Middleeast

A group of Christians from Ethiopia said to be unlawfully imprisoned in Saudi Arabia has been facing increased pressure to convert to Islam, a Christian human rights advocacy group informed The Christian Post.

According to International Christian Concern (ICC), an advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., and with agents in countries where Christians experience persecution, the 35 Christian Ethiopian men and women were violently arrested on Dec. 15 during a prayer meeting at a private home in Jeddah, a city on the western coast of the country. The group was reportedly arrested for holding a meeting in which both men and women were present, which is frowned upon in the conservative Muslim country. But ICC told CP that the prisoners claim they are being persecuted because of their faith.

The agency has previously reported that the prisoners were physically harassed by prison officials after their arrest – the men were allegedly assaulted and the women humiliated by a sexually inappropriate strip search. Human Rights Watch confirmed that report. The men and women have also reportedly been complaining of insufficient care. more >>

As violence rages in Syria, civilians across the country are pleading with the global community to step in and help put a stop to the Assad regime's attacks – contradicting the actions of a Christian community that continues to support the leadership in an effort to avoid persecution faced by Christians in other post-Arab Spring countries. 

The Syrian uprising began last March when civilians initiated protests against the regime of President Bashir al-Assad, hoping to end five decades of Arab Socialist Ba'athist rule in the country.

Syrian forces have been shelling and bombing the city of Homs for four consecutive days, according to Syrian activists. Videos posted on YouTube by activists show images of the bombed out city, bloodied civilians, and overcrowded medical facilities. In one video, a doctor pleads to the international community: "I beg you please stop the rockets." more >>

China and Russia Saturday vetoed a U.N. Security Council draft resolution condemning Syria, which is likely to further embolden President Bashar al-Assad's embattled regime to carry on with the alleged killing of civilians.

"Those that have blocked potentially the last effort to resolve this peacefully ... will have any future blood spill on their hands," CNN quoted U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice as saying on Saturday after veto-wielding members Russia and China voted against a proposal by Western and Arab countries to end the bloodshed in Syria, which has been under the state of emergency since 1963.

"The people of Syria have yet again been abandoned by this Council and by the international community," Rice added even as opposition groups reported the killing of more than 320 civilians in the city of Homs since Friday. more >>

The toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime might have brought democracy to the country, but it also unleashed sectarian violence that has been taking a toll on the country's religious minorities, experts have told The Christian post.

International observers have been unsettled by how the number of Iraqi Christians has diminished by over 600,000 since the 2003 U.S. invasion. The U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) estimates that up to 2 million Iraqis have fled the country since, with approximately 1.1 million settling in Syria and 450,000 in Jordan. A disproportionate number of those fleeing have been religious minorities, including Christians, Sabian Mandaeans, and Yazidis, according to Minority Rights Group International.

In mid-January, U.S. Military Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, like many others, claimed the collapse of Iraq's Christian population was among the legacies of America's 2003 invasion, according to the Catholic News Agency (CNA). Broglio, especially concerned about Iraq's Catholics, claims believers suffered after the ousting of Hussein. The dictator, he told CNA, tended "to trust Catholics, and gave them positions of responsibility." And even if Catholics "weren't particularly part of the regime, they became identified with the regime," Broglio was quoted as saying. more >>

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader, made a statement on Friday describing Israel as a "cancerous tumor" and declaring Iran's support for anyone who opposes the Jewish nation.

Khamenei also warned the U.S. about any attacks against Iran, saying that the country will continue its nuclear program regardless of international pressure and will only grow stronger, Mirror.co.uk shared.

His speech, which was aired in Iran on state TV, contained some notably hostile remarks against Israel. more >>

Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi warned earlier this week that his country is on the brink of plunging back into a volatile cycle of sectarian violence that could greatly harm the country's diverse population, including the Christian community.

"Al-Maliki is pushing my country to reach a turning point with (a) deeply sectarian dimension," the self-exiled al-Hashimi told CNN Sunday during an exclusive interview in Iraq's semiautonomous northern Kurdish region.

"The future of Iraq is grim," al-Hashimi warned in the interview. more >>