Raymond Ibrahim: 'The Dhimmi in the Mirror'

"If Christian minorities living under Islamic authority have little choice but to speak well of their 'coexistence' with Islam, why are Western leaders, politicians, and talking heads of all varieties—who are not under Islamic authority—also behaving like cowed dhimmis?"


Raymond Ibrahim applies his penetrating insights into the historical continuity of Islamic persecution of Christians to the tragic case of the Coptic Pope Tawadros II's recent remarks.

It should be noted that Orthodox Christian patriarchs and bishops subjugated under Muslim rule in the Islamic world have also made similar such statements, and some have even gone much further, to the borders (and beyond?) of outright blasphemy, heresy, and apostasy:

His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople has written of a “dialogue of loving truth” with Islam, and of Orthodoxy having for centuries “coexisted peacefully” with Islam, and projects the chimera of an “interfaith commitment... still felt and lived by Greeks [and] Turks” as an example for all to follow (Encountering the Mystery, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Doubleday, 2008, xxxvii, 196, 174). 

Bartholomew has also called for the tearing down of “the wall of separation between East and West, between Muslims and Christians, between all religions of the world,” and has also asserted, “One who achieves the state of inner peace in relation to God is a true Muslim” (Encountering the Mystery, 205, 209). 

Patriarch Parthenius of Alexandria, in the Orthodoxos Typos 854, May 1982, praised Islam and Muhammad thusly: "The Prophet Muhammad is an apostle, He is a man of God, who worked for the Kingdom of God... When I speak against Islam, then I am not found in agreement with God." 

Metropolitan George Khodr of Lebanon has written: "I am completely sure that if you are a Christian and you know a lot about Islam and love what you know, your heart will embrace the Muslims around you and if you are educated, you will hold in esteem much from their religion and openly recognize the truth that is in their religion."

Christian bishops are called to "rightly divide the word of truth," not to praise a false religion, false god, and false prophet which vehemently denies Jesus Christ and violently persecutes and slaughters Christians. These false teachings are bound to at the least confuse the faithful, and at worst may lead them directly into apostasy and denying Jesus Christ. 

Orthodox hierarchs, including, tragically, the "first among equals" (the Ecumenical Patriarch) who spew forth such bald faced praises of the "forerunner of the Antichrist" should be met by swift denials and cries of "ANAXIOS" from faithful Orthodox Christians who are not ashamed of the Lord Jesus Christ and care not about those who kill the body but cannot touch the soul. 

The Dhimmi in the Mirror

by Raymond Ibrahim, August 1, 2018:

During a recent ceremony that was attended by more than 50 ambassadors and diplomats, many from Western nations, Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II reportedly said “that Egypt had a long history and civilization and has been a model for coexistence between Christians and Muslims for 14 centuries,” to quote the online website, Egypt Independent (I cannot locate his original speech in Arabic to confirm his precise words).

This assertion raises a host of questions, from its veracity, to the reason it was uttered by the representative head of the nation’s indigenous Christians.

As to the claim itself—that “Egypt … has been a model of coexistence between Christians and Muslims for 14 centuries”—this is somewhat literally true: from Islam’s initial invasion of Egypt in the late 630s, to the present, Egypt has indeed been a “model”—a paradigm—of what happens to native Christians when Muslims conquer their territory. Even the word “coexist,” though connoting living peaceably with others, literally only means to live together (including its Arabic form, ta‘ayush).

At any rate, and as documented in my new book, Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West, those 14 centuries saw a continuum of hostility ranging from wholesale persecution (in the worst of times) to mere discrimination (in the best of times) in Egypt. Much of this is confirmed by the History of the Coptic Patriarchs (which no doubt the latest Coptic patriarch is aware of). This multivolume account, compiled over the course of a millennium, covers the history of the Coptic Church under Islam till 1894.

Unmitigated Muslim persecution of Christians permeates its pages, including the burning and banning of churches and crosses; the fiscal extortion, slaughter, enslavement, mass rape, and forced conversion of Christians. Think what the Islamic State (“ISIS”) has been doing to Christians and others but on an exponential scale. Moreover, the persecutors weren’t “radicals” who have “nothing to do with Islam,” but leading heads of Islamic states, whether Arabs, Fatimids, Ayyubids, Mamluks, or Turks.

The Christian Response to ISIS – Fr Matthew the Poor – Coptic Orthodox Abbot and Theologian

The Christian response to persecution from Islam:




Thanks to OCP Media, June 2, 2017.

Samia the Confessor of Egypt

"We very well know our path, we know our place very well is in faithful hands. Our God is a strong God. He is a God of love. He gave us to love and not to hate."

Samia the Confessor

Translated by M.G., Coptic Orthodox Scientist, May 29, 2017 (Thanks to Fr Steven):

English transcript of an interview with one of the survivors of the shooting that occurred on May 26, 2017 in Minya, Egypt against the Coptic Christians. Samia lost most of her family and she continues to reflect the light of Christ, confessing her faith and love.

(0 minutes to 10:03 minutes):

Interviewer: I want you to tell me your name.

Samia: Samia Adly Ibrahim

Interviewer: Madam Samia, this isn’t easy, right?

Samia: Thank God. Believe me, we are comforted. I am not upset about those who went to heaven, believe me. I placed them in safe hands, better than the world and the problems of the world, all the bad things in the world. They left on the feast of the Ascension. And their dad came from America to have them around him.

Interviewer: Tell me first, where are you from?

Samia: I am from Nazlet Hanna in Fashn.

Interviewer: Fahn is in Bani Suef?

Samia: Yes

Interviewer: So that day, tell me from the beginning what happened?

Samia: what happened is that we were going to the monastery of Anba Samuel. We headed out in the faithfulness of God, singing with joy. And we were about to arrive and they attacked us. The blessing came to us.

Interviewer: “the blessing”?

Samia: Mm, blessing.

Interviewer: These criminals, these terrorists, you call them “the blessing”?

Samia: Yes, may God bless them and protect them.

Interviewer: bless who?

Samia: Bless the demons, to show them His way. Of course, God will reveal Himself for these people and He will show them His way one day. Because they are absent-minded. They do not know the strong faith. If they know the strong faith, they would not have seen the people who are faithful, the ones who know God, and hurt them. We were going to a holy place, we were going to pray in a holy place, to become comforted and joyous by it. So, they don’t want us to be joyful in the world. We don’t have a place in the world, believe me. We have a place in heaven. This world has no use. Plants, and at the end we will go to Paradise. We very well know our path, we know our place very well is in faithful hands. Our God is a strong God. He is a God of love. He gave us to love and not to hate.

Coptic Martyrs and their Forgiving Families - Seeds of the Church in Egypt

“When people see this attitude [of forgiveness] from Christians and the church, they ask themselves, ‘What kind of power is this?’” he said. “But with this witness we must also declare the message of Christ, which we are fulfilling—literally. We may not see the response immediately. But we will in the near future.”

The Lord's grace is present and real among the Coptic faithful, as they persevere through the valley of the shadow of death, bearing their heavy cross of mass martyrdom, following Christ to their own Golgotha. Their profound faith — and their forgiveness of their Muslim persecutors — may be planting seeds for a new Orthodox Christian harvest in Egypt. May it be so!

Forgiveness: Muslims Moved as Coptic Christians Do the Unimaginable

Amid ISIS attacks, faithful response inspires Egyptian society.

by Jayson Casper, ChristianityToday, April 20, 2017

Coffins are carried to the funeral of Egyptian Christians killed in Palm Sunday bombings. (Photo: Mohamed El-Shahed/AFP)

Twelve seconds of silence is an awkward eternity on television. Amr Adeeb, perhaps the most prominent talk show host in Egypt, leaned forward as he searched for a response.

“The Copts of Egypt … are made of … steel!” he finally uttered.

Moments earlier, Adeeb was watching a colleague in a simple home in Alexandria speak with the widow of Naseem Faheem, the guard at St. Mark’s Cathedral in the seaside Mediterranean city.

On Palm Sunday, the guard had redirected a suicide bomber through the perimeter metal detector, where the terrorist detonated. Likely the first to die in the blast, Faheem saved the lives of dozens inside the church.

“I’m not angry at the one who did this,” said his wife, children by her side. “I’m telling him, ‘May God forgive you, and we also forgive you. Believe me, we forgive you.’

“‘You put my husband in a place I couldn’t have dreamed of.’”

Stunned, Adeeb stammered about Copts bearing atrocities over hundreds of years, but couldn’t escape the central scandal.

“How great is this forgiveness you have!” his voice cracked. “If it were my father, I could never say this. But this is their faith and religious conviction.”

Millions marveled with him across the airwaves of Egypt.

So also did millions of Copts, recently rediscovering their ancient heritage, according to Ramez Atallah, president of the Bible Society of Egypt which subtitled and recirculated the satellite TV clip.

“In the history and culture of the Copts, there is much taught about martyrdom,” he told CT. “But until Libya, it was only in the textbooks—though deeply ingrained.”

The Islamic State in Libya kidnapped and beheaded 21 mostly Coptic Christians in February 2015. CT previously reported the message of forgiveness issued by their families and the witness it provided.

“Since then, there has been a paradigm shift,” said Atallah. “Our ancestors lived and believed this message, but we never had to.”

UPDATE: Coptic Christians True Martyrs - Killed for Refusing to Renounce Their Faith in Jesus Christ

"As each pilgrim came off the bus they were asked to renounce their Christian faith and profess belief in Islam, but all of them—even the children—refused. Each was killed in cold blood with a gunshot to the head or the throat."

The classic Muslim way, just like with the 100,000 Holy Martyrs of Tbilisi, Georgia.

Update on this report.

The Copts continue to faithfully ascend their Golgotha, following the Lord Jesus Christ. Even though we are not in full ecclesial communion with the Coptic Orthodox Church, there have been fruitful talks in recent years, and we are certainly united with them through a communion of martyrdom, an ecumenism of blood.

Just like the Russian New Martyrs of the 20th century under the God-hating Soviet atheists, the Copts today are witnessing to Christ through confessing Him as Lord even unto death. And they and their families further fulfill the Lord's divine commands by forgiving and praying for their persecutors.

At every Divine Liturgy, at the Third Antiphon we chant the Beatitudes, from Matthew 5:3-11. We must wonder at what our Coptic brothers and sisters feel when they hear and sing these words:

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven...

The mass martyrdom of the Coptic Church in our time should force us all to our knees in tears and repentance for our lax and comfortable lives. May we be emboldened and encouraged in our faith by their ultimate sacrifice for love of our Lord Jesus Christ, and may the Lord strengthen us for our own time of trials, which is coming swiftly, and is already at the very doors.



In Ramadan Massacre, Egyptian Christians Killed for Refusing to Renounce Their Faith in Jesus

by Thomas D. Williams, PhD, Breitbart News, May 28, 2017:

Funeral procession for the New Coptic Martyrs of Egypt, killed by Muslims for refusing to deny Jesus Christ. They were on a holy pilgrimage to a sacred monastery when they were attacked by Islamic jihadis.

As more and more details emerge concerning Friday’s Ramadan attack on a busload of Christians on pilgrimage, the more it becomes evident that these 29 martyrs died solely because they were Christians.

Survivors of the attack said that the ten masked Islamic State militants did not merely open fire on the bus full of Christian pilgrims on their way to the Monastery of Saint Samuel the Confesor, but that the victims were made to descend from the bus and asked one by one whether they were Christians before being shot by the assailants.

According to one of the chaplains of the group, Father Rashed, as each pilgrim came off the bus they were asked to renounce their Christian faith and profess belief in Islam, but all of them—even the children—refused. Each was killed in cold blood with a gunshot to the head or the throat.

The Atlantic: 'The Actual War on Christians - Egypt's Copts are under attack'

A fearless and essential article in a major publication exposes the systemic persecution of Coptic Christians by Muslims in Egypt. These lessons apply to wherever Christians live under Islamic rule.

Read and share widely...


The Actual War on Christians - Egypt's Copts are under attack
by Samuel Tadros, The Atlantic, December 17, 2016:

A nun cries as she stands at the scene inside Cairo's Coptic cathedral, following a bombing, in Egypt December 11, 2016

...Being a Copt was never a simple matter of attending different places of worship, but rather a salient feature shaping their lives. A Copt was a Dhimmi—the Islamic term used to refer to Christians and Jews, which means “protected person”—a tolerated second-class citizen, constantly reminded of his inferiority, and expected to behave.

Even at the height of Egypt’s experiment with liberalism from 1923 to 1952, a Copt could never escape his Coptic identity, nor, paradoxically, bring it to the public square. Under Egypt’s military rulers the Copts’ plight only worsened.

Despite proclamations of equality by the state, a Copt has never been an equal Egyptian citizen in the eyes of the law. Egyptian laws are, in fact, designed to remind him of his second-class nature.

Coptic Bishop Angaelos of the UK: 'Forgiveness is by no means synonymous with ignoring justice'

"As Christians, we also believe in forgiveness, but forgiveness is by no means synonymous with ignoring justice. Forgiveness ensures that our own hearts are not entangled in a web of anger and resentment, or corrupted by feelings of hatred or revenge. Forgiveness is ultimately liberating and empowering, but at the same time, justice is essential; not for the purposes of punishment, but to secure and protect our societies in which people must respectfully live side by side."


Bishop Angaelos comments a day after the brutal bombing and murder of 25 people in St Peter’s Coptic Orthodox Church – Cairo
Coptic Orthodox Church-UK via OCP Media,  12/12/16

Link includes embedded video of Bishop Angaelos on the BBC

HG Bishop Angaelos comments a day after brutal bombing and murder of 25 people in St Peter’s Coptic Orthodox Church, Cairo.
Today is a day of many emotions: sadness, nervousness, uncertainty, and understandably even anger at times. That is because yesterday was a day in which we witnessed the worst of humanity, when innocent women and children who decided to worship their God in their spiritual home had their lives needlessly and senselessly ended without warning. They were used as pawns; a means to an end. To the perpetrators of this heinous crime, their lives clearly held no greater value than scribbles on a strategic page; a plan that was to be executed for a cause to which they were merely incidental, collateral damage. Yesterday we saw beautiful lives lost, families separated and broken, and whole communities grieving; a truly painful time that has not only affected Coptic Christians, but Egyptian society at large, Muslims and Christians alike, and millions around the world.

Crimes will always be perpetrated and criminals will continue to exist, but such a strategic, vicious act is difficult to comprehend. It is indeed difficult to understand how a person might plan and execute such a horrific, ruthless and barbaric plot against innocent women and children. The only way to do this is to completely disregard the relevance, value and sanctity of any life potentially affected by these actions.

In recent decades, we have seen recurring acts of violence against Christians and Christian communities in Egypt. Time and time again, very few, if any, perpetrators have been brought to justice, and we subsequently continue to witness an escalation of these attacks. This is not a matter of blame, but accountability, with an expectation that barbaric acts such as these should never occur, but if they do, that their perpetrators are rightly and fairly held to account. This is not a call for vengeance, but a deterrent against similar future plans and aspirations.

Let us honor and exalt the Holy Coptic Neo-Martyrs of the Cairo Cathedral Jihad Attack

The world calls them 'victims', but we Christians call them 'Victors', for they loved the Lord Jesus Christ, and did not allow threats of persecution and murder by the enemies of mankind to keep them from confessing their faith in Him.

These photos show us 'normal' looking women, from late teens to their 50s and 60s, both young and mature. When they awakened on Sunday morning, they no doubt did not expect that this was the day they would pay the ultimate price for their faith in Christ.

But unlike the foolish rich man in the Lord's parable (LK 12:15-21), these women were found in the Church when their time came. Sunday morning, they faithfully went to the Divine Liturgy, giving thanks to the Lord. They put the Lord first, on the Lord's Day, and they were killed in the Church, during the Divine Liturgy, so their holy Guardian Angels immediately conducted their souls straight to the Lord.

And we in the West, who sometimes struggle to rouse ourselves to even attend the Liturgy, or are chronically slothful and tardy, can we even imagine what it is like for our brothers and sisters in Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Turkey, Indonesia, and all through the Islamic world, where they do not know if they will be the ones next to be killed, raped, beheaded, crucified or tortured for their faith in Jesus Christ?

So let us gain strength and courage from all our martyred sisters and brothers, who were faithful to the Lord to the end, and who have received the crowns of martyrdom, and thus live to intercede for us lowly ones.

Let us honor and exalt the Holy Coptic Neo-Martyrs, and all the 21st Century New Martyrs under the bloody sword of Islam, who are joining that 'great cloud of witnesses' in the heavenly kingdom!

And let us, at least, vow to be faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ even unto death, and to be found in the bosom of His Holy Church.

Remembering the Victims of the Cairo Cathedral Terror Attack
Egyptian Streets, December 12, 2016:

On Monday morning, Egypt’s Ministry of Health released the names and ages of 23 people who were killed in a terror attack that targeted a chapel connected to St. Mark’s Cathedral in Cairo.

Below are the translated names of 23 victims. A 24th victim remains unidentified as the death toll increased after the statement. Photographs of some victims were also found shared by their loved ones and friends on social media...

Raymond Ibrahim: 'How Islam Erased Christianity from History'

While Christianity continues to be physically erased from the Middle East, lesser known is that its historical role and presence is also being expunged from memory.

by Raymond Ibrahim, PJ Media, April 24, 2016:

Last month a video emerged showing Islamic State members tossing hundreds of Christian textbooks, many of them emblazoned with crosses, into a large bonfire.   As one report put it, ISIS was “burning Christian textbooks in an attempt to erase all traces of” Christianity from the ancient region of Mosul, where Christianity once thrived for centuries before the rise of Islam.

As usual, ISIS is ultimately an extreme example of Islam’s normative approach.  

This was confirmed during a recent conference in Amman, Jordan hosted by the Jerusalem Center for Political Studies. While presenting, Dr. Hena al-Kaldani, a Christian, said that “there is a complete cancelation of Arab Christian history in the pre-Islamic era,” “many historical mistakes,” and “unjustifiable historic leaps in our Jordanian curriculum.”  “Tenth grade textbooks omit any mention of any Christian or church history in the region.”  Wherever Christianity is mentioned, omissions and mischaracterizations proliferate, including the portrayal of Christianity as a Western (that is, “foreign”) source of colonization, said al-Kaldani.

Of course, Christian minorities throughout the Middle East—not just in Jordan—have long maintained that the history taught in public classrooms habitually suppresses the region’s Christian heritage while magnifying (including by lying about) Islam.

“It sounds absurd, but Muslims more or less know nothing about Christians, even though they make up a large part of the population and are in fact the original Egyptians,” said Kamal Mougheeth, a retired teacher in Egypt: “Egypt was Christian for six or seven centuries [before the Muslim invasion around 640].  The sad thing is that for many years the history books skipped from Cleopatra to the Muslim conquest of Egypt.  The Christian era was gone.  Disappeared.  An enormous black whole.”[i]

Bishop Angaelos: Condemns Church’s silence, fails to mention Islam as cause of Christian 'decline'

As important as this report is, and the admonitions of Bishop Angaelos, it is noteworthy that absolutely nowhere in this story is there any mention of the actual cause of the "decline of Christianity in the Middle East." Why, judging from this news story and His Grace's words, the cause could be drought brought on by Climate Change. Or it could be lack of job opportunities. Or it could be falling oil prices.

The early 21st century is already drenched in blood and carnage by the global Muslim jihad against Christians, yet you don't get a word of that from this news report, nor from most Christian leaders.

The shameful irony of Bishop Angaelos' words is that, unless his remarks have been heavily edited, his condemnation of the Church's silence perpetuates that very silence when it comes to naming the root cause of the "decline of Christians in the Middle East": Islam and jihad in the name of Allah.


Bishop Angaelos: The Church’s silence has contributed to the decline of Christianity in the Middle East
Christianity Today via Pravmir, January 19, 2016:

The Church’s silence on refugees has been a contributing factor to the decline of Christianity in the Middle East, the General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the UK said today.

His Grace Bishop Angaelos addressed a conference hosted by the World Council of Churches and the UN to speak of practical ways leaders can respond to the refugee crisis.

He joined a number of other church leaders to highlight the mass exodus of Christians from their homeland in the Middle East.

“Where there was once a 25 per cent Christian population in the Middle East it is now around 5 per cent, and tragically 4 per cent of those 5 per cent are in Egypt,” he said.

“Our silence as Churches, nations, and as a world community, has been a contributing factor to this,” said Angaelos in an impassioned plea.

Coptic Bishop Angaelos addresses international conference on Christian response to persecution

"The world seems to be waking up to the fact that there is a problem in the Middle East... There has been a systemic persecution of Christians throughout the Middle East over centuries... Our silence has been a contributing factor to what we are seeing today."

ICN via AINA, December 19, 2015:

His Grace Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom, gave an address titled 'Christians in the Middle East: Light in darkness, hope in despair' during a conference at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome, on 12 December. He said: "The world seems to suddenly be waking up to the fact that there is a problem in the Middle East. That problem, however, did not start with the mass exodus of Christians from Mosul, because there has been a systematic and systemic persecution of Christians throughout the Middle East over decades and indeed over centuries. This ethnic cleansing is an accumulative effect and our silence has been a contributing factor to what we are seeing today." "The Christian presence in the Middle East decreased from 25% to just 5%. An even more alarming statistic, is when you take Egypt out of the equation as the most populous country with the most populous Christian presence, that percentage falls from 5% to somewhere between 1% and 2% because there are 13 million Christians in Egypt." "That said, I welcome the recent steps taken to present the actions of the caliphate to be those of genocide. I also welcome even more strongly, the efforts in the past few days that have sought to ensure that Christians are not excluded from that equation."

'Lambs among Wolves': Documentary about the Muslim Brotherhood's burning of Coptic churches

This looks promising: an English language documentary on the Muslim Brotherhood's planned, systematic burning of over 70 Coptic churches in Egypt, August 2013, just weeks following the popular overthrow of the ruthless, sharia-based government of Mohamed Morsi.

Will it discuss the Obama administration's unwavering support of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood? Or Koranic and hadith support for Muslim persecution of Christians and destruction of churches?

Even should such important components not be featured, showing the world what is at the heart of the Muslim Brotherhood should be a landmark achievement. I plan to post a followup when the film is released. Scroll down for the trailer...

Lambs among Wolves: A documentary about churches burning in Egypt Aug 2013 
Coptic Youth Channel, October 25, 2015:

EXCLUSIVE ON CYC the only english documentary movie that tells exactly the details of the Muslim Brotherhood attack over churches of Egypt which caused the burning of more than 70 churches in 2 days!! Hatred burnt every thing in churches, it was a complete destruction! Wait for the entire movie soon on CYC!

How the Islamic World was Forged: An Exercise in Common Sense

"That there are still millions of Christians in Egypt (approximately 10% of the population)—is not proof of Islam’s tolerance but rather its intolerance." 

by Raymond Ibrahim, FrontPage Magazine — August 31, 2015

What made non-Muslims convert to Islam, leading to the creation of the Islamic world?

Early historical sources—both Muslim and non-Muslim—make clear that the Islamic empire was forged by the sword; that people embraced Islam, not so much out of sincere faith, but for a myriad of reasons—from converting in order to enjoy the boons of being on the “winning team” to converting in order to evade the dooms of being on the “losing team.”

Modern day Muslims and other apologists—primarily in academia, government, and mainstream media—reject this idea.  They argue that the non-Muslims who embraced Islam did so from sheer conviction; that the ancestors of today’s 1.5 billion Muslims all converted to Islam due to its intrinsic appeal; that the modern day coercion and persecution committed by the Islamic State and other organizations is an aberration.

Of course, as mentioned, the primary texts of history are full of anecdotes demonstrating the opposite.  However, because ours is an increasingly ahistorical society, in this essay I endeavor to show that sheer common sense alone validates what history records, namely, that the Islamic world and its populace was forged through violent coercion.

To do so, I will use Egypt—one of the most important Muslim majority nations and my ancestral homeland—as a paradigm.  I will show how a historic fact that Islam’s apologists habitually boast of—that there are still millions of Christians in Egypt (approximately 10% of the population)—is not proof of Islam’s tolerance but rather its intolerance.

——

In the 7th century, when Islam was being formulated, Egypt had been Christian for centuries,[1] before most of Europe had converted.  Alexandria was one of the most important ecclesiastical centers of ancient Christian learning and, along with Rome and Antioch, one of the original three sees.[2]  Much literary and ongoing archaeological evidence attest to the fact that Christianity permeated the whole of Egypt.

Writing around the year 400—roughly two-and-a-half centuries before the Arab invasion—John Cassian, a Christian monk from the region of modern day Romania, observed that

the traveler from Alexandria in the north to Luxor in the south would have in his ears along the whole journey, the sounds of prayers and hymns of the monks, scattered in the desert, from the monasteries and from the caves, from monks, hermits, and anchorites.[3]

And in recent times, both the oldest parchment to contain words from the Gospel (dating to the 1st century) and the oldest image of Christ were discovered in separate regions of Egypt.

Possibly oldest known image of Christ, found in Egypt and dating to the 1st century

The question now becomes: what made such an ancient and heavily Christian nation become Islamic?  More specifically, what made the ancestors of today’s Egyptian Muslims—most of who were Coptic Christians—convert to Islam?

For an objective answer to this question, a completely overlooked factor must be considered.

5 Middle East Churches That Could Cease to Exist If Islamic State Influence Continues to Spread

A high-level overview of five of the local Christian Church communions most severely threatened by the 21st-century resurgence of pure Islam. 

Coptic Icon of Jesus Christ, Pantocrator

The below article is a welcome contribution to the education of American Protestants and Evangelicals, some of whom do not consider Eastern Christians of any kind to be true Christians. This is also a great help for us in our daily prayers for those being persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ. 

At the same time, it must be noted that the thumbnail sketches in the Christian Post article below concerning non-Chalcedonian Christology do not do justice to the theology of these "Oriental" churches. Further reading for an expanded understanding of this issue is highly recommended.

Therefore, immediately below are links to related articles which explore in far greater depth the question over the "non-Chalcedonian" Christian Churches.

_______

THE NON-CHALCEDONIAN CHURCHES:

Regarding the division which occurred after the Ecumenical Council at Chalcedon in 451, and recent efforts to examine anew the faith of the non-Chalcedonian churches, see the following:

• RECENT EFFORTS FOR UNITY BETWEEN THE TWO FAMILIES OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH - Coptic.net
• VARIOUS DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EASTERN ORTHODOX AND ORIENTAL ORTHODOX JOINT COMMISSION AND UNITY - Orthodox Joint Commission
• Beyond Dialogue: The Quest for Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Unity Today - Rev. John Erickson, Dean, St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary

The report at Coptic.net linked above begins with this statement:

Since 451, at the Council of Chalcedon,  there has been a division within the Orthopdox [sic] Church due to different Christological terminology. In recent times, members  of the Chalcedonian and non-Chalcedonian Orthodox Churches  have met together coming to a clear understanding that both  families have always loyally maintained the same authentic Orthodox Christological faith, and the unbroken  continuity of  the apostolic tradition, though they may have used Christological terms in different ways. It is this common faith and continuous loyality [sic] to the apostolic tradition  that has been the basis of the conversations held over the last two decades towards unity and communion.

For a traditionalist Orthodox response to recent dialogues between Orthodox and non-Chalcedonian churches, see:

• Eastern Orthodoxy and "Oriental Orthodoxy" - Orthodox Christian Information Center

As for my own view of the non-Chalcedonian question, I give thanks to God for all things, even for our sufferings and for this new age of global Christian persecution, for it enables each one of us to confess Jesus Christ, and to prove our love for Him and our faith in Him. Regardless of semantic differences in the theological expression of our faith in Jesus Christ, we are united at the very least by a communion of blood, a communion of the Cross, a communion of martyrdom.

See also:

• What is an Assyrian Christian?
• What is an Armenian Christian?

_______

5 Middle East Churches That Could Cease to Exist If Islamic State Influence Continues to Spread
Christian Post via Pravmir — August 24, 2015

There are Christian churches throughout the Middle East that trace their roots back to the time of the apostles that could cease to exist if Islamic State and other radical Muslim groups continue to gain control of more territory in the region.

The Islamic State Caliphate: Darkness falls across the Middle
East, North Africa, Central Asia, and on into Europe.

Author George J. Marlin, who is also chairman of the Board of Aid to the Church in Need USA, recently released a book titled Christian Persecutions in the Middle East, which not only discusses the growing threat to believers in the region, but also provides the history of many of the churches that have existed in the Middle East since the time of the apostles that could now be facing extinction at the hands of Muslim extremists.

Listed below are five of those churches.

1. The Syrian Orthodox Church

The Syrian Orthodox Church came into its modern formation when Syrian Christians rejected decrees made by the Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, and Western Christian Churches at the Council of Chalcedon in A.D. 451. The Council acknowledged that Christ has two natures, divine and human, which come together in one person.

(PHOTO: REUTERS/MAJED JABER. Jordanian Christian clerics hold a mass at the Syriac Orthodox Church in Amman, May 21, 2013.

In an attempt to hold onto their beliefs about Christ, which state that He is one nature of full humanity and full divinity, Syrian Christians regrouped under their own bishops and broke away from the established church.

The Syrian Orthodox Church traces its origins back to the church of Antioch found in the New Testament and considers St. Paul its first Bishop. The head of the Syrian Orthodox Church today is known as the “Patriarch of the God-protected City of Antioch and of all the Domain of the Apostolic Throne.” He is elected by fellow bishops and must be celibate. The patriarch resides in Damascus and the church has archdioceses in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey, Jordan, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Palestine.

Today, the Syrian Orthodox Church has 5 million members worldwide.

2. The Coptic Orthodox Church

The Coptic Orthodox Church — Coptic meaning Egyptian — traces its roots back to A.D. 42 when St. Mark the Apostle first brought Christianity to Egypt. Monophysitism, the belief that Christ has a single divine nature, first took root in Egypt and was embraced by the head of the church and patriarch of Alexandria, Dioscorus.

New-Martyr Mary the Copt

The below account of the martyrdom of Mary Sameh George, by Raymond Ibrahim, highlights three important details:

• Mary kept a cross hanging from her rearview mirror in her car, a quiet, visible confession of her faith in Jesus Christ, in spite of living in Egypt, a country where Christians routinely suffer persecution from their Muslim neighbors.

• Mary put herself in harm's way to deliver medicine to a sick, elderly woman near her church, thus fulfilling Christ's words, "I was sick, and you visited me" (MT 25:36).

• Mary did not fear those who can only kill the body, but cannot touch the soul (cf. MT 10:28).

Now her pure soul is with Christ:

“These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (REV 7:14)

Let us pray for our brothers and sisters being persecuted for the sake of Jesus Christ, and let us rouse ourselves to imitate the faithful witness of Mary and all the New Martyrs! Let us never deny our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, and let us prefer death rather than to commit apostasy and betray Him!

O Holy New-Martyr Mary, pray to God for us!


The Martyrdom of Mary Sameh George of Cairo
by Raymond Ibrahim — March 30, 2014

"Oh how lucky you are, Mary, you who are beloved of Christ.  They tore your body because of the Cross.  Yet they offered you the greatest service and gave you a name of honor as one who attained the crown of martyrdom."  

— Coptic Orthodox Bishop Raphaeil, Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church

On Friday, March 28, in Ain Shams, a suburb of Cairo, rioting Muslim Brotherhood supporters attacked the Virgin Mary and Archangel Michael Coptic Orthodox Church, including by opening fire on it and setting parked cars aflame.  Four people died.

One of the slain, a young Coptic woman, was savagely mauled and molested before being murdered—simply because her cross identified her as a Christian to the Brotherhood rioters.

According to an eyewitness who discussed the entire event on the Egyptian program, 90 Minutes, Mary Sameh George was parking by the church to deliver medicine to a sickly, elderly woman:

Exposed: Egypt’s Institutionalized Persecution of Coptic Christians

Bishop Agathon concludes that “Copts are between a state anvil and aggressor hammers,” meaning that, the state serves only to keep its Christian citizens in place while Islamic radicals pound away at them.

by Raymond Ibrahim — May 4, 2015

In a 25-minute interview on Arabic satellite TV with Dr. Mona Roman, Coptic Christian Bishop Agathon fully exposed the plight of his Christian flock in Minya, Egypt—a region that has a large Coptic minority that is steadily under attack.

While several important points were made, most notable was that the Egyptian State itself is often behind the persecution of and discrimination against Christians.

According to the frustrated-sounding bishop, local governmental authorities—including the State Security apparatus—are not just ignoring the attacks on Copts, but are often the very ones behind them.   For example, when the Copts were having a serious council meeting with government officials about the possibility of building a church, one of the authorities actually contacted the Islamic sheikhs of the village asking whether they “stand with the Coptic church or with the State?”  If the latter, each Muslim household was instructed to send one family member to protest against the proposed building of a church—so that security can then point to the mob and, as usual, just tell the Copts, “Sorry, no can do.”

Other times, State Security is complicit: Male and female Christian minors—currently 21 from just Minya alone said the Coptic leader—are habitually abducted by surrounding Muslims.  At the moment, the youngest Christian girl abducted had just started elementary school.  Whenever any of these attacks occur, Copts, working with the church, prepare bundles of documents, including photos and other verifications, incriminating the culprits.  These then are placed into the hands of top officials, to make sure they don’t get “lost” or “misplaced” by underlings.  The bishop named many of these top people—at no small risk to himself—and said he even put such proofs and documents into the hands of the Director of Intelligence himself.  “Absolutely nothing was done,” said the despondent Christian.

Orthodox Patriarchs attend Opening Ceremony of ‘Against the Crime of Genocide’ Global Forum

His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon represents the OCA at historic, symbolic event.

OCP Media, April 22, 2015

Pope Tawadros II addresses gathering; Metropolitan Tikhon of the OCA at far right.

His Holiness Patriarch Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II participated in the Opening Ceremony of “Against the Crime of Genocide” Global Forum. His Holiness Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, the President of Armenia Mr. Serzh Sarkissian, Mr. Thornborn Jagland, Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, and Prof. Daniel Feierstein, President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars spoke in the High Level Segment of the Opening Ceremony. 

The Opening Ceremony was also attended by His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Coptic Patriarch and Pope of Alexandria, His Beatitude Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Raii and many representatives of Churches particularly from Russia, England, Jerusalem, Egypt, Zimbabwe, and Cyprus.

In Pictures: Christian Churches Under Islam

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then here are 20,000 words to consider, courtesy of the indefatigable Raymond Ibrahim (originally posted April 7, 2015):

"As Orthodox Easter approaches — Orthodoxy being the most native form of Christianity practiced by the indigenous Christians of the Middle East — it is well to reflect on the status of post “Arab Spring” Christianity.  A sampling of the many ruined and destroyed churches follows:"

Coptic Christians Celebrate Easter Outdoors Because Muslims Forbid Church Building

See also: Muslims Prevent Christians from Praying in Coptic Home

by Raymond Ibrahim, April 16, 2015

Due to the difficulties Egypt’s Coptic Christians experience in trying to build—or even repair—churches in their homeland, some end up meeting in Coptic homes to worship (and often are attacked for it), while others worship out in the open.

This was the case for the Christians of Nag Shenouda, in Sohag City.  For 44 years they have been trying to build a church to congregate in.  After decades they finally got some permits.

But then the next obstacle presented itself—the Muslim populace itself refused to allow the Copts to build a church (in direct accord with Islamic law) and even burned down the panoply the Christians had erected to worship under (different incident from this similar one).

Coptic Priest: Islamic Law Trumps Egyptian Law in Case of Martyr’s Church

"This is like a disease that will spread everywhere."

See all posts regarding the 21 Coptic Martyrs of Libya

by Raymond Ibrahim, April 1, 2015

(Coptic Solidarity) According to a local priest and Coptic spokesman, last Friday’s assault on a Coptic Christian church proposed to be built, with President Sisi’s permission, to honor the 21 Coptic Christians who were slaughtered by the Islamic State in Libya, was all too typical and a reminder that Islamic Sharia sentiment continues to trump the sovereignty of the Egyptian state.  During an interview he said: