On October 31, Al-Qaeda attacked a church in Baghdad, killing at least 58 people. Since then, two more attacks have been carried out on Christians in Iraq’s capital city. The increased persecution of Christians in the Islamic world is partly motivated by fear: Christianity is making major inroads among Muslims who have become disillusioned with their faith.
The recent attacks are just the latest episode in the sad persecution of the Iraqi Christian community. In 2003, there were an estimated 800,000. At least half of the Christian population has since fled the country, and Iraq is not an isolated story. In another recent story, a Christian mother named Asia Bibi in Pakistan was given a death sentence for blasphemy. The police claimed she committed the transgression of calling the Quran “fake” and making negative remarks about Mohammed. The Voice of the Martyrs reports that she had a religious debate with Muslim women that ended when she was physically attacked after she proclaimed Jesus Christ to be “the true prophet of God.” A cleric then reported her to the authorities.
In the Palestinian territories, the story is not much different. Bethlehem is now almost entirely Muslim as Christians have departed their historical city. When I visited the West Bank, a church told me of how a close relative had been brutally murdered for preaching Christianity. His church is frequently threatened and attacked and he said the Palestinian Authority police was uninterested in protecting them. In the Gaza Strip, where there are 3,500 Christians, some have been forced to help Hamas. After the terrorist group took over, Christian graves were dug up so the bodies could be burned so the Islamic land would be pure.
Christians in Iran are facing persecution as well. At least 85 were arrested last year and the pace increased this year. In February, a church pastor was arrested in Kermanshah. In September, an evangelical preacher was arrested for voicing disagreement over forced Islamic education. Around the same time, nine Christians were arrested for proselytizing their faith and were called “Christian Zionists.” Those who have held Bible studies in their homes for Muslim converts have also faced arrest in Tabriz, Karaj, Rasht, and East Azerbaijan Province. A member of the Central Council of Iranian Churches claims that about one Christian is arrested per week on average now.
