Christian Post via ICC — July 5, 2014
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ICC Note: ISIS, a radical militant group in Iraq, has quickly spread chaos throughout the country. Recently, the group declared Iraq an Islamic State and imposed Sharia law. In turn, this has caused Christians to flee their homes to find safer communities. Many are fearing that Islamic radicalism is continuously threatening the survival of the Christian population throughout the entire region.
07/02/14 Middle East (Christian Post) - In less than two weeks Iraq went from a semi-functioning democracy to a land divided into regional factions ruled in many areas by the extremist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which is imposing Sharia law after driving Christians out of Mosul and other cities in Iraq.
Syria lies in tatters as Islamic extremist groups battle for control of the country which has been engaged in a horrendous civil war for over three years. Each day creates more refugees. The largest group is Syrian Christians, who are being pushed out of their homeland.
Heading to Africa, you can see the battle for Nigeria, where Boko Haram kidnaps Christian girls daring to be educated. More girls were reportedly kidnapped last week, which adds to the approximately 200 that have been missing since March. Of course, Boko Haram has been attacking churches and Christian villages, as well as other targets, at record rates this year. Kenya, too, has a jihadist group called al-Shabaab which is bringing violence and heartbreak to the Christian population and the country at large.
What do all the Christians in these countries have in common? Well, certainly all are affected by the violence and threats by the various terrorist groups. Al-Qaeda, al-Shabaab, Boko Haram and ISIS all have similar doctrine and similar funding. In many cases, one group springs forth from another. All have a goal to spread Sharia law, imposing their Muslim faith by force. That means coercing Christians to deny their faith, leave their homes or face death. Many times followers of Jesus are not given the choice; they are just killed. This is a creed all Muslim terrorist groups have in common.
However, it is not just doctrine, tactics and money that connect all these situations. The most powerful part of this deadly stew is the affect of withdrawal…not the withdrawal of American troops, but the abandonment from the Middle East by many from the western Christian church.
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