What most Christians don’t realize is that the “Islamic World” was
once the Christian world. Some of the most well-known and influential leaders
in the early church hailed from North Africa and the Middle East – like the
warring theologians Athanasius and Arius, and the apologist Tertullian.
It was for the library in Alexandria that the preeminent Greek version of
the Torah (the “Septuagint”) was commissioned. Today, St. Augustine would
be called a Tunisian, Origen would be Egyptian and the Apostle Paul – who was
on the road to Damascus when he encountered Christ – would have told the story
of his conversion while heading to “Syria.” It was also in the Syrian city
of “Antioch” that Christians were first called “Christians,” and to this day
there are as many Christian holy sites in that nation as anywhere else in the
world. There is no imaginary persecution; in Syria alone there have been
reports of kidnappings, Christian communities intentionally displaced by
militants and, worst of all, shootings and beheadings of Christians who refused
to convert to Islam. Government of Pakistan is participating in the genocide of
Christians through discriminatory laws against Christians i.e. blasphemy law
and others. In Egypt radicals have recently destroyed dozens of churches,
and the once vibrant Christian population in Iraq has been decimated. Other
countries such as Somalia, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Afghanistan etc
are busy in destroying Christians and Christianity.
Showing posts with label Middle East. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Middle East. Show all posts
Monday, February 3, 2014
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Christians in the Middle East: Egypt
The Middle East is the birthplace of Christianity and home to some of the world's most ancient Christian denominations. But Christian communities across the region are declining in numbers because of a combination of low birth rates, emigration and, in some places, persecution and violence. Here are some Facts about Egypt in which Christian persecution is a common practice.
Most Christians in Egypt are Copts - Christians descended from the ancient Egyptians.
Their Church split from the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches in 451AD because of a theological dispute over the nature of Christ, but is now, on most issues, doctrinally similar to the Eastern Orthodox Church.
The Coptic language - a derivative of the ancient Egyptian language, written mainly in the Greek alphabet - is still used for small parts of services.
Christian-Muslim relations have deteriorated in recent years, with outbreaks of violence by radical Islamists against Christians and their places of worship.
Egyptian Christians have accused the post-Mubarak governing military council of being too lenient on the perpetrators of the attacks.
Copts also complain of discrimination, including a law requiring presidential permission for churches to be built.
A plethora of other Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and Armenian Churches are present in smaller numbers in Egypt.
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