Iraqi Christians Leaving

The number of Christians in Iraq has been dropping since the US "freed" Iraq from Saddam Hussein.  The Church siege killed several priests and about 70 other Christians.  Now the UN is reporting that thousands are leaving central Iraq for Kurdish areas which are considered safer.  The UN High Commission for Refugees is also worried because some Iraqi Christians who are trying to get asylum in Europe are being sent back to Iraq to areas that simply aren't safe for them.  One of these countries is Sweden. 

Pakitstan's Blasphemy Laws Abused

Pakistan has some strict blasphemy laws, which can be taken advantage of if you're mad at a non-Muslim.  A Christian woman has been sentenced to death for blasphemy, because she dared to defend her beliefs when she was taunted by Muslims.  Now, first of all, I believe in freedom of speech, so the whole concept of blasphemy sounds wrong to me.  Secondly, if you're going to have a blasphemy law, couldn't you at least use it against people who were actually blaspheming, instead of innocent people who just aren't Muslim?  This issue appears to be dividing the country, with those who support changing the law being attacked for it.  It's pretty sad if you can't even discuss the issue because you're worried about being killed.

Iraqi Church Siege Over: Upate III

Twelve terrorists were arrested in Iraq for their role in the church siege last month.  They appear to belong to a group called the Islamic State of Iraq.  And Al-Qa'eda in Iraq also belongs to that group.

Iraqi Church Siege Over: Upate II

The Christians in Iraq have had a rough time since the war started.  Now a bunch of them are dead because of the church siege.  According to recent reports, 41 Christians died (2 of them were priests) and 78 may have been wounded.  The monsignor of the church says only 25 were wounded, and another government official says 60.  At this point, I have no idea who is correct.  What we do know is that the Christian population of Iraq is rapidly shrinking.

Iraqi Church Siege Over: Upate I

Wow.  It's amazing how things can change over night.  The news this morning says that 52 people died during the siege, and most of the deaths occurred when the security forces stormed the church.  They're not sure right now exactly who shot the hostages, but there are a lot of people dead and injured.  And Iraqi Christians are very concerned about their safety.

Iraqi Church Siege Over

Last night gunmen attacked the Iraqi stock exchange, then took over a church after running from security forces.  One hundred people were held hostage for about 4 hours.  One or two policemen were killed, and about a dozen people were wounded.  One of the hostages may also have been killed (reports are conflicting).

Iraq has really become a dangerous place.  In general, I was all for the US troops getting out of Iraq.  But at the same time, I am worried that the Iraqi military and police forces may not yet be up to the job of securing Iraq.  It would be horrible if this turned into something like the civil war in Lebanon.  There are already problems between the Sunni and Shi'ites, with Iran right next door, and Syria has even gotten involved.  And the Kurds in the north would be happy to break away.  Throw in some al-Qa'eda militants and opportunistic criminals and mix vigorously.  It could take another decade for everything to settle down into some kind of stability.

Jesus vs. Muhammad

Remember all those cartoons about Muhammad? And most Westerners were screaming "freedom of speech" and thought they should be showed? Well, Comedy Central is now working on a program about Jesus. This has caused a number of religious leaders to form the Coalition Against Religious Bigotry (CARB). They're accusing Comedy Central of a double standard, since Comedy Central censored South Park's Muhammad episodes. [Note: I have to agree that is a double standard.] I'm just wondering how the rest of the Western World will view this situation. Will the Jesus show air? Or will people be outraged because it's a Christian parody and not a Muslim one?

Discoveries Galore!

Panorama (a BBC investigative show) says that $23 billion (yes billion!) is missing in Iraq. Stolen, lost, missing, etc. $23 BILLION. But we can't discuss it, because of a gag order in the US. How dare we discuss that missing money and who may have absconded with it! It probably breaks national security or something.

A cave in Jordan may be the oldest Christian church ever found. They're still discussing the issue.

And some Iraqi antiquities, confiscated in the US, are on their way home to Baghdad. The looting of antiquities was a big problem. Loss of life is the worst tragedy, but after the big stuff like that, the loss of history in Iraq is really appalling.

Muslim Helps Jews in NY Attack

It's always nice to hear about interfaith cooperation. Too bad the Christians involved were the bad guys. A group of them were wishing people Merry Christmas, so a few Jews wished them Happy Hanukkah, at which point the Jews were attacked by the Christmas-wishers. A Muslim nearby helped the Jews fight off the Christian attackers.

Analysis: I personally have no problem with Christmas as a holiday for several reasons. First of all, it is traditional for most of America. Secondly, it's not even Christian. Every time I see those "Remember the Reason for the Season" signs I think: pagan solstice celebrations and Germanic tree reverence. So I don't have a problem with Christmas. I do have a problem with the people talking about the "War on Christmas." Yes, there are people in this country who are NOT Christian and have their own holidays. Hanukkah and Kwanzaa spring to mind as holidays that take place around Christmas. So what the hell is wrong with wishing someone Happy Holidays? I don't think you should be forced to use Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas, but especially if you know someone is not Christian, maybe you should use that instead. Save the Merry Christmases for Christians. How many of these people upset with a "War on Christmas" would be extremely offended to be wished a Happy Kwanzaa? But it's okay if they do it? I don't have a problem with churches putting up trees and nativity scenes. But I think government offices should stick to trees and wreaths. The Nativity IS blatantly religious and Christian. So leave that to non-governmental groups. If you own a company and want to put up a nativity scene, then go for it. You have that right. But we have something in this country called "separation of church and state." If a city decides to put up Christian symbols for a holiday, then what about Jewish holidays, or Muslim holidays, or Hindu or Buddhist or whatever? So my final answer is: nativity scene = religious, tree/wreath/candles = not religious. We may not be a Christian nation, but we are a Christmas nation.