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On October 15, the State Security Court of Jordan imposed jail sentences of 15 to 20 years on 12 alleged Jordanian members of al-Qaeda accused of attacks against a church in the Kingdom last year (Al-Ghad [Amman], October 16; Al-Rai [Amman], October 16). In a reaction similar to those seen in trials of Salafi-Jihadis, plot leader Shaker al-Khatib and the rest of the convicted group prostrated themselves, thanking Allah as a sign of defiance against the court (al-Jazeera, October 15). Al-Khatib and four others in the group, aged between 19 and 28, received the death penalty, but the court commuted...

A century ago, Christians dominated the intellectual and commercial life of the Levant, comprising more than one-fifth of the 13 million people of Turkey, the region's ruling power, and most of the population of Lebanon. Ancient communities flourished in what is now Iraq and Syria. But starting with the Armenian genocide in 1914 and continuing through the massacre and expulsion of Anatolian Greeks in 1922-1923, the Turks killed three to four million Christians in Turkey and the Ottoman provinces. Thus began a century of Muslim violence that nearly has eradicated Christian communities in the cradle of their religion. It may...

Racist Arabism & fascist Islamism: Anti-Copt The word Copt is an English word taken from the Arabic word Gibt or Gypt. The Arabs after their conquest of Egypt in 641 A.D. called the indigenous population of Egypt as Gypt from the Greek word Egyptos or Egypt. The Greek word Egyptos came from the ancient Egyptian words Ha-Ka-Ptah... The word Copt or Coptic simply means Egyptian, however the Muslim population of Egypt calls themselves Arabs. In contemporary usage, the word Copt or Coptic refers to the Christian population of Egypt. The Arab's oppression led the Copts to several rebellions, [source], Coptic:...

Syrian Catholic Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan is veiled as he walks in procession at his installation Mass at Our Lady of the Annunciation Syrian Catholic Church in Beirut, Lebanon, Feb. 15. He is immediately followed by Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington. (CNS) BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNS) -- Amid cheers and ululation, the former head of the Syrian Catholic diocese in the U.S. and Canada was installed as patriarch of the Syrian Catholic Church. Saying that he will "serve, not for personal interests, but to win Christ," Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan was installed Feb. 15 at a...

Arab Christians and their right to coexist GulfNews, United Arab Emirates - Dec 31, 2008 Even Pan-Arabism and nationalism have become empty of any meaning of unification, and are being used for conflicts with a neighbouring Muslim or Arab ... http://www.gulfnews.com/opinion/columns/region/10271492.html

Iraq Christians face 'bleak future' Story Highlights: · Iraq's Christians face killings, intimidation; many have fled to other countries · Community has decreased from 1.4 million in 2003 to half that · One expert sees diversity decreasing, fears Muslim extremist majority in Iraq · Christians in Iraq face "horrible situation," says U.S. congresswoman By Joe Sterling CNN (CNN) -- It's a bittersweet Christmas season for Joseph Kassab, who grew up in Iraq under Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime and now lives in Detroit, Michigan. Tempering the season's joy is his concern for fellow Iraqi Christians, who have endured killings, displacement and...

Palestinian Columnist: Muslims Are Harming Christian Culture In his column in the Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam, 'Abd Al-Nasser Al-Najjar criticized the persecution of Christians in Arab countries, with a particular emphasis on the Christian population of the Palestinian Authority. [1] Following are excerpts from the article: "In Iraq, a crime is currently being committed - another in a series of iniquities brought by the winds of change that came in the wake of the [U.S.] occupation, which sought to impregnate Iraq with the seed of democracy. [But] the [resulting] fetus emerged deformed and weird. The worst outcome of this situation is,...

GAZA STRIP: UNKNOWN ASSAILANTS ATTACK CHRISTIAN SCHOOL Amid lawlessness and threats, tiny religious minority’s fears grow. ISTANBUL, June 4 (Compass Direct News) – An attack on a Christian school in Gaza last weekend has created fear among the strip’s tiny religious minority, a Palestinian Christian said. Armed assailants broke into the El-Manara school in Gaza City’s Zaitoon Quarter at 2 a.m. on Saturday (May 31), according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR). The attackers tied down two school guards and beat them before stealing a bus belonging to the Palestinian Bible Society, the PCHR reported. The PCHR said...

Vatican City, Jan 18, 2008 / 10:55 am (CNA).- This morning at the Vatican, the Pope met with the Catholic bishops from Arab regions of the world and called upon all Catholics to help Arab Christians to remain in their countries. The prelates who spoke with Benedict XVI are from the Conference of Latin Bishops in the Arab Regions (CELRA), whose president is His Beatitude Michel Sabbah, patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins. In his talk to them, the Pope recalled how their episcopal conference "comprises many different situations in which the faithful, natives of many different countries, often live in...

JIMMY CARTER THE CRIMINAL   Jimmy Carter - infamous worst ex US president that is largely at fault for the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran (by putting extra pressure on the Shah), ultimately resulting in 1) Islamic Republic of Iran's oppression of millions of Persians, and 2) the planet in peril at the hands of that nation's mullahs' nukes.   Jimmy Carter has his hands blooded in every single violent action being perpetrated by that Islamic republic on a daily basis since 1979, including the crimes against humanity like the massacres in the 1980's, the terrible persecution on minorities such as:...

Quiz yourself on the Israeli Arab ["Palestinian"] conflict       1) When was the Arab immigration to [the historic Jewish land of] Israel -"Palestine" boosted?   A When they wanted to see Jewish holy sites. B When [anti French and anti British] Arab nationalism spread across the middle east. C When the Zionists Jews came and cultivated the deserted land.     2) What's [Arab "Palestinian" highest "national" icon] Yasser Arafat's country of origin?   A Israel ["Palestine"]. B Jordan. C Egypt.     3) Why were there --initially-- more Arab immigrants ["residents"] than Jewish immigrants (Arab majority)?   A Because...

American Christian Claims His Life Was Threatened by PA Official By Julie Stahl CNSNews.com Jerusalem Bureau Chief October 31, 2007 Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - An American Christian of Arab descent, who has been doing humanitarian work in Palestinian Authority-ruled Ramallah for years, says he is being threatened by a P.A. official because of his religion -- and when he complained to the authorities, he was invited to pay protection money. American-born Pastor Isa Bajalia, whose parents come from Ramallah, told Cybercast News Service that his life has been threatened by a low-level P.A. official. That official told him he would end...

Father Zakaria Boutros Father Zakaria Boutros looks like a mild-mannered, unassuming priest. But his message is rocking much of the Muslim world.His television program called 'Truth Talk' is broadcast daily into the Middle East over the Al-Hiyat satellite channel. On it, he challenges Muslims to examine what he says are inconsistencies in Islamic doctrine – inconsistencies that he says Muslim leaders don't want exposed and ordinary Muslims are told never to question.“Islam cannot stand in front of intellectual questions and no one can understand because of contradictions in Koran, contradictions in Hadith, contradictions and false doctrines. So they don't...

Arab Christian communities identify with Arab nationalism — indeed, Christian Arabs were the founding fathers of this movement. They share with their Muslim brethren a common language, ethnic origin, and a total rejection of Israel. But the new mood of politicized Islam has made life harder for the members of these ancient communities. The result has been a massive emigration of Christians from the Middle East to the West and a dwindling of their numbers in the region. Ivan Rioufol, in a column in the French daily Le Figaro of May 26, 2006, breaks with the traditional French approach of...

Good Arab Christian VS Islamized Arab "Christians" You hear so much about Arab Christians in the middle east, the tiny minority in the midle east, what's the real truth about them are they all really just "Arab Christians"? What about those Arab "Christians" that hate America? Well, you have to differenciate between heroic beautiful Arab Christians like Joseph Farah ( http://wnd.com ), Brigitte Gabriel ( http://americancongress4truth.org ), Nonie Darwish ( http://arabsforisrael.com ), Walid Shoebat ( http:(//shoebat.com ), and the Zogby Arab american "activists" or lobbyists on the other side, worse are the Christian Arabs that have always been anti American...

Another Point of View: Evangelical Blindness on Lebanon The academic dean of the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary is angry at evangelical Christians, Israel, Hezbollah, the U.S., and the international community. by Martin Accad ------------------------------------ Note: When covering international crises, such as the current fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, Christianity Today takes care to listen to evangelical Christian leaders in the places most affected. We may find their views corrective, provocative, or even abhorrent at times, but in each case we learn about areas where we stand together and areas where we disagree. In the case of this submission from Martin...

Arab "Palestinian" Christians have been suffering and STILL suffer from Arab "Palestinian" Muslim majority. Just like the Arab Christian Lebanese in "Damour" (Yasir Arafat´s Planned Christian Genocide http://www.chretiens-et-juifs.org/article.php?voir%5B%5D=594&voir%5B%5D=3532 , Hobeika - Damour http://www.free-lebanon.com/LFPNews/hobeika_damour/hobeika_damour.html), where "Palestinian" Muslims massacred Christians senselessly, which brought the reprisal by Arab Christians upon Arab "Palestinian" Muslims in Sabra & shatila. The "Palestinian" Christians are forced to join the senseless criminal violence against Israeli victims, otherwise they are threatened. Some Arab "Palestinians" that might be Christian won't admit the awful truth openly, that scared they are! But some find courage to break the ranks like: http://shoebat.com/, a...

Jerusalem. Bethlehem. Nazareth. The Galilee. These are the places where Christianity began. They're where the story of Jesus took place. But for the Arab Christians who live there now, the story is coming to an end. Once as much as 8 percent of the population of what is now Israel and the Palestinian-administered territories, Arab Christians now make up 2 percent or less of the population, and the number is growing steadily smaller. What's happened is a familiar tale. Tens of thousands of Palestinian Christians -- along with many more thousands of Muslims -- left their homes in 1948 when...

About 1,000 Christian Arabs flee Arab-dominated areas because of Arab terrorism and harassment, according to Reuters News Agency. Examples were cited of Moslems beating up Christians, uprooting their olive trees and scrawling graffiti that show nuns being raped. Hardest hit has been the Christian community of Bethlehem where tourism has declined since Arabs began the Oslo War attack against Israel. "If the situation continues, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Church of the Nativity will become cold, empty museums," said Samir Qumsieh, a Palestinian-Christian businessman.

| Voices Magazine | I was ten years old when my home exploded around me, burying me under the rubble, drinking my blood to survive, as the perpetrators shouted Allah Akbar.

The United States population of those who identify themselves as from Arab ancestry rose a huge 40% since 1980. Median income for Arab-American households is $5,000 greater than the national average. Mean income is 8% higher than the national average. More than 40% of US citizens of Arab descent have a bachelor's degree or higher versus 24% for the US national average. The percent of those with a post-graduate degree is nearly 100% greater than the national average. The median age of the Arab population was 33, and ranged from 27 for those who said their ancestry was "Arab" or...

The founder of the nation's first Arabic Christian TV channel says the programming is attracting phone inquiries from curious Muslims. The Southern California-based channel Alkarma, whose name means "the vineyard" in Arabic, premiered Oct. 17. It is the brainchild of Samuel Estefanos, an Egyptian-born businessman. The channel gets 10 to 15 calls a day from Arabic speakers with Muslim surnames who are intrigued that Alkarma would give away a movie known as the "Jesus Film" and other materials. "Some of them call and say they are Muslims and need to know more about Christ," Mr. Estefanos said. "Other people are...

The founder of the nation's first Arabic Christian TV channel says the programming is attracting phone inquiries from curious Muslims. The Southern California-based channel Alkarma, whose name means "the vineyard" in Arabic, premiered Oct. 17. It is the brainchild of Samuel Estefanos, an Egyptian-born businessman. The channel gets 10 to 15 calls a day from Arabic speakers with Muslim surnames who are intrigued that Alkarma would give away a movie known as the "Jesus Film" and other materials. "Some of them call and say they are Muslims and need to know more about Christ," Mr. Estefanos said. "Other people are...

Pointing at a framed newspaper article hanging on the wall near his office desk, Walid Dajani, manager of the Imperial Hotel, said disgustedly, "I first heard about the deal from the media." Dajani is a Muslim native of Jerusalem. His family began managing the Imperial Hotel in July 1949, when they received protected tenant status from the Greek Orthodox Church. "I thought it was a hoax," added Dajani after pausing to exhale a long drag into the expanse of his dark office, which overlooks Omar Ibn al Hitab square just inside Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem's Christian Quarter. Dajani was referring...

A Christian resident of the village of Mughar knew whom to blame last week for the riots that destroyed so much local Christian property there recently – it was not the fault of Druse assailants as much as the absence of a police station. Though it may be a bit facile to blame the government for this incident, there is something to the charge of neglect of this generally law-abiding and successful community. Christian presence in the Holy land – on either side of its Green Line – is dwindling and Christian-Arab communities increasingly feel beleaguered and set upon. Many...

I was privileged to speak at the second annual Jerusalem Summit held at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, Israel, on November 27-30, 2004. This was an extraordinary experience for me. As an American of Arab origin, born and raised in Egypt and Gaza, just being there was a giant step and breaking an Arab taboo to never deal with Israel. The Arab governments that make up the Arab League forbid their subjects from ever visiting, doing business or interacting with Israel or Israelis. Israel has been the "Forbidden Nation" to Muslim and Christian Arabs ever since its creation; even...

Hatred and violence have gripped the Middle East for centuries. Islamic extremism is at the root of the trouble, all propagated by a biased and misleading Arab media, the kind you hear on Arab stations like Al Jazeera, Al Aribya and many others. The world has become more aware of events in the Middle East in recent years. Many wonder why the region is wracked with constant conflict, and what can be done to change the negative atmosphere. A few people are using new technologies to do just that, challenging the messages of hate. It is a hateful message that...

Iraqi Columnist: 'It is Difficult to Recall a Period in which Christian Arabs Were in Greater Danger than Today' In an article in the Iraqi daily Al-Zaman, a newspaper published simultaneously in London and Baghdad with an independent and liberal pedigree going back to the 1940s, columnist Majid Aziza highlights the plight of the Christian Arab community in the Muslim world. The following are excerpts from the column: [1] "Christians, natives of Arab countries, are escaping their countries of origin. This is a common statement nowadays everywhere and it is correct one hundred percent. Statistics show that a large...

Jordan's King Abdullah (R) greets the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams at the Royal Palace in Amman January 26, 2004. Williams on Monday begin a pastoral visit to the Middle East. REUTERS/Yousef Allan 'Arab Christian presence in Jerusalem threatened' By Reem Halasa AMMAN — The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams began a two-day visit to Jordan on Monday as part of a pastoral tour of the Middle East, Anglican church officials here said. His Majesty King Abdullah met with the archbishop at the Royal Court, where the two discussed efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East. King Abdullah...

<p>Census Bureau data for 2000 found 1.2 million people who claimed Arab ancestry, nearly double the number counted in 1980.</p> <p>Leaders of the Arab-American community say the new total is too low, reflecting underreporting.</p> <p>Although only 23 percent of Arab-Americans are Muslim, according to a 2000 Zogby survey, the census report released yesterday adds fuel to an ongoing debate about the size of the U.S. Muslim population. In 1992, the American Muslim Council estimated there were more than 5 million followers of Islam in the country, of whom 12 percent were Arabs. Other Arab and Muslim groups say the number is closer to 6 million Muslims, a population that would make them more numerous than Jews.</p>

Why Arabs come to America Posted: December 5, 20031:00 a.m. Eastern © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com New Census Bureau data show the population of Americans of Arab ancestry has doubled in the last two decades. As the grandson of immigrants from the Arab world, I'm not surprised. I know why most Arabs come to this country. They come to escape Islamic persecution in the Arab world. They come for the freedom America affords. They come for opportunity. But most of all they come for a life away from the brutal reality of Islamo-fascism, which dominates the Arab nations. How do I know this? I...

There are approximately 50,000 Christian Arabs living in areas under the exclusive control of the Palestinian Authority (PA). This Fact Sheet focuses on the living standards of this minority. Background Information Recent statistics show that the Christian Arab population numbers approximately 2.4 percent of the total population. This is a significant decrease from 1948, when the figure was approximately 20%. (New York Times, 31 December 1995). Although collectively referred to as Christian Arabs, they include the Eastern Orthodox, which is the largest group, and the Catholics, who are considered to have the most powerful voice due to recent Vatican-Israel relations....

WASHINGTON-When Saeed and Nasser Salame, Arab brothers and residents of Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority, converted from Islam to Christianity, they didn't know it would cost them their homes, their friends-possibly even their lives.

Christian, Muslim experts to discuss peaceful coexistence, other interfaith issues By Jumana Heresh AMMAN #151; Christian and Muslim scholars will meet in Amman on Monday to discuss means of strengthening the role of Christian Arabs in confronting #147;the unfair campaign against the Arab Muslim civilisation.#148; The gathering will also discuss steps that can be taken to stop the emigration of Palestinians from the Holy Land, said Raouf Abu Jaber, chairman of the Orthodox Central Council and the Orthodox Society. Abu Jaber told The Jordan Times: #147;The Arab Christian Conference in Jordan and Palestine,#148; which will be held under the patronage...