ping
Most people prefer to focus on the plight of the Christian/Animist part of So. Sudan, but they don't dwell on the hardships of the Coptic Christians living to their North.
Personally, I think that the most intransigent force in these "peace" negotiations between the SDPLA and the NIF-Islamist government in Khartoum has been Hosni Mubarak.
As bad as Omar al-Bashir and his cohorts are (and don't forget that they were the ones who gave sanctuary to UBL and Zawahiri for so many years and along with the help rendered by the mullahs in Iran, made Al Qaeda into the efficient killing machine that we all witnessed in Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, and my own beloved city, on September 11, 2001), they would never be able to get away with some of their most outrageous depredations if they did not have diplomatic cover from the state of Egypt.
Lest we forget, there are two important factors that ensure religious tolerance in Turkey. 1) The secular tradition established in the last century by Kemal Attaturk, and 2) the combat power of the Turkish military. And, BTW, Attaturk did not interpret secularism in the same manner as secularists in our country, who define that term as complete intolerance to Christians....
Interesting article, thanks for the ping.