do this article). But let me warn you, DO NOT LET CHILDREN WATCH THIS !!! PLEASE !!! this are not videos, but a search of this videos, you choose which one you want to see. We can't put our heads into a hole and pretend nothing is going on. This is going on and we should know and pray about it. So here (link 1), (link 2)


 US backing rebels
-The Wall Street Journal, which reported this week that:
"...the Central Intelligence Agency and State Department--working with Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and other allies--are helping the opposition Free Syrian Army develop logistical routes for moving supplies into Syria and providing communications training.
"U.S. officials also are considering sharing intelligence with the Free Syrian Army, or FSA, to allow the rebels to evade pro-Assad forces..." - (AINA)

Here are Senator McCain and Hilary Clinton saying that we need to help the Syrian rebels.
Sen. McCain: It's time to arm Syria's rebels.
http://m.cbsnews.com/storysynopsis.rbml?pageType=eveningNews&catid=57381422&feed_id=29
Hilary Clinton to help Syria rebels
http://www.absoluterights.com/frameset/frames.php?u=http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/04/01/clinton-details-plan-to-supply-syrian-opposition-defends-push-to-pay-defectors/

Before I continue, let me just say that I am not taking sides between these two groups, the Sunnis and the Alawites. They are both Islamic extremist groups, and the president's army also kills many civilians and Christians too. But as you can see, the rebels are more extremist and want to exterminate the Christians.

Not only Syrian Christians are being persecuted and killed. This is going on in many places, such as Egypt, with the new president, and other countries in Africa also.

Concerns about other Christians
-Reports indicate that 90 per cent of Christians in the city have fled to Jordan and that their homes have been seized by militants.
Release wants Mr Hague to take action to ensure that Christian minorities in Egypt and Syria are protected.
It has launched a letter-writing campaign to the Foreign Secretary expressing "deep concern about the future of human rights for minorities, especially Christians in North Africa and the Middle East in the wake of the Arab Spring revolutions".- (Christianity today)
                
Egypt Christians exodus
-Christians in Egypt still fear an increase in persecution after the election of the Muslim Brotherhood candidate. Extremist groups such as Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya and Egyptian Islamic Jihad pose an additional threat with their goal to introduce strict Sharia law across Egypt.
The concerns have prompted an estimated 100,000 Christians to leave Egypt since the uprising.- (Christianity today)
         

Well, I hope this article will make you realize that even though we might be living comfortably and freely (so far), there are many human beings that have a terrible life, just because they were born in the wrong place, or because they choose to follow Christ, and we tend too often to take things for granted. We many times do not appreciate God's blessing, such as peace, easy access to food and transportation. A house to live in, etc. you can continue the list. Let's not be ungrateful and thank GOD for everything we still have. But most importantly let us pray to the ALMIGHTY for our dear brothers and sisters suffering in Syria, Egypt, Nigeria, and many many other countries. The bible very well tells us that this things were going to happen in Matthew 24. And it is not going to get better. Very soon every Christian is going to have to make a decision, to worship GOD the Creator or worship the beast and his image. That is the message of the three angels in Revelation 14:6-12. As we pray for our brethren around the world, let us also get our lives ready. Ready to face persecution as well, ready to choose a side when the time comes, ready to prepare others, ready to tell the whole world that the only way to a eternal and peaceful life is through JESUS CHRIST, and no matter what happens we will stand on His side.
I really hope and pray that the Holy Spirit will touch your heart and let you get ready to follow our savior Jesus when he returns to take us to our Father in Heaven. That is my prayer for you today.

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