In his essay below, Raymond Ibrahim relates both an important news item, as well as a telling critique of Western media, politicians and academia.

With regards to 'academia', this type of anti-Christian pronouncement by one of the world's leading Islamic authorities is what our overly cautious scholars and clergy typically avoid when discussing the "nuances" of Islam. In fact, they prefer neither to hear of it, nor comment on it, and often seek to silence those of us who do dare to report and comment on Islam's civilizational and theological jihad.

In my estimation, holding to the meme of "developing a nuanced understanding of Islam" is just an excuse to give Islam a pass and avoid confrontation with adherents of the 'Religion of Peace'. "Nuance" is a codeword which should alert the reader that the author is likely willing to gloss over the extensive Koranic passages and rulings of Islamic jurisprudence which command Muslims to wage jihad until Islam rules the earth, passages which condemn Christians and Jews and other infidels as "the worst of all created beings," passages which are taken very seriously by devout Muslim jihadists. 'Nuance' means ignoring Muhammad's barbarous example and the Islamic imperative to consider him as the ideal man and most perfect pattern of conduct. 'Nuance' means willful blindness and self-censorship when it comes to honest criticism of Islam. 'Nuance' means prevarication and withholding of the truth. Thus, when scholars speak of holding a "nuanced understanding of Islam," they are likely engaging in the Islamic practice of taqiyya, that is, knowingly concealing and obfuscating the truth about the religion of Muhammad.

Here is Raymond Ibrahim's article:

Saudi Grand Mufti Calls for "Destruction of All Churches in Region"

by Raymond Ibrahim
March 14, 2012

According to several Arabic news sources, last Monday, Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, declared that it is "necessary to destroy all the churches of the region."

Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti confirms Islamic hostility for churches.

The Grand Mufti made his assertion in response to a question posed by a delegation from Kuwait, where a parliament member recently called for the "removal" of churches (he later "clarified" by saying he merely meant that no churches should be built in Kuwait): the delegation wanted to confirm Sharia's position on churches.

Accordingly, the Grand Mufti "stressed that Kuwait was a part of the Arabian Peninsula, and therefore it is necessary to destroy all churches in it."

As with many grand muftis before him, the Sheikh based his proclamation on the famous tradition, or hadith, wherein the prophet of Islam declared on his deathbed that "There are not to be two religions in the [Arabian] Peninsula," which has always been interpreted to mean that only Islam can be practiced in the region.

While the facts of this account speak for themselves, consider further:

Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah is not just some random Muslim hating on churches. He is the Grand Mufti of the nation that brought Islam to the world. Moreover, he is the President of the Supreme Council of Ulema [Islamic scholars] and Chairman of the Standing Committee for Scientific Research and Issuing of Fatwas. Accordingly, when it comes to what Islam teaches, his words are immensely authoritative.

Considering the hysteria that besets the West whenever non-authoritative individuals offend Islam—for instance, a fringe, unknown pastor—imagine what would happen if a Christian counterpart to the Grand Mufti, say the Pope, were to declare that all mosques in Italy must be destroyed; imagine the nonstop Western media frenzy that would erupt, all the shrill screams of "intolerance" and "bigot," demands for apologies if not resignation, nonstop handwringing by sensitive politicians, and worse.

Yet the Grand Mufti—the highest Islamic law authority of our "friend-and-ally" Saudi Arabia—gets a free pass when he incites Muslims to destroy churches, not that any extra incitement is needed (nary a month goes by without several churches being bombed and destroyed throughout the Islamic world). In fact, at the time of this writing, I have not seen this story, already some three days old, translated on any English news source, though "newsworthy" stories are often translated in mere hours.

Likewise, consider the Grand Mufti's rationale for destroying churches: it is simply based on a hadith. But when non-Muslims evoke hadiths as authoritative—this one or the countless others that incite violence and intolerance against the "infidel"—they are accused of being "Islamophobes," of intentionally slandering and misrepresenting Islam, of being obstacles on the road to "dialogue," and so forth.

Which leads to perhaps the most important point: Islam's teachings are so easily ascertained; there is no mystery in determining what is "right" and "wrong" in Islam. The Grand Mufti based his fatwa on a canonical hadith, which Muslims and (informed) non-Muslims know is part of Islam's sources of jurisprudence (or usul al-fiqh). All very standard and expected. And yet the West—with all its institutions of higher learning, including governmental agencies dealing with cultural and religious questions—is still thoroughly "confused" as to what Islam teaches.

All of this is nothing short of a scandal—a reminder of just how deep the mainstream media, academia, and most politicians have their collective heads thrust in the sand.

Meanwhile, here is the latest piece of evidence of just how bad churches have it in the Muslim world, for those who care to know.

Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenouda III eulogized

From the OCA announcement: Funeral services for His Holiness, Coptic Pope Shenouda III, who fell asleep in the Lord after a lengthy illness on Saturday, March 17, 2012, are expected to be celebrated on Tuesday, March 20 in Cairo’s main Coptic cathedral.

The 117th Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church and head of its Holy Synod, Pope Shenouda was born August 3, 1923.  He presided over the Coptic Church since his election on November 14, 1971...

Pope Shenouda presided over a worldwide expansion of the Coptic Orthodox Church in recent time, due primarily to emmigration.  He appointed the first Coptic bishops to serve his Church’s North American dioceses, which number an estimated 200 parishes in the US, 23 in Canada, and one in Mexico, and the first bishops in Australia and South America.

At home, he faced turbulent times, and at one point had been placed under house arrest in a monastery. Shenouda was well known as a man of prayer and asceticism, as reflected in his many writings.  May his memory be eternal!


Read also the statement of the Holy Synod of the OCA (Dec 21, 2011), in which the Synod expressed its concern for and solidarity with the Coptic Church, sent to the Embassy of Egypt in Washington, DC, to the Egyptian Mission to the United Nations, to government authorities in Egypt, and was shared with President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Axios to our hierarchs for their support of our persecuted brethren.

Orthodox Christians the world over ought to be commemorating and thanking God for the meek yet lion-hearted Shenouda, whose served as Pope during a period of ever increasing persecution of Christians in Egypt and throughout the Islamic world.

For a dissenting view on His Holiness Shenouda, here is a message from an Egyption Muslim cleric, captured by MEMRI (Middle East Media Research Institute), whose diligent work in posting Muslim media broadcasts explodes the myth of a "moderate Islam" and reveals the continuity of Islam's anti-Christian and anti-Semitic core:

Following are excerpts from a statement by Egyptian cleric Wagdi Ghoneim, which was posted on the Internet on March 18, 2012 :

Praise be to Allah. With the grace of Allah, the head of unbelief and polytheism, known as Shenouda, died yesterday, may Allah exact revenge from him. God's worshippers and the trees and the animals were all relieved by his death. Egypt is relieved by his [death], because he generated sectarian strife…

This dead accursed criminal, known as Shenouda, was told that the Koran says, in Surat Al-Maida: "And [beware the day] when Allah will say: Oh Jesus, Son of Mary, did you say to the people: Take me and my mother as gods beside Allah?" [Shenouda] said: "We don't take Christ and his mother as gods beside Allah. He Is God."

The truth is that he was very clear in his enmity to Islam. When the Muslim Brothers would chant their slogan: "The Koran is our constitution," he would respond: "The New Testament is our constitution." When they would say: "Death for the sake of Allah is our highest aspiration," he would say: "Death for the sake of Christ is our highest aspiration."

He used to say that Egypt was under Muslim occupation. He demanded to abolish the Islamic shari'a and turn Egypt into a Coptic state. […]

Are we supposed to send condolences or be sad about someone like this? We should be happy that he died. Let him go to Hell. May Allah exact revenge from him in the Hellfire – from him and from all those who follow his path...  

Glory be to God for His Holiness Pope Shenouda, who remained to the end a faithful confessor of Jesus Christ, and completed his life in faith. His courageous spiritual leadership of the Coptic faithful, a tiny island of Christians surrounded by a sea of raging hatred, epitomized Psalm 120:7: "I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war."

May his soul dwell with the righteous, and may his memory be eternal...


Update on Egyptian Cleric Wagdi Ghoneim: This fellow has previously gone on the record as stating that democracy is based on heresy, and that Copts and Christians should not have equal rights under Egyptian law. See his TV interviews here and here.

Syria's Christians Fleeing to Lebanon

The below article with preface by Jihad Watch looks at the decaying situation for Christians in Syria. Syria had been one of the few Muslim countries where Christians lived in tenuous peace. Now might be a good time for the United States to assist Syrian Christian refugees who wish to emigrate to the USA.

The fall of the Assad regime will make Syria's Christians targets for two reasons: first, they benefited from where the Baath regime contradicted Sharia on the role of Christians in society. Secondly, and for the longer term, they are Christians, and they are marked for subjugation under Sharia.

What breaks out as Assad's enemies divide the spoils of the fallen regime, settle scores, and vie for power will not be "tolerance" as we know it. "Syrian Christians Fleeing to Lebanon," from CatholicCulture, March 8:

Amid reports that 1,000 Syrians are now fleeing the country daily for Lebanon, the national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Lebanon described the Church's response.

"We have direct experience of Christian families who have fled to Syria [from] the violence or the oppression of the regime," said Father Paul Karam. "There are families who have relatives in Lebanon who have fled here and want to change their lives, looking for work. The Church's response in Lebanon was the hospitality and care of these people: we host them in parishes, provide food and clothing, we assist them at an economic level and insert them into the social fabric."

"As a Church we reiterate that we are against violence," he added. "We want to promote peace and encourage dialogue. As for the Christians, the danger that looms is a scenario like Iraq, where Christians are forced to flee the country. The risk is that a dictatorial regime is replaced with an Islamist type which imposes the Sharia."

Source: Jihad Watch 

Speaking of Iconoclasm and the Breaking of Crosses...

Dr Mark Durie has written a solid and measured piece on the recent desecration of Christian (and Jewish) WWII war graves in Libya by a Muslim group. Contrary to assertions in the media that this act was in retaliation for the burning of Koran's in Afghanistan, Durie uses this incident to trace the history and continuity of Islam's hatred of the cross directly back to Muhammad, and to a prophecy of his in a hadith where he claims Jesus will return to "break the crosses," i.e., destroy Christianity. 'Breaking the Crosses' has always been a central tenet of Islam.

This is a must read as we continue to educate ourselves on orthodox Islam's traditional, canonical position vis a vis Orthodox Christianity.

Desecrating Christian and Jewish Graves in Libya
Mark Durie
March 5, 2012

Many commentators have expressed outrage at the recent destruction of British and Canadian war graves in Benghazi, Libya (in this YouTube Video).

I watched the video and saw, not just the desecration of graves, but attacks on crosses.  The radical Muslims in the video who are kicking over and smashing headstones marked with crosses (and one with a Star of David), also take pains to demolish a tall 'Cross of Sacrifice' standing at the edge of the cemetery.  This is no 'furious mob' on a 'rampage' as a Daily Mail report put it, a distorted report which beggars belief.  Nor is there any evidence in what the men are recorded as saying that they are angry or reacting to Koran burning by the US military.  They are methodically, deliberately, and in an organized fashion, going about destroying crosses and objects marked with crosses.  Their mood seems happy, even celebratory.  Every now and again a cry Allahu Akbar rings out.  Or a chuckle of joy.  They pass comments on the graves as they kick them over:  "Break the cross that belongs to those dogs",  "This is the grave of a Christian', and "This tomb has a cross on it, a kaffir [disbeliever]".


An Australian government minister, Craig Emerson, whose father served in Libya in World War II, commented "There is nothing in Islam that would warrant this sort of behavior."

But is this true?  Or just wishful thinking?

Certainly many Libyans and Muslims of other nationalities have expressed their abhorrence of these acts.  It would be completely wrong to attribute sympathy for such an attack to Muslims as whole.

But all the same, was this attack on war graves truly senseless and without foundation or precedent in Islam?  Regrettably, the answer must be 'No'.

The phenomenon of cross-destruction goes back to the life and example of Muhammad.  A tradition reported by al-Waqidi said that if ever Muhammad found an object in his house with the mark of a cross on it, he would destroy it. (W. Muir, The Life of Muhammad. Volume 3, p.61, note 47.)

In the YouTube video, when one of the men says 'Break the cross that belongs to those dogs', he uses the same classical Arabic phrase 'break the cross' (the Arabic root is k.s.r 'break') which is found in a famous hadith (tradition) about Jesus — understood in Islam to be a Muslim prophet — who will return to the earth as a cross-destroying sharia enforcer:

Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah’s Apostle said, ‘By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, surely [Jesus,] the son of Mary will soon descend amongst you and will judge mankind justly [as a Just Ruler]; he will break the cross and kill the pigs and there will be no jizya [i.e. no taxation taken from non Muslims: because they will all be forced to convert to Islam]. …’ (Sahih al-Bukhari: The Book of the Stories of the Prophets. 4:60:3448.)

This phrase 'break the cross' is religious and ritualistic in its overtones, invoking as it does the canon of Islam.  It is like a Christian saying 'forgive us our trespasses' or 'deliver us from evil'.  This is a clear reference to the words of Muhammad, and invokes his authority for the deed being performed.

To pious Muslims, Muhammad is regarded as the 'best example' for Muslims to follow, so it is hardly surprising if his enmity to the cross is shared by at least some Muslims today, and they recite his words while emulating his deeds.  The following are just some of many examples of cross destruction which can be culled from media reports of recent years:

• Two days before Christmas in 1998, a Catholic church in Faisalabad, Pakistan had its crucifix pulled down by a Muslim leader.
• On March 18, 2004, an Albanian mob attacked and desecrated the church of St Andrew in Podujevo, Kosovo. Photographs distributed to the international media show Muslims, who had climbed up onto the roof, breaking off the prominent metal crosses attached there. There have also been many instances of Muslim mobs smashing crosses in Christian graveyards acrossKosovo.
• In April 2007, in the Al-Doura Christian area of Baghdad, Muslim militants instructed Christians to remove visible crosses from atop their churches, and issued a fatwa forbidding Christians from wearing crosses.
• When Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, some of its militias went on a cross-destroying rampage. The Rosary Sisters convent and school in Gaza was ransacked and looted by masked men and crosses were specifically targeted for destruction. A Christian resident of Gaza also reported having a crucifix ripped from his neck by someone from the Hamas Executive Force, who said ‘That is forbidden.’
• On Monday 29 October 2007, in the Malaysian Parliament, a parliamentarian, Tuan Syed Hood bin Syed Edros complained about the ‘display of religious symbols’ in front of church schools: ‘I, as a responsible person to my religion, race, and country, I state my views that … these crosses need to be destroyed …’
•  Michael Yon has reported on an poster found in Afghanistan ("Destroying the cross is an Islamic obligation") which instructs Muslims to destroy objects with crosses on them.

Antipathy to the cross among Muslims is not limited to Islamic societies.  In November 2004, Belmarsh Prison in England was reported to have plans to spend £1.6 million on a mosque. The facility already maintains a multi-denominational chapel, but this has been rejected for use by the Muslim inmates, some of whom had been convicted on terrorism charges, because the chapel contains crosses which have to be covered up when the Muslims say their prayers.

No less a figure than the former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey was compelled to remove his pectoral cross when he had to make a forced stop in Saudi Arabia in 1995. The incident is described by David Skidmore in the Episcopal News Service:

Carey’s flight out of Cairo for Sudan was forced to make an intermediary stop in Saudi Arabia. On the approach to the Red Sea coastal city of Jidda, Saudi Arabia, Carey was told to remove all religious insignia, including his clerical collar and pectoral cross.

There is another pattern at work here, which is the destruction of non-Muslim (infidel) graves and religious heritage.  The Taliban's destruction of ancient Buddhist monuments in Afghanistan is a well known example, as was the deliberate destruction of around 38,000 Jewish graves on the Mount of Olives, some of which were over 1,000 years old, during Jordan's occupation of Jerusalem from 1948 to 1967.

It must also be acknowledged that radical Sunni Muslims have a long history of destroying even Muslim graves, if they have become sites of pilgrimage and veneration.  The Wahhabis of Saudi Arabia have been known for more than one hundred years for destroying venerated grave sites, including those of some of Muhammad's own relatives (see a Shi'ite lament here).  In Libya Salafists have also been busy destroying graves of Sufi saints.  Likewise, in Somalia the al-Shabab movement has been destroying Sufi graves (as well as war graves of Christians: see here).

In the light of all these parallels, the destruction of this cemetery cannot be regarded as simply a senseless act done by a 'rampaging mob'.  It was a thoughtful, deliberate act, a ritualistic act which conforms to a widely attested pattern, namely the destruction of crosses, support for which can be found in canonical Islamic sources and the teaching of Muhammad.  It also conforms to a pattern of destruction of grave sites, of both non-Muslims and Muslims, by Muslims.

This event had little if anything to do with Koran-burning by the US military. 


Source.

The New Iconoclasm and the Triumph of Orthodoxy

Seventh Ecumenical Council

At the Sunday of Orthodoxy Vespers this evening, the homily included a very compelling presentation of the iconoclast heresy, complete with its historical context. Fr Justin elaborated on one of the more interesting facets of the iconoclast movement of the 8th century, the influence of Islam on the Byzantine Empire, specifically Emperor Leo III. Although iconoclasm did not spring fully formed from Islam, the Mohammedan tendency to reject images (especially Christian images which assert Christ as God Incarnate, and most especially therefore images of the Cross) often led to Muslim destruction of Orthodox churches, icons and crosses. Leo III may indeed have felt strongly motivated to adopt an aggressive iconoclastic stance in large measure to ally himself with the ideology of Muslim aggressors threatening Byzantium, thus hopefully appeasing the belligerent caliph. One Orthodox writer sums up the historical scene this way:

In the 8th century, the religion of Islam supplied one of the major forces in favor of iconoclasm. A notable example of this pressure came from the caliph Iezid II (720-724), who “ordered the destruction of all pictures in Christian churches within his dominions” (Edward James Martin, A History of the Iconoclastic Controversy, p. 23). Considering the warring relations consistently endured by nations bordering the Muslims, it is not difficult to imagine why an unscrupulous state official (such as the Emperor) might think it advantageous to proactively destroy certain elements likely to cause friction with neighboring aggressors. Source

We see a similar phenomenon in play today, whenever our political leaders turn a blind eye to Muslim persecution of Christians in Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Nigeria, Indonesia and elsewhere in the Islamic world, choosing instead to side with the Muslim Brotherhood in its efforts to establish shariah law with its institutionalized discrimination of Christians, Jews and other non-Muslims. Politicians who do not openly condemn the unbridled genocidal behavior and teachings of Muslim mobs and Islamic governments are complicit in mass murder by their silence.

This is exactly what the Obama State Department has chosen to do by ignoring persecution of Christians in Muslim countries. (See also here.)  (The Administration had also banned from its National Security documents and training any mention of the ideology of jihad and anything which might reflect negatively on Islam, thus preventing those entrusted with national defense from identifying and combatting the threat.)  Much concern and outrage has rightly been raised over Obama's Health and Human Services assault on American Christians and our Freedom of Religion through the abortion/contraception/sterilization mandate contained in Obamacare. Couple that with the Administration's stance in support of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamic extremists and we see a broad pattern of anti-Christian activism conducted in an apparent effort to court the favor of the Islamic world. The tacit acceptance of Muslim persecution of Christians in the Islamic world, and this New Iconoclasm here at home, are blatant attempts to drive Christianity out of the public square and hammer away at it until Christians are cowed and intimidated into silence. The Christian conscience is under attack, no less than in 726 A.D. when Leo III started smashing the holy icons.

Complementary to the Obama Administration's anti-Christian, pro-Islamist agenda is a direct assault on Orthodox Christianity in the teaching of certain Christian leaders, educators, theologians and even hierarchs and clergy, only instead of iconoclasm, their heresy is one of softness, appeasement and flattery. In my book, Facing Islam, I term it the 'Same God Heresy', namely, the idea that Muslims worship the same God as Christians. Put another way, it is the false teaching that Allah of Islam is the same One True God whom we worship as Trinity, only Muslims worship him differently, as absolute oneness. Christians who buy into this false teaching often state their position using the language of epistemological and religious relativism; e.g. "Muslim and Christian conceptions of God are quite different, but they worship the same God." This is a double apostasy, for it reduces the Christian revelation to a subjective, human conception and equates it to the Muslim conception of God. Such a position of course is the complete negation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and a direct rejection of Orthodox dogma. 

The Same God teaching is also an ontological fallacy, for Allah and the Blessed Trinity could not be more dissimilar in their revelations given to man. When we look at even a few passages of the Koran, we see the matter could not be more clear:

The similitude of Isa (Jesus) before God is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him: “Be”: And he was. (Sura 3:59)

Say not “Trinity”: desist: It will be better for you: For God is One God: Glory be to Him: (Far Exalted is He) above having a son. . . . (Sura 4:173)

In blasphemy indeed are those that say that God is Christ the Son of Mary. (Sura 5:19)

They do blaspheme who say: “God is Christ the son of Mary . . .” They do blaspheme who say: God is one of three in a Trinity: for there is no god except One God. If they desist not from their word (of blasphemy), verily a grievous penalty will befall the blasphemers among them (Sura 5:75,78)

Christ the son of Mary was no more than an Apostle; many were the apostles that passed away before him. His mother was a woman of truth. They had both to eat their (daily) food. See how God doth make His Signs clear to them; yet see in what ways they are deluded away from the truth! (Sura 5:78)

The Jews call 'Uzair a son of God, and the Christians call Christ the Son of God. That is a saying from their mouth; (in this) they but imitate what the Unbelievers of old used to say. God's curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth! (Sura 9:30)

In fact, they never killed him, they never crucified him — they were made to think that they did. All factions who are disputing in this matter are full of doubt concerning this issue. They possess no knowledge; they only conjecture. For certain, they never killed him. (Sura 4:157)

A child in my parish's Sunday School could see that these Koranic verses reject Christ's divinity, reject the Blessed Trinity, and reject the crucifixion (which echoes the ancient heresy of Docetism). Yet learned scholars and even clergy blandly teach the Same God heresy. Other passages in the Koran spin a bizarre, fabricated tale of a "different Jesus" (2 Cor. 11:3-5) obviously patched together from fragments of the second century gnostic gospel of Barnabas and the fanciful false infancy gospel of Thomas. In spite of the Koran's anti-Christian, heretical nature, yet we see  the Ecumenical Patriarch give copies of the Koran as gifts, seeming to endorse it in doing so. Since, in Islam, the Koran is considered to be the literal and inerrant words of Allah, and the Koran is explicitly and irreconcilably anti-Christian, therefore the presumed source of the Koran, Allah, cannot be the same as the Triune Godhead, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 

In spite of this simple clarity (and numerous other proofs against the same God teaching, which I present in my book), we see the afore-mentioned Same God proponents flattering Muslims by acceding to and repeating central tenets of Islamic dawah (missionary teaching), such as Allah being the God of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, and the notion that Muhammad was "an apostle, a man of God" (Patriarch Parthenius of Alexandria). The Purpose-Driven pastor Rick Warren is deep into this realm, having launched a Peace initiative with Southern California mosques where they affirm to worship the Same God, and agree not to evangelize among Muslims. And so Truth is betrayed and Christ is denied for some vague sense of "peace."

The New Iconoclasm is a betrayal of Christ by equating a false god (Allah) with the True God. As with the iconoclast heresy of the eighth century, the Same God Heresy is also a direct assault on the Church and the Faithful. One of the most pernicious effects of this false teaching is the confusion and wasted energy it introduces into the life of the Orthodox Church. Like other contemporary assaults against the Faith (same-sex marriage, abortion, secularism in general, etc.), the Same God Heresy saps the vitality of the Church, and dampens efforts at missions, especially missions among Muslims. Why should Orthodox Christians share the Gospel with Muslims if (in the words of one Antiochian bishop)  "Islam and Christianity are 90% the same, and only differ regarding the Divinity of Christ?"  And why would Muslims feel drawn to Christ if Christians do not incarnate Him before their eyes, but rather adopt an "I'm okay, you're okay" milk toast theology of equivalency?

Yet our task should be to pivot from false teachings, and use our repudiation of the Same God Heresy as an opportunity to seize the high ground, and proclaim the Truth of our Faith boldly and without reservation. If Christ be for us, who can be against us?

Once we come to the Truth, we are called to share it: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (Mt 28:19). The Truth is a Person. Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and no one comes to the Father but through Him (Jn 14:6).  "This is the True God, and Eternal Life," says the Beloved Apostle. And he closes his letter by warning, "Little children, keep yourselves from idols" (1 Jn 5:21).  The Same God Concept is just such a false idol.

Deacon George (Yuri) Maximov, of the Moscow Theological Academy, and co-laborer of New Martyr Missionary Priest Fr Daniel Sysoev of Moscow (†2009), offered this admonition:

Among those who call themselves Orthodox, I have met such strange people who say that Fr. Daniel should not preach to Muslims, that one must respect their religion, and that there is no benefit from his preaching. But Fr. Daniel thought, as did the Lord, the Apostles, and all the saints, that one must respect mistaken people but not their mistakes. Truth is one, that which contradicts and negates truth is a lie, and respect for a lie is contempt for the truth.

Ultimately, turning to Christ — embracing the Truth — for each one of us, can be our own personal Triumph of Orthodoxy. And what better time to do so than during Great Lent. This is how we can triumph over the New Iconoclasm. Therefore, to embolden us all, myself being most in need, I post here the Anathemas from the Service for the Triumph of Orthodoxy.  (Note, we do not present the Anathemas to our neighbor as part of our missionary efforts. The Anathemas are intended for the Church, to strengthen the faithful and serve as a corrective rebuke to false teachers and straying hierarchs and clergy. God willing, future postings will emphasize missions among Muslims.)

This is the faith of the apostles! This is the faith of the fathers! This is the Orthodox faith! This faith has established the universe! 

Furthermore, we accept and confirm the councils of the holy fathers, and their traditions and writings which are agreeable to divine revelation. 

And though the enemies of Orthodoxy oppose this providence and the saving revelation of the Lord, yet the Lord has considered the reproaches of His servants, for He mocks those who blaspheme His Glory, and has challenged the enemies of Orthodoxy and put them to flight. 

As we therefore bless and praise those who have obeyed the divine revelation and have fought for it; so we reject and anathematize those who oppose this truth, if while waiting for their return and repentance, they refuse to turn again to the Lord; and in this we follow the sacred tradition of the ancient Church, holding fast to her traditions. 

To those who deny the existence of God, and assert that the world is self-existing, and that all things in it occur by chance, and not by the providence of God, Anathema! 

All: Anathema! (and so after each exclamation) 

Deacon: To those who say that God is not spirit, but flesh; or that He is not just, merciful, wise and all-knowing, and utter similar blasphemies, Anathema! 

To those who dare to say that the Son of God and also the Holy Spirit are not one in essence and of equal honor with the Father, and confess that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit are not one God, Anathema! 

To those who foolishly say that the coming of the Son of God into the world in the flesh, and His voluntary passion, death, and resurrection were not necessary for our salvation and the cleansing of sins, Anathema! 

To those who reject the grace of redemption preached by the Gospel as the only means of our justification before God, Anathema! 

To those who dare to say that the all-pure Virgin Mary was not virgin before giving birth, during birthgiving, and after her child-birth, Anathema! 

To those who do not believe that the Holy Spirit inspired the prophets and apostles, and by them taught us the true way to eternal salvation, and confirmed this by miracles, and now dwells in the hearts of all true and faithful Christians, and teaches them in all truth, Anathema! 

To those who reject the immortality of the soul, the end of time, the future judgement, and eternal reward for virtue and condemnation for sin, Anathema! 

To those who reject all the holy mysteries held by the Church of Christ, Anathema! 

To those who reject the Councils of the holy fathers and their traditions, which are agreeable to divine revelation and kept piously by the Orthodox Church, Anathema! 

To those who mock and profane the holy images and relics which the holy Church receives as revelations of God's work and of those pleasing to Him, to inspire their beholders with piety, and to arouse them to follow these examples; and to those who say that they are idols, Anathema! 

To those who dare to say and teach that our Lord Jesus Christ did not descend to earth, but only seemed to; or that He did not descend to the earth and become incarnate only once, but many times, and who likewise deny that the true Wisdom of the Father is His only-begotten Son, Anathema! 

To the followers of the occult, spiritualists, wizards, and all who do not believe in the one God, but honor the demons; or who do not humbly give their lives over to God, but strive to learn the future through sorcery, Anathema!

For the Start of Great Lent: A Lamentation over Persecutions

The below, a pastoral letter from New Priest-Martyr Sergei Mechev to his flock after the closing of their parish church of St Nicholas the Wonderworker in Moscow in 1931, is rich with lessons and encouragement for us Orthodox Christians in the United States and Canada, as we continue to sail upon an increasingly stormy sea. 

I have only selected key passages for this posting, but recommend the full letter, which overflows with fervent faith and Christian love.

*   *   *

To my fellow suffering and orphaned ones, I send my blessing for the beginning of Great Lent.

I feel that you have now been waiting long for a word of consolation from me, but my lips have become silent; within me my spirit has faded and my heart is heavy. Our earthly heaven has ended for us. How can we not weep, not be in anguish and in sorrow?   [...]

The judgement of God is taking place upon the Russian Church. It is not by coincidence that the external aspect of Christianity is being taken away from us. The Lord is punishing us for our sins, and thereby is leading us towards a cleansing. What is happening is unexpected and incomprehensible for those living by the standards of the world. Even now they still strive to bring everything down to an external level, attributing everything to causes which lie outside the Church. Yet, those who live for God have had everything revealed to them long beforehand. Many Russian ascetics not only foresaw these dreadful times, but also witnessed about them.

Not in the external aspect did they see a danger for the Church. They saw that true piety is abandoning even the monastic centers; that the spirit of Christianity is departing in an undetectable way; that the most terrible famine is upon us—famine for the Word of God; that those who possess the keys to unlock this knowledge are not letting others enter; and that with the seemingly abundant monastic prosperity, Christianity is at the last breath of life. Abandoned is the path of experience and activity, by which the ancient fathers lived and which they passed on in their writings. There is no mystery of the interior life, for "the venerable ones have departed, and the truth has left the sons of mankind." From the outside there has begun a persecution of the Church, and the present reminds us of the first centuries of the Christian era. The Blessed Hierarch Philaret of Moscow, more than once in his talks with those close to him in spirit, pointed out that the time is long overdue for Russia to be in the same position as the ancient Christianity of the first centuries. He wept for the children who are to behold even worse things. The revelation about our time is especially well expressed by two hierarchs who have studied diligently the Word of God: Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk [+1783] and Bishop Ignatius Brianchininov [+1867].

"At present true piety has almost vanished, and we are left with only hypocrisy," said Saint Tikhon [of Zadonsk] about the state of the Church in his time. He predicted the vanishing of Christianity in an unseen way due to the people's indifference to it. He warned that Christianity—being life, mystery and spirit—should not perish unnoticed from those who do not value this priceless gift of God. 

A century after him, Bishop Ignatius Brianchininov spoke of monasticism and the Church and defined their state: "We are living in turbulent times—the venerable ones have left the earth, and truth has become scarce amidst the sons of mankind. A famine for the Word of God has arrived; the keys to unlock this knowledge are in the hands of the Scribes and Pharisees and they are themselves not entering and not letting others enter. Christianity and monasticism are at their last breath. The image of Christian piety is at best being kept only in a hypocritical way. All strength for true piety has left, people have given up; one must weep and be silent" (Letters, 15).

Seeing in monasticism the barometer of the spiritual life of the entire Church, Bishop Ignatius claims the following about its condition: "One can admit that the consummation of the witness of the Orthodox Faith is coming to a final unwinding. The fall of monasticism is significant, and what will happen is unavoidable. Only the mercy of God can stop the morally corrupting epidemic. Perhaps it will stop it only for a short time, for the prophecies of the Scriptures must be fulfilled" (Letters, 245).

"With a sorrowful heart I behold the unstoppable fall of monasticism, which is the sign of the end of Christiani­ty" (Letters, 251). 

"The more time that passes, the more turbulent it is for Christianity as spirit, which in a way unseen by the vain and worldly masses—but clearly revealed to the one who struggles in himself—is departing from the heart of mankind, leaving everything ready for its destruction. —Those who are in Judea must run for the mountains" (Let­ters, 118).

Many of the ascetics of the 18th and 19th centuries looked upon the time of their lives as a period of calm be­fore the storm for the Church of Christ. We must not for­get that all this was said by them in times of complete ex­ternal prosperity. Monasteries not only existed, but were well endowed; new monastic communities were constantly being formed; new churches were built; ancient ones were restored, renovated and rebuilt; and the relics of saints were revealed. The Russian people were praised as guardians of purity in Orthodox faith and genuine piety. No one could have ever perceived that the Church was in a critical state and the end was not beyond the hills. Only those who had come to the knowledge of the Kingdom of God, possessing it in their hearts, could perceive otherwise. With a heavy heart they beheld all that went on around them and, not finding the life given by Christ in what they saw, they predicted a final catastrophe.   [...]

Distinct sorrows, unheard of Temptations—this is the destiny of our time. Repentance and struggle with them— this is the meaning of our life. Having the visible side of Christianity taken away from us—this is what is most centrally signigicant for us. Exile, confinement, hard labor-— this is nothing compared to the closing of churches. Such confiscation of our churches, according to the Word of God, can be stopped by repentance.

Turn ye even to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: and rend your heart and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth Him of the evil. Who knoweth if He will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind Him; even an offering of the wheat and of the wine unto the Lord your God? (Joel 2:12-14).

But from where have we heard a universal call to repentance? Where have we seen the archpastors and pastors weeping rivers of tears between the porch and the altar to spare their people? (cf. Joel 2:17).

We have placed the diplomatic talents of the hierarchs on a more important level than the Word of God. On them we have placed hope, on them we have placed our salvation. By a lie we have tried to preserve the Kingdom of Truth.  [...]

My children, the judgement of God is taking place. Let us fall in repentance before the Lord and find within ourselves the strength to say with the prophet: I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against Him, until He plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: He will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold His righteousness (Micah 7:9).

Our Lord is calling us to accept a new form of salvation. Many churches built by the hands of man, filled with many treasures, were kept open for centuries. At the same time many temples not made by human labor [Cf. II Cor. 5:1] were in a terrible state of decline and left unused. Now that the churches built by man's labor are being destroyed, in the repentant yearning for them are raised temples built by the hands of God. 

The flames of humble martyrdom are beginning to be ignited in all places, especially in the inaccessible regions. Hungry, impoverished, frozen, isolated from the world, on the barren earth, in the snow or in roadside cabins, without coffins and the sacred rites —are dying priests, monks and faithful laity. In the contrite temples of departing souls, prayers are raised for the entire Church, which has fallen to the love of the external. The rites and customs mean more than the spirit of the Church, which is not finding in itself, even in these times of distinct tribulations, the healing tears of contrition. Sparks of enduring confession are lit everywhere, from the Arctic Ocean to the scorching desert. In repentant weeping are praying those people who, through endurance of tribulations, have opened the temples of their hearts and who have been banished from serving in the temples of God!

Let us enter, beloved ones, into the cells of our souls, into the temple of our spirit, consecrated unto the Lord at the moment of our Baptism and sanctified by Him at the time of our first Communion. This temple of ours—no one can ever destroy it, except we ourselves. In it there is both priest and penitent. Its Table of Oblation is our heart, and upon it we can always with our tears consummate the great mystery of repentance. It is difficult for us who have let our invisible temple grow desolate, living by the visible church, accept from the Lord a new way of salvation. Let us cry and weep, not with tears of despair, but with tears of repentance, accepting all as what we deserve. Is it not the Lord Who sends this? Have not the more diligent from among us long ago taken to this path? Whether this is for a long time or is permanent—only the Lord knows. The visible side of Christianity is leaving us.  [...]

Great spiritual sensitivity is granted to you from the Lord. Your heart has not brought you to where there radiated the gleam of majestic divine services, where there were heard intricate melodies, from where there were preached learned sermons. Into a poor and tiny church each one of you has come, and each in his own time has perceived the truth of the way of the ancient Holy Fathers. In the approaching spring of the Russian Church you have become workers in Her vineyard. With what self-denial have you given up your youthful years, your years of strength and zeal and your years of tranquil old age, for the building of your temples in this repentant family of ours.

You are the living evidence, but also the participants of the last fading light, by the will of God, of the lamp of the Russian Church.

In the approaching turbulent times of trial ahead for the Church of Christ, I entreat our Lord, His Most Pure Mother and all of our Holy Saints to strengthen you and make you genuine workers in the vineyard of Christ.

My dear ones, Let us reveal ourselves in all things as ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distress, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fastings" (2 Corinthians 6:5).

May God grant patience and consolation to you and may you live with oneness of mind amongst each other.

Priest Sergei Mechev Moscow, Spring, 1931

Source: Pravoslavie.ru

Originally  published  in The Orthodox Word No. 132

Desperately Seeking 'Nuances' of Islamic Law

As a follow-up to my post on Youcef Nadarkhani I wish to address the concept of "Nuance" when discussing Islam. A recent article on CNN provides the opportunity.

In academia, there are certain approaches which are revered by those in the ivory towers, which convey the unassailable virtues of reputable, dispassionate, and relevant scholarship. This sort of scholarship leads to the most refined and subtle parsing of theology, philosophy, and even history. No doubt many of these efforts are good and helpful. But when it comes to the topic of Islam, I have found that too much parsing ends up completely parsing away the core truths which ought to be always held at the forefront.

Scholars prone to parsing often use a word to validate their reputable, dispassionate and relevant scholarship. This word is "nuance." A rough example might read something like this: "We need to have a nuanced understanding of Islam, not one based on polemics and caricatures."

One can readily see that such statements are, in fact rather patronizing, and directly imply that only the author and his validated sources are capable of presenting these nuances. This is a form of logical fallacy. (For other logical fallacies which obscure clear-headed discussion of Islam, see my recent re-posting of Dr Mark Durie's A Dozen Bad Ideas for the 21st Century.)  Appealing to "Nuance" is a variation of arguing from authority, and a broad generalization condemning "polemics and caricatures" is a reductio ad absurdum fallacy designed to diminish and dismiss certain writing(s) which do not comport with one's validated "nuanced" views.

I have much to say about this deplorable trend as it applies to Islam scholarship, and am developing a series of articles treating specific examples. However, for the moment, I wish simply to share a truly absurd example of this approach recently published on CNN's BeliefBlog, as relayed (with comments) by Jihad Watch.

Pastor's Possible Execution Reveals Nuances of Islamic Law
by Dan Merica CNN

(CNN) – The possible hanging of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani for converting from Islam to Christianity has exposed a division among Islamic jurists on whether Iran would be violating Islamic law by carrying out the execution.

According to some of these scholars, the Quran not only outlaws the death penalty for the charge of apostasy, but under Sharia law, conversion from Islam is not a punishable offense at all.

"Instead, it says on a number of occasions that God prefers and even demands that people believe in Him, but that He will handle rejection of such belief by punishing them in the afterworld," wrote Intisar Rabb, an assistant professor of law at Boston College and a faculty affiliate in research at Harvard Law School, in an e-mail toCNN.

Utterly absent from this discussion is Sahih Bukhari vol. 9, bk. 84, no. 57, where Muhammad ordered: "If anyone changes his religion, kill him."

Nuance.

But Rabb also acknowledges that there is a more nuanced view to Islamic law, too.

Clark Lombardi, an associate professor of law at the University of Washington, said there is more room for interpretation because the Quran is not the only source of Islamic law.

Islam is not a sola scriptura religion:

"Most Muslims look past the Quran and say the Quran needs to be looked at in the practice of the Prophet. So they look to see what rules the prophet laid down," Lombardi said.

And, according to Lombardi, if you look at literature about the life of Mohammed, "then apostasy is clearly something very bad. And there are examples of apostates being punished."

What emerges from this is a complicated division between whether apostasy is punishable in the first place and, if it is punishable, for what reason. (Full article here...) 

Youcef Nadarkhani, if he is executed, will be suffering the full extent of the "complicated nuances" of Islamic law.  However, by confessing Christ to the end, he would be a profound witness (Greek: martyria) and earn an imperishable — and un-nuanced — crown in heaven.  This is something the scholars seem loath to confront, and I suspect some of them might prefer to accuse Nadarkhani of being divisive and polemical rather than see Islam for what it really is.

Christian Pastor in Iran again facing Execution

The heroic story of Confessor for Christ Youcef Nadarkhani has taken a dire turn in recent days, as an Iranian court has issued its "final verdict," meaning Pastor Nadarkhani may be executed at any time without warning. The news report below does not mention certain details, such as how Iranian prosecutors kept changing the charges against him to try to make them seem more justifiable in the face of outcry from the West.  Now, however, all pretense is dropped, and it is clear Nadarkhani is facing the death penalty for becoming a Christian at age 19, for refusing to convert to Islam, and, most recently, for refusing to even recognize Muhammad as a prophet.  

This last offer of "leniency" (something of a "theological plea bargain") from the Iranian courts, to simply recognize Muhammad as a prophet so as to be released from prison, shows the weakness, insecurity and fearfulness of Nadarkhani's Muslim persecutors. At some level they recognize that the Pastor's steadfast confession of Jesus Christ, even and especially unto death, makes him especially dangerous, so they try to tempt him to at least accept Muhammad as a prophet, which would remove the power of Nadarkhani's confession of Christ.

Shockingly, as I discuss in my book Facing Islam, there are all too many Christians who have been willingly deluded into doing just that, including even Orthodox Christian patriarchs, bishops, priests and educators. Some of them manage to avoid openly proclaiming Muhammad as a true "prophet," although their "bending over backwards" efforts to not offend Muslims amount to the same thing. 

Let this one simple truth be told. Only a false religion founded by a false prophet would use fear and intimidation tactics to keep its followers locked in, bludgeoning them with the threat of death for apostasy or blasphemy. 

For an insightful article by Raymond Ibrahim providing context and continuity go here. 

For related articles at Jihad Watch about Youcef Nadarkhani go here.

Read on for the posting from Robert Spencer at Jihad Watch:

Muslim spokesmen such as Salam al-Marayati, M. Cherif Bassiouni, and Ali Eteraz(among many others) have assured us that Islam has no death penalty for apostasy. I expect that they will immediately be jetting over to Tehran to explain to the mullahs that they're getting Islam all wrong, wrong, wrong, and should free Youcef Nadarkhani immediately.

Of course, they won't really do that... they know full well that Islam has a death penalty for apostasy. They know that Muhammad, the prophet of Islam,said, "Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him" (Bukhari 9.84.57). And all the schools of Islamic law still teach that death is the proper penalty for apostates.

An update on this story. "Iran court convicts Christian pastor convert to death," by Lisa Daftari for Fox News, February 22 (thanks to Anne Crockett):

A trial court in Iran has issued its final verdict, ordering a Christian pastor to be put to death for leaving Islam and converting to Christianity, according to sources close to the pastor and his legal team.

Supporters fear Youcef Nadarkhani, a 34-year-old father of two who was arrested over two years ago on charges of apostasy, may now be executed at any time without prior warning, as death sentences in Iran may be carried out immediately or dragged out for years.

It is unclear whether Nadarkhani can appeal the execution order.

“The world needs to stand up and say that a man cannot be put to death because of his faith,” said Jordan Sekulow, executive director of The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ).

“This one case is not just about one execution. We have been able to expose the system instead of just letting one man disappear, like so many other Christians have in the past.”...

“This is defiance,” Sekulow said. “They want to say they will carry out what they say they will do.”

The order to execute Nadarkhani came only days after lawmakers in Congress supported a resolution sponsored by Pennsylvania Rep. Joseph Pitts denouncing the apostasy charge and calling for his immediate release.

“Iran has become more isolated because of their drive for nuclear weapons, and the fundamentalist government has stepped up persecution of religious minorities to deflect criticism,” Pitts, a Republican, told FoxNews.com. “The persecuted are their own citizens, whose only crime is practicing their faith.”

The ACLJ has been a major driving force in keeping Nadarkhani’s case in the international spotlight. Many other advocacy groups and human rights organizations also have mounted global campaigns and petitions against the Iranian government, and experts credit Nadarkhani’s international support for keeping him alive.

The ACLJ recently launched a Twitter campaign to publicize Nadarkhani’s case, asking participants to dedicate a daily tweet to “Tweet for Youcef,” stating the number of days he has been imprisoned (currently 863) and ending the tweet with “ViaOfficialACLJ,” sending readers back to the organization’s website where they could learn more about his case.

Tweets have reached 157 countries and over 400,000 people.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and 89 members of Congress, along with the European Union, France, Great Britain, Mexico and Germany, have condemned Iran for arresting Nadarkhani and have called for his quick release.

Nadarkhani was arrested in October 2009 and was tried and found guilty of apostasy by a lower court in Gilan, a province in Rasht. He was then given verbal notification of an impending death-by-hanging sentence.

His lawyers appealed the decision under the premise that Nadarkhani was never a Muslim at the age of majority, and the case was sent to Iran’s Supreme Court, which upheld the lower court’s decision of execution, provided it could be proven that he had been a practicing Muslim from the age of adulthood, 15 in Islamic law, to age 19, which was when he converted.

The lower court then ruled that Nadarkhani had not practiced Islam during his adult life but still upheld the apostasy charge because he was born into a Muslim family.

The court then gave Nadarkhani the opportunity to recant, as the law requires a man to be given three chances to recant his beliefs and return to Islam.

His first option was to convert back to Islam. When he refused, he was asked to declare Muhammad a prophet, and still he declined....

Source: Jihad Watch 

The Spiritual Power of the Holy Fathers

In my email correspondence with Deacon George (Yury) Maximov, friend and co-laborer of Priest-Martyr Daniil Sysoev of Moscow (†2009), Deacon George wrote me the following admonition which we all can heed:

I believe it's better for people to read the words of the holy fathers than words of mine or other unholy man. Because through reading the holy fathers' words they can come to taste true Orthodoxy and feel God's presence. You know, one of my missionary students in Moscow told me this story. She speaks about Christ with one muslim. He doesn't agree and he was very emotional. Then she starts to read him the words of holy fathers about salvation just in the Lord Jesus Christ. And he became quiet and said: "I agree with this." It was a miracle. He changed in a moment, just due to the words of holy fathers. 

Yours in Christ,
deacon George Maximov

Turkish Boy Pledges to Suffer for Christ despite School Beatings

Here is an inspiring story of a young Christian confessor in Turkey, named Hussein, who is happy to suffer for Christ.  Let us strive, especially as we prepare to enter into Great Lent, to acquire such joy which comes through a living, vibrant faith.

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A 12-year-old boy from Turkey whose family converted to Christianity has been beaten and abused by both classmates and teachers after revealing his newfound faith, but the boy says he is happy to suffer for Christ.

Hussein, whose last name was not revealed in the CBN persecution report that shared his story, invoked the anger of his school by wearing a silver cross necklace to school. Christians are a distinct minority in Turkey – the CIA World Factbook reveals that Muslims make up 99.8 percent of the near-80 million population, while Christians and Jews account for only 0.2 percent.

It is not uncommon for Christians in the country to be targeted for their beliefs, but few are as outspoken and as open about their religion as Hussein.

"It's not the physical cross. It's the meaning of the cross that is important. It is a beautiful thing," the boy explained in the report. "I wanted people to ask me about it and then I could tell them about Christ."

As Hussein began going with his father, Hakeem, to church and started wearing his cross at school, his classmates began spitting on him, calling him names and physically abusing him.

"The boy grabbed me by the arm, squeezed my hand, and yelled, 'I'm going to shoot you if you tell about this!'" Hussein shared of one of the attacks.

The abuse the Christian boy suffered didn't end there – in Turkey, like many Islamic countries, students are forced to attend Islamic studies where they have to recite prayers from the Quran. When Hussein refused to participate on account of his Christian faith, he was beaten on numerous occasions by the teacher with a two-foot long rod.

Hakeem has tried to stand up for his son by confronting the parents of the children who bullied him and the teacher who beat him.

"I thought the father would be concerned about his son's action. But instead, he called me names, threatened me, and said he would shoot me himself if I pursued action against his son," Hakeem recalled in the CBN report.

"The religion teacher said (the beating) was allowed. That the principal and parents agreed that he should do this," he explained.

Despite the fear and threats of continued persecution, however, the Hussein says he will continue following Christ and will never return to Islam.

"Christ said, 'You would suffer for me.' So it's okay to suffer and we should be happy to suffer for Him. The Lord is with me," the school boy remarked.

Persecution of Christians in Turkey is not uncommon. In 2007, three missionaries were tortured for hours before being killed by having their throats slit. Christian Today reported the details of the ordeal, which was videotaped by the attackers. One of the wives of the slain missionaries said that she forgives the murderers, citing the words Christ said on the cross: "They know not what they do."

Religious attitudes in Turkey in general are notably conservative – 59 percent of those who responded to a survey in 2009 said that members of other (non-Muslim) faiths should not even be allowed to hold meetings or publish literature about their beliefs.

Turkish authorities are known for seizing church properties, closing Orthodox churches, monasteries and schools and trying to force Christianity out of the country all together. The head of the Eastern Orthodox Church, His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, has said that Christians are treated like second-class citizens in Turkey, and that the government has been unresponsive to concerns about religious inequality in the country.

Open Doors USA, an organization that exposes persecution and injustice committed against Christians worldwide, ranked Turkey as #31 on its list of top 50 countries where persecution of Christians is most severe.

Source