Christaphobia

By: American Decency Staff

By: Chris Johnson We've heard an awful lot about discrimination against Muslims, aka "Islamophobia," in the year 2010. We were accused of it when we expressed our opinion that building a religious center dedicated to the same god to whom the slaughter of 3,000 Americans was dedicated – on the very site of that slaughter – was irreverent and unacceptable. We heard about it when one nut job in Florida announced that he thought it was a good idea to burn the Koran. When a Muslim taxi driver in New York was brutally attacked by a drunk with a knife, that was another sign of America's Islamaphobia. When the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense investigate reports of suspicious activity by Muslims, America becomes an "Islamaphobic Machine". A law which prevents religious law from being used in decisions in Oklahoma courts – common sense? Nope. Islamaphobia. So what exactly is Islamaphobia? The word itself obviously describes a phobia (intense, irrational fear) of Islam, but according to one Islamic website, "A more accurate expression would be 'anti-Islamic racism' for it combines the elements of dislike of a religion and active discrimination against the people belonging to that religion." Is America guilty of "active discrimination" against Muslims? Before we answer that, let's take a quick look at some of the news stories coming out of the Middle-East lately. The following headlines are taken from the Voice of the Martyrs website, Persecution.com. Afghanistan: Christian Imprisoned On Jan. 3, a judge told Shoaib Assadullah he had one week to renounce Christ or he would be sentenced to death or face up to 20 years in prison. Somalia: Teenage Girl Shot A 17-year-old girl who converted to Christianity from Islam was shot to death recently in an apparent “honor killingâ€Â in Somalia, according to Compass Direct News. Algeria: Christians Sentenced Four Christians were given suspended prison sentences recently for opening a place of worship without a license in the eastern region of Kabylia, Algeria, according to Asia News. Pakistan: Mullah Requests Murder On Dec. 3, 2010, a mullah in Pakistan offered more than $6,000 (U.S.) to anyone who kills Asia Bibi, according to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts. (Asia Bibi is accused of blasphemy for explaining her Christian faith to Muslim coworkers.) Iraq: Three Christians Killed On Nov. 22, three more believers were killed in Mosul, Iraq, according to the Assyrian International News Agency and Cable News Network. Iran: Pastor Charged—Apostasy The Assize Court of the province of Gilan, in Iran, has officially charged Pastor Youcef Nardarkhani with denying that Mohammed was a prophet. That last article goes on to say that  Pastor Youcef will be executed for his "crime" of "apostasy" in spite of the fact that there is no legal punishment laid out on the books for apostasy. "Pastor Youcef’s defense attorneys have entered a not guilty plea to the charges, arguing that 'since there is no punishment specified in the Islamic judicial system of Iran and other penal laws [on apostasy] … their client has not committed a crime to deserve a punishment.' "The indictment, however, stated that as an apostate, Pastor Youcef will be executed. His lawyers have 20 days to appeal the indictment." Christmas Eve church attacks, blasts kill 14 in Nigeria A series of Christmas Eve church attacks and explosions have left at least 14 people dead in Nigeria as authorities worked Saturday to prevent a new wave of religious violence. Bomb explosion at New Year's Mass in Egypt leaves 21 dead, Al Qaeda blamed by officials Christians clashed with Egyptian police in the northern city of Alexandria on Saturday, furious over an apparent suicide bombing against worshippers leaving a New Year's Mass at a church that killed at least 21 people. It was the worst violence against the country's Christian minority in a decade. (Note the Associated Press's obvious bias as they open the article with the violent reaction of the Christians rather than the brutality of the attack on the Christians) Church Bloodbath: Dozens Killed in Attack in Baghdad Iraqi soldiers stormed a Catholic church where an entire congregation was held hostage by militants, sparking gun battles and explosions in which 58 people, including a priest, were killed. An al-Qaida-linked group claimed responsibility for the siege. Can there be any clearer indication of "dislike of a religion and active discrimination against the people belonging to that religion?" If there is Islamaphobia in the West it is dwarfed by Christophobia in the Middle East. However, it is neither Christian nor American to mistreat people of a different faith. Muslims need to be treated with the same respect that we expect for ourselves. But we also should not lie to ourselves. It is not Muslims that are being killed or held captive for their faith. Compare the stories of "Islamaphobia" to the stories of discrimination against Christians in Muslim countries. Maybe we should ask Pastor Youcef Nardarkhani or Asia Bibi if our fear of Islam is irrational. I believe that there is such a thing as moderate Muslim – people like Zuhdi Jasser president of American Islamic Forum for Democracy which states on its website that, "the underlying philosophy [of terrorism] is what western society should fear most. Security will never come until the ideas of freedom and liberty win out over the ideas of political Islam, shar'iah and the Islamic state." But there is also such a thing as militant Islam, and it is not a small portion of the Muslim world. As Voice of the Martyrs suggests on their Persecution.com post regarding the Christmas Eve attacks in Nigeria, we must "pray that the love and grace of Jesus Christ will be evident in the words and actions of Christians living in these troubled areas and that Christians will respond to their Muslim neighbors with love rather than revenge." ——————————————————————————————————————— Your support is important to our ability to make a difference. Donate online at: https://secure4.afo.net/ada/donate.php American Decency Association is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. American Decency Association Bill Johnson, President P.O. Box 202 Fremont, MI 49412 ph: 231-924-4050 www.americandecency.org http://www.twitter.com/billwjohnson

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