MEĐUARAPSKO NASILJE - IZBOR IZ 2007.

Prenosimo s bloga Elder of Ziyon

Vrijeme je za naš prvi godišnji PalArab Greatest Hits awards, od milja nazvan i the Splodies. Ovdje je sakupljeno the best of (uskoro) 600 palestinskih Arapa, ubijenih u nasilju vlastite braće ove godine.

Tada... kreće prezentacija 2007 Splodie Awards, kronološki:

3. siječnja: A bodyguard for the PA Interior Minister decided to moonlight as a bombmaker, since that is a respectable side job for a government aide. Unfortunately his bomb blew up a bit early, and his paycheck turned into life insurance payments for his family mostly paid for by the West in either case.

18. siječnja: At the El-Bashiti wedding in Khan Younis, Gaza, one of the happy celebrants lost control of his assault rifle. He killed the groom's brother and injured three others, including one of those ubiquitous "security officers" and two teenage boys. No word about whether he shot anyone else the next day at the funeral.

23. veljače: A PalArab policeman, chasing a car that didn't stop at a Palestinian Arab checkpoint (we never hear about those, do we?) fired his gun - and killed a bystander. Human rights organizations condemned the act in the strongest possible terms. (Just kidding.)

26. travnja: Mohammad Khalil, 27, from the An Nasser Salah Addin Brigades (PRC) blew himself up in Beit Hanoun. They had to change the sign at the entrance to Gaza back to "0 days since the last work accident."

10. svibnja: A "beauty queen" strangled her husband in Hebron, in what became one of the few dishonor killings of the year.

May 30: Two terrorists were killed and two others wounded when the explosives in their car went off a bit early in Nablus. Since it is not in Gaza, we know that the explosives were only meant for peaceful purposes.

June 10: Hamas threw a Fatah member off of a 15-story building. Not to be outdone, Fatah threw a Hamas member off of a 12-story building.

June 13: Two Palestinian Arab UNRWA workers were murdered, thus opening up two new jobs for the starving people of Gaza.

June 14: Hamas blew up a car, killing 4 kids. No tear-jerking documentaries were produced about these children.

June 15: Some very religious Muslim freedom fighters entered a hospital in Gaza and executed one of the patients, as well as shooting two women who were with him, no doubt for honorable reasons.

October 3: A tunnel collapsed and killed one of the diggers inside. But this wasn't a Rafah arms-smuggling tunnel - this one was at Beit Hanoun, apparently meant to tunnel into Israel to kidnap Israelis. Drinks all around.

Also, an RPG accidentally got fired and killed a 20-year old Hamas terrorist. Mother always said it is impolite to point.

October 7: After ignoring numerous death threats from members of the Religion of Peace, a Christian bookstore owner in Gaza finally got murdered. Well, it isn't as if he wasn't warned.

October 27: Two women and a four year-old girl were killed when their house blew up in Khan Younis in a "work accident." They were sorely disappointed when they entered Paradise.

October 29: A (possibly Western-trained) Gaza "policeman" accidentally shot himself to martyrdom.

November 4: A man who went through an oppressive checkpoint was shot in the back and killed. But since it wasn't a Zionist checkpoint and he wasn't "humiliated," there were no screaming headlines about it.

November 7: Hamas shot and killed a man at a funeral, thus saving his family untold burial expenses.

December 4: To allay any fears of sexism in the Palestinian Arab territories, a man was executed - for family honor.

December 18: During a funeral in Gaza, the celebratory gunfire severed a power line above, resulting in a live wire falling into the crowd, killing one and injuring eight. Hamas was impressed with the precise cutting power of the machine guns and is considering using them to help manufacture Qassam rockets.

Primaju se nominacije za 2008...

Izvor: Elder of Zyon

AHMADINEJAD - THE BEST OF

1. Israel must be wiped off the map … The establishment of a Zionist regime was a move by the world oppressor against the Islamic world . . . The skirmishes in the occupied land are part of the war of destiny. The outcome of hundreds of years of war will be defined in Palestinian land.October 26, 2005 (In an address to 4,000 students at a program titled, 'The World Without Zionism')

NB The translation of this quote is debated and has also been read as "Israel must disappear from the page of history"

2. The Zionist regime is an injustice and by its very nature a permanent threat. Whether you like it or not, the Zionist regime is heading toward annihilation. The Zionist regime is a rotten, dried tree that will be eliminated by one storm.

April 14, 2006 (In a speech at the opening of the "Support for the Palestinian Intifada" conference on April 14-16 hosted in Tehran)

3. Today, they [Europeans] have created a myth in the name of Holocaust and consider it to be above God, religion and the prophets … This is our proposal: give a part of your own land in Europe, the United States, Canada or Alaska to them [Jews] so that the Jews can establish their country.

December 14, 2005 (Speaking to thousands of people in the Iranian city of Zahedan)

4. The Zionist regime is the flag bearer of violation and occupation and this regime is the flag of Satan. …It is not unlikely that this regime be on the path to dissolution and deterioration when the philosophy behind its creation and survival is invalid.

August 18, 2007 (Address to an international religious conference in Tehran)

5. A new Middle East will prevail without the existence of Israel.

August 4, 2006 (as quoted by Malaysian news agency Bernama website)

6. In parallel to the official political war there is a hidden war going on and the Islamic states should benefit from their economic potential to cut off the hands of the enemies.

7. Some European countries insist on saying that Hitler killed millions of innocent Jews in furnaces.... Although we don't accept this claim, if we suppose it is true, our question for the Europeans is: Is the killing of innocent Jewish people by Hitler the reason for their support to the occupiers of Jerusalem? If the Europeans are honest they should give some of their provinces in Europe -- like in Germany, Austria or other countries -- to the Zionists and the Zionists can establish their state in Europe.

December 8, 2005 (While speaking to journalists at an Islamic summit in Mecca)

8. The Zionists are the true manifestation of Satan . . . Many Western governments that claim to be pioneers of democracy and standard bearers of human rights close their eyes over crimes committed by the Zionists and by remaining silent support the Zionists due to their hedonistic and materialistic tendencies.

February 28, 2007 (to a meeting of Sudanese Islamic scholars in Khartoum)

9. Thanks to people's wishes and God's will the trend for the existence of the Zionist regime is downwards and this is what God has promised and what all nations want…Just as the Soviet Union was wiped out and today does not exist, so will the Zionist regime soon be wiped out

December 12, 2006 (Comments to Iran's Holocaust Conference)

10. Though the enemy had made preparations for not allowing Iran (president) to make his voice heard, but, they could not succeed and thanks to grace of God the world people heard our voice.

September 30, 2007

11. Zionists are people without any religion. They are lying about being Jewish because religion means brotherhood, friendship and respecting other divine religions…
They are an organized minority who have infiltrated the world. They are not even a 10,000-strong organization.

August 28, 2007 (At a news conference in Tehran)

12. With God's help, the countdown button for the destruction of the Zionist regime has been pushed by the hands of the children of Lebanon and Palestine . . . By God's will, we will witness the destruction of this regime in the near future.

June 3, 2007 (Speech, as quoted by the Fars News Agency)

13. Although the main solution is for the elimination of the Zionist regime, at this stage an immediate cease-fire must be implemented.

August 2, 2006 (as quoted by Iranian TV)

14. [N]o Muslim nation would put up with this entity [i.e. Israel] in Islamic lands, not for one moment … If it's true that the [Europeans] committed a big crime in World War II, then they must take responsibility for it themselves, and not ask the Palestinian people to pay the price … Those countries that support this regime [Israel] were terrified at the suggestion that [Israel] should be relocated to their neighborhood. So why should the Palestinians and the countries in our region accept this entity?

(In a speech before an audience in the Iranian city of Qom, aired on television)

15. They [the United States] think they are the absolute rulers of the world.

October 29, 2005 (Marching in a demonstration alongside a crowd of students in Tehran)

16. It is not just for a few states to sit and veto global approvals. Should such a privilege continue to exist, the Muslim world with a population of nearly 1.5 billion should be extended the same privilege.

June 19, 2005 (In an interview with state television shortly before his election)

17. Iran's enemies know your courage, faith and commitment to Islam and the land of Iran has created a powerful army that can powerfully defend the political borders and the integrity of the Iranian nation and cut off the hand of any aggressor and place the sign of disgrace on their forehead.

18. Soon Islam will become the dominating force in the world, occupying first place in the number of followers amongst all other religions.

19.What is important is that they have shown the way to martyrdom which we must follow.

[President Ahmadinejad's comments on an aircraft crash in Tehran that killed 108 people in December 2005].

20. Is there a craft more beautiful, more sublime, more divine, than the craft of giving yourself to martyrdom and becoming holy? Do not doubt, Allah will prevail, and Islam will conquer mountain tops of the entire world.

21. Our revolution's main mission is to pave the way for the reappearance of the Twelfth Imam, the Mahdi.

22. The wave of the Islamist revolution will soon reach the entire world.

23. We don't shy away from declaring that Islam is ready to rule the world.

January 21 2006

24. Our enemies should know that they are unable to even slightly hurt our nation and they cannot create the tiniest obstacle on its glorious and progressive way.

April 28 2006

25. "By the grace of Allah, we (will be) a nuclear power.

26. If you have burned the Jews, why don't you give a piece of Europe, the United States, Canada or Alaska to Israel. Our question is, if you have committed this huge crime, why should the innocent nation of Palestine pay for this crime?

April 19, 2006

27. The UN structure is one-sided, stacked against the world of Islam.

June 8, 2005 (In an interview on state television)

28. Are they human beings?... They (Zionists) are a group of blood-thirsty savages putting all other criminals to shame.

(as quoted by Iranian TV)

29. The Zionists and their protectors are the most detested people in all of humanity, and the hatred is increasing every day.

July 13, 2006 (as quoted by Iranian state television)

30. We say that this fake regime (Israel) cannot logically continue to live. Open the doors (of Europe) and let the Jews go back to their own countries.

April 24, 2006 (In a news conference held on April 24, 2006)

PAPA O ANTISEMITIZMU I AHMADINEJADU

The Pope hit out at Iran as he pledged to help world Jewish leaders in their fight against anti-Semitism.

Pope Benedict XVI told leaders of the World Jewish Congress that Iran was “an issue of big concern” to him.

At a meeting at the Vatican, the Pope spoke of his concern about rising anti-Semitism and described how he wanted to use educational tools to counter the hatred of the Iranian leadership towards the Jewish people and Israel.

Maram Stern, secretary general of the World Jewish Congress, said after the audience: “We thanked the Holy Father for everything he did for the Jewish people, and more importantly what he will do.”

Speaking to journalists in Rome, he said the Pope had “recognised the question of Iran as an issue of big concern for him.”

Members of the congress discussed the critical problem of “resurgent anti-Semitism” in Europe. Britain itself has seen a marked rise in anti-Semitism, linked to increasing anti-Zionism and to events in the Middle East.

In a statement after the audience, the congress said members of the delegation “called on the Pontiff to take action against those in the Church who wanted to do damage to the close and positive relationship between Christians and Jews”.

Link

VELIKI PALESTINCI I MALI PALESTINCI, ILI DIMI OSTAJE DIMI

Palestinski kršćani sve su malobrojniji na području Palestinske Samouprave... ipak, po mišljenju vladajuće garniture, još ih je previše. Najnoviji slučaj nasilja nad kršćanima ubojstvo je vlasnika jedine kršćanske knjižare u Pojasu Gaze:

Tijelo kršćanskog službenika, koji je kidnapiran preko vikenda, otkriveno je u gradu Gazi rano u nedjelju, navode palestinski izvori.

Čovjek je identificiran kao Rami Ayyad, 31, direktor Učiteljske knjižare, koju vodi Palestinsko boblijsko društvo.

Iako ni jedna skupina nije preuzela odgovornost za ubojstvo, određeni broj kršćana iz grada Gaze rekli su Jerusakem Postu da je Ayyad u prošlosti primio više prijetnji smrću od strane radikalnih muslimana, koji su ga optuživali za misionarske aktivnosti.

Njegova knjižara i Palestinsko biblijsko društvo u zadnje su dvije godine više puta bile meta napada.

Naši izvori naveli su da su se napadi na kršćansku zajednicu u Gazi, koja broji oko 2,500 članova, intenzivirali u proteklih nekoliko mjeseci, naročito otkad je Hamas preuzeo punu kontrolu nad Pojasom Gaze.

...

Vijesti o Ayyadovom ubojstvu šokirale su članove njegove obitelji i prijatelje i probudile strahove da Hamasova vlada, usprkos više puta ponovljenim obećanjima, neće moći zaštititi lokalnu kršćansku zajednicu.

Ihab Ghissin, glasnogovrnik Hamasovog MUP-a, koje je odgovorno za sigurnost, kaže da je tijelo otkriveno na polju poznatom kao Dunum Abu Daf blizu čtvrti Zeitoun u gradu Gazi.

On je odbio dati detalje o uzroku smrti te je samo rekao da je tijelo prebačeno u lokalnu bolnicu na obdukciju. Palestinski su novinari potvrdili da se je Ayyad izboden. Ghissin je obećao da će počinitelji biti kažnjeni.

Očito nije dovoljno biti samo Palestinac, jer ovo ionako nije borba za slobodu, zar ne?

Prije dva tjedna starija je kršćanka iz grada Gaze pretučena i opljačkana od maskiranog napadača, koji je nazvao kafirom.

U Bethlehemu, policija Palestinske Samouprave istražuje prošlotjedno izbadanje 27-godišnjeg kršćanina, koji je zadobio teške tjelesne ozljede.

Ubrzo nakon Hamasovog preuzimanja vlasti, lokalna kršćanska škola i samostan napadnuti su i zapaljeni.

Link

EURABIJSKI KOD

Blog O islamu, pogled sa zapada donosi prijevod Fjordmanovog eseja Eurabijski kod:

Ovaj sam esej odlučio napisati nakon komentara jednog novinara, ne ljevičara po standardima moje zemlje (Norveška), a koji je Eurabiju odbacio kao običnu teoriju zavjere, usporedivu sa Protokolima Sionskih Mudraca. Ja ne osporavam činjenicu da teorije zavjere postoje, niti da mogu biti opasne. Napokon, Protokoli i Dolchstosslegende ili “mit noža u leđa” - ideja kako Njemačka nije izgubila Prvi svjetski rat, već je bila izdana od strane socijalista, intelektualaca i židova - pomogli su utrti put Adolfu Hitleru i nacistima u vremenu prije Drugog svjetskog rata.

Međutim, ono što me zbunjuje je široko rasprostranjeno vjerovanje mnogih (ne samo u islamskom svijetu, već i u Europi i Sjedinjenim Državama) kako su teroristički napadi u kojima su 11. rujna 2001. srušeni tornjevi blizanci WTC-a u New Yorku zapravo namjerno i kontrolirano rušenje, organizirano od strane američke vlade, a sve kako bi se okrivili muslimani. O ovoj pretpostavci se u zapadnim medijima mnogo puta raspravljalo. Iako je ona često (ne i uvijek) odbacivana i izrugivana, ipak se spominje.

Nasuprot tome, Eurabija - koja tvrdi da se islamizacija Europe ne događa pukim slučajem, već aktivnim sudjelovanjem europskih političkih vođa - jedva da se uopće spominje, unatoč činjenici da ju je lakše dokumentirati. Pogađa li spominjanje Eurabije preblizu? Možda se ne uklapa u protu-američki stav mnogih novinara? Zanimljivo je da ni oni novinari koji inače kritiziraju Europsku Uniju, zbog njezinih elemenata slobodnog tržišta, nikad ne pišu o Eurabiji.

Nastavak...

A KASAMI I DALJE PADAJU...

INTERVIEW S IZRAELSKIM VELEPOSLANIKOM U RH

Izraelski veleposlanik u Hrvatskoj Shmuel Meirom upozorio je danas da je Izrael, ako palestinski militanti nastave raketirati izraelski teritorij, spreman uzvratiti punom snagom.

U posljednja tri dana na grad Sderot bačeno je gotovo stotinu raketa. To je malo mjesto, a kuće podsjećaju na one koje se mogu vidjeti samo u Vukovaru. Izrael je dosad reagirao suzdržano, ali došlo je vrijeme da moramo uzvratiti. Već smo počeli s malenim udarcima, na sjedište Hamasa, ali ako nastave, mi ćemo doista reagirati punom snagom. Naravno, mi ne želimo započeti novi rat. Ali oni nas prisiljavaju da nešto učinimo i želimo da javnost to zna.

Ovo nije prvi put da su rakete ispaljene iz Gaze na Izrael, no dosad još nije bilo ovako oštre reakcije.

Uvijek je jednom, dvaput tjedno bilo po raketu-dvije. Ali sada su odjednom počeli bacati po 30 raketa dnevno i mi više ne možemo biti suzdržani. Odlučili smo djelovati.

Što kažete na optužbe da se Izrael udarima na Hamas odlučio stati na jednu stranu u palestinskom sukobu, na stranu Fataha?

To tvrdi Hamas. Zapravo, mi ne držimo stranu, ali naravno da znamo tko je tu umjereniji i tko nam je draži. To je Fatah, i s njima vodimo mirovne pregovore, a ne s Hamasom, terorističkom organizacijom koja tvrdi da Izrael nema pravo postojati. Ali, nismo učinili ništa da pomognemo Fatahu protiv Hamasa.

Neki mediji pišu da postoje glasine da bi Izrael mogao izvesti kopnenu ofenzivu na Gazu.

To je moguće. Ali to nam se ne sviđa. Nikome se ne sviđa. Ni vladi ni većini građana.

Koliko Winogradovo izvješće, u kojem je premijer Olmert kritiziran zbog lanjskog rata u Libanonu, utječe na sadašnju situaciju?

Moguće je, nisam siguran, da to ima utjecaj na način da vlada ne donosi nagle odluke i nije odmah krenula svom silom. Možda. Ali u svakom slučaju to neće utjecati na odluku da se nešto učini ako se ovakva situacija nastavi. Građani ne kritiziraju upotrebu sile, upravo suprotno, ljudi u Sderotu viču: ‘Učinite nešto odmah, uđite sa svime što imate i zdrobite taj mali pojas Gaze.’ Ali to ne možemo učiniti. Kada bacite bombu, ne možete znati je li na ulici malo dijete i, ako se nešto dogodi, po cijelom svijetu Izrael se predstavlja kao okrutna nacija.

Mislite li da je, s obzirom na razvoj događaja, izraelsko povlačenje iz Gaze bilo dobra odluka?

Da, to je bio dobar potez. Prije svega da se svijetu i Palestincima pokaže da imamo ozbiljne namjere i da ne želimo zauvijek držati to područje. Nadali smo se da će Palestinci nakon toga učiniti nešto za nas. Ali njihov odgovor opet su bile rakete. No, mi nećemo ući u Gazu kako bismo je ponovno zauzeli.

Kako će sadašnja situacija utjecati na mirovni proces?

Smatramo da, iako je palestinski predsjednik Mahmud Abas prilično slab i ne može kontrolirati što se zbiva u Gazi, u redu je pregovarati s njim. No, ne kao prije nego što je njegov Fatah formirao vladu s Hamasom. Sada možemo razgovarati samo o humanitarnim stvarima i pitanjima sigurnosti.

Zapadne zemlje su pozvale Izrael da pomogne Fatahu financijski, i to za kupnju oružja.

Da, i mi smo spremni to učiniti. To smo već radili, davno, tijekom 90-ih.

Jutarnji list

GUVERNER SIRIJSK E PROVINCIJE "LIBANON", FUAD SINIORA...

Siniora vrlo dobro glumi žrtvu i u njegovom osobnom slučaju to je gotovo i točno, budući da je njegova uloga u krojenju sudbine vlastite mu zemlje vrlo slaba; naravno njegova je ideja portretirati Libanon kao žrtvu izraelskih zlodjela. Dok pokušava prodati saudijski mirovni plan, studiozno pokušava izbjeći bilo kakav spomen riječi Hizb Allah, koja je neophodna u slikanju one slike, koju g. Siniora pokušava naslikati.

Evo vam jedne ideje: ako ste tako zabrinuti vapajem Palestinaca, kako bi bilo da im dozvolite da rade, grade, postanu libanonski građani i maknu se iz svog svijeta fantazije? Mogu razumjeti zašto Libanonci ne bi željeli biti preplavljeni masom ljudi, odgajanih na način na koji su to bili palestinski Arabi kroz zadnjih 6 desetljeća. I ja bih za njih pokušala naći izlaz...

Morat će se pomitiri s onim što je ostalo od ahistorijske Palestine - nešto što su već odavno mogli napraviti da nije bilo onih, koji su ostali neimenovani u Siniorinom članku - Hamasa, PLO-a, Hizb Alle, Sirije, Irana... itd...

New York Times

Preneseno sa Solomonije

DOK GAZA GORI...

Najzanimljiviji djelovi iz Ha-arecovog članka:

Supporters of clan head Mumtaz Durmush - who call themselves the Army of Islam - had apparently, due to a mistake in identity, abducted Abu-Sharah and then executed him, disposing of his body in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood. On the day that the Abu-Sharah clan marched with the body, the Army of Islam published a statement admitting its responsibility for the murder and claiming it had been a mistake. Mumtaz Durmush's men even apologized in the statement and called on the Abu-Sharah family to show restraint. But the family was not placated by the announcement and demanded revenge. It was only when some members of the parliament emerged from the building to speak with the demonstrators that they were persuaded to stop their protest and to bury Hassan.

Mumtaz Durmush was also apparently involved in the abductions of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and of BBC correspondent Alan Johnston. "Everyone in Gaza knows who is holding Johnston," a Palestinian officer who is a member of Fatah says bitterly. "But no one dares to take action against them. The Sabra neighborhood where the Durmush clan members live looks like a giant army camp. Hamas and Fatah are busy fighting each other rather than preparing a plan to take over Sabra."

I još:

On Monday, 12-year-old Muhammad al-Saadi was killed in northern Gaza by a stray bullet shot during an exchange of fire by rival clans near his home. Five-year-old Iyat al-Jarad was critically injured in the head also by a stray bullet while playing near her house in Beit Lahia. In other incidents, another seven Palestinians were injured by gunshots and in fights, and one Hamas activist who was working with explosives in his house was wounded when some of them went off. In addition, unidentified gunmen fired at two buildings housing the headquarters of security forces controlled by Fatah, but there were no casualties.

On Wednesday, two 12-year-olds were killed in the northern Strip and in Gaza City. One was killed by a bullet accidentally fired from a weapon found in his home; the other was killed in a random shooting near his house. Also a 27-year-old woman was killed in the Bureij refugee camp during a shoot-out between clans. In other incidents, a member of military intelligence and a 12-year-old boy were wounded by gunfire during a confrontation between rival families; two youths were injured in the northern part of Gaza when an explosive device went off; and the car of Ahmed al-Marani, the attorney general in the Gaza Strip, was stolen in an armed robbery.

According to data released by the Ramallah Center for Human Rights, since the start of 2007, 63 Palestinians have been killed and some 400 injured in clashes because of the chaos in the security situation. Most of the casualties were in the Gaza Strip, which is beginning to resemble the Somalian capital of Mogadishu. Tens of thousands of men armed with light weapons and RPGs do whatever they think fit; the Palestinian police are not effective and the courts are not functioning. In armed feuds between clans, the Palestinian security forces do not get involved at all.

Ha-arec

NESTANAK BLISKOISTOČNIH KRŠĆANA

U slijedećem desetljeću, ako se nastavi dosadašnji trend, gotovo da neće biti kršćana u Betlehemu, Ili Nazaretu. Ili Jeruzalemu.

Kršćani na području Palestinske Samouprave su sa udjela od 15% u ukupnom stanovništvu iz 1951. pali na današnjih 2% od ukupnog palestinskog stanovništva. I u Betlehemu i u Nazaretu, nekad većinski kršćanskim gradovima, danas postoje snažne muslimanske većine. Danas 3/4 betlehemskih kršćana živi u inozemstvu, a više jeruzalemskih kršćana živi u Sidneyu, nego u mjestu svog rođenja; kršćani čine svega 2.5% stanovništva Jeruzalema. u Starom Gradu u Jeruzalemu, kršćani su još uvijek većina.

Nije samo Sveta Zemlja mjesto odakle su kršćani pobjegli. Kroz cijeli Bliski istok nekad brojne kršćanske zajednice nestaju i, za 50 godina, više ih neće biti.

Što se dogodilo? Zašto postoji tako veliki egzodus, o kojem se tako malo izvješćuje, u kojem je, samo u proteklih 20 godina, pobjeglo oko 2 milijuna kršćana? Zašto irački kršćani bježe u zadnjih 10 godina? Zašto stotine tisuća egipatskih Kopta napušta svoju domovinu i zašto se čuvena antiohijska zajednica u zadnjih nekoliko desetljeća smanjila s 15,000 na jedna nekolicinu današnjih? l

Najveći uzrok za to je radikalni islam.

Naravno, postoje i drugi razlozi za ovakvu emigraciju - obrazovaniji bliskoistočni kršćani ponekad odlaze iz ekonomskih razloga. Neki odlaze kako bi izbjegli beskrajne sukobe pune nasilja. Kršćani imaju i niži natalitet.

Međutim, čitava skupina ne napušta tek tako domovinu, u kojoj su njihoi preci živjeli tisućama godina...

U svojoj najnovijoj knjizi The Body and the Blood: The Holy Land’s Christians at the Turn of the Century, Charles Sennott izvješćuje o brojnim bliskoistočnim kršćanskim zajednicama, koje su blizu nestajanja:

In one Jerusalem parish there were not enough young Christian men left to carry a casket at a funeral...In the sanctuary of an Upper Egypt monastery, Christians cowered in fear of violence from Islamic militants and systematic human rights violations by Egypt’s police state. In Lebanon the empty halls of once-grand Maronite Christian monasteries echoed a long-distant past crumbling and disappearing in the aftermath of a devastating civil war ... In all these places I found the Christian community withering, as daily life grew steadily more difficult.

Libanon i Egipat ilustrativni su primjeri baš zato jer prije generaciju ili dvije, teško da bi netko mogao zamisliti da će ove velike povijesne kršćanske zajednice danas biti u takvoj poziciji. U Libanonu gdje su kršćani nekad činili većinu, njihov je broj iz dana u dan sve manji.

Egipatski Kopti osjetili su pritisak i države i islamskog fundamentalizma. Mnogi zakoni i običaji favoiziraju muslimane, a ustav propisuje da je islam državna religija. Muslimanske školefinanciraju se iz državnog proračuna - kršćanske ne. Jedino muslimani u školama mogu podučavati arapski. Gotovo je nemoguće obnoviti staru, ili izgraditi novu crkvu; za to vrijeme tisuće novih islamskih zgrada financirano je od strane države. U osobnim kartama navedena je religijska pripadnost i, kao posljedica, mnogi su kršćani zlostavljani ili vrijeđani u javnosti. Zakoni zabranjuju konverziju muslimana na kršćanstvo. Islamski fundamentalisti fizički napadaju Kopte.

U nekim je islamskim zemljama još i gore. U Saudiji islam je državna religija i svi građani moraju biti muslimani. Ilegalno je tiskati, uvoziti, ili posjedovati kršćanski i - općenito - neislamski religijski materijal, a kršćani su, na osnovi toga bili i uhićivani, zatvarani i deportirani.

U Sudanu se šarija slijedi od 1983, a Sudan je islamskom republikom proglašen 1991. godine. U brutalnom građanskom ratu na jugu zemlje protiv crnih kršćana i animista ubijeno je oko 2 milijuna ljudi.

U talibanskom Afganistanu oprimjena šarije stvorila je otvorenu mržnju prema kršćanima, tako da u toj zemlji više nema otvorenih crkava, a u zemlji je preostao zanemariv broj kršćana.

U Iranu, kršćani čine zanemariv broj od 0.4% od ukupne populacije. Malena kršćanska zajednica tretira se kao dimi - teoretski zaštićena, ali ne jednakopravna... u praksi marginalizirana. Tiskanje kršćanskih knjiga je ilegalno, konvertiranje s islama kažnjava se smrću; većina evangeličkih kršćanskih crkava djeluje ilegalno.

U Palestinskoj Samoupravi, Arafat se nazivao branjenikom kršćana; susreo se s Papom i imenovao kršćanku, Hanan Ashrawi, kao jednu od svojih glasnogovornika. Međutim, njegova djela govore nešto drugo od njegovih proklamacija, a očituju se u ubrzanoj islamizaciji palestinskog pokreta.

Od 1975. Arafat je pokušavao izbrisati povijesnog Isusa i deformirajući ga u prvog radikalnog palestinskog fedajina. U međuvremenu, PS usvojila je islam kao oficijelnu rligiju, šariju te dozvolila imenovanim klericima da kršćane nazivaju nevjernicima u svojim mošejama. Militantna islamistička retorika i teroristički činovi Hamasa, Islamskog džihada i Hizb Ale - koje je Arafat i tolerirao, ali i ohrabrivao - nudile su malo utjehe kršćanima.

Od prosinca 1995. godine PS upravlja u Betlehemu; Arafat stavlja Crkvu rođenja i ostala ključna kršćanska mjesta pod svoj izravan politički nadzor. Palestinski konvertiti na kršćanstvo progone se, kršćanska se groblja uništavaju, samostanima se prekidaju telefonske linije, upada se u ženske samostane itd. Do prosinca 1997. godine londonski Times izvješćuje: Life in (PA ruled) Bethlehem has become insufferable for many members of the dwindling Christian minorities. Increasing Muslim-Christian tensions have left some Christians reluctant to celebrate Christmas in the town at the heart of the story of Christ’s birth.

In May 1999, Sheikh Yussef Salameh, the Palestinian Authority’s undersecretary for religious endowment, praised the idea that Christians should become dhimmis under Muslim rule, and such suggestions have become more common since the second intifada began in October 2000.

Perhaps most ominously for the future of Christians in the Holy Land, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, who is a favorite of Arafat, has declared that there are no Jewish stones in Jerusalem and “not even the smallest indication of the existence of a Jewish temple on this place in the past.”

From where, then, had Jesus chased the moneychangers? The Grand Mufti did not say, but it is no wonder, given such an atmosphere, that long-awaited global celebrations of the second millennium anniversary of Jesus in Bethlehem had to be cancelled in 2000; nor is it surprising that Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem have been cancelled for the second year in a row.

The overall result? The exodus of Christians continues apace from Palestinian Authority controlled areas. Within a generation Christians may comprise less than 1% of the population of the ground sacred to their faith.

Naravno, ovo ne znači da se kršćane pod islamom u proteklim stoljećima uvijek dobro tretiralo. Naime, rođenje islama u 7. stoljeću imalo je katastrofalan učinak na kršćanstvo na Bliskom istoku. Istočno Sredozemlje, do tad gotovo u cjelini kršćansko, a Levant, je bio mjesto rođenja kršćanstva. Razlika je u tome što se tadašnja brutalnost islama nije razlikovala od brutalnosti ostalih velikih suvremenih civilizacija, dok današnja islamistička tolerancija nema paralele na suvremenom Zapadu.

Štoviše, svojevremeno se činilo i da će islamska domena pratiti zapadni razvoj i usvojiti politiku zaštite religijskih manjina; činilo se i da će te manjine dobiti jednaki status. Međutim, raspad Osmanskog Carstva i uspon nacionalizama i radikalnog islama ponovno je okrenuo kolo sreće za bliskoistočne kršćane - u mnogim se mjestima njihov status od tada samo pogoršava.

Ironija je što su kršćanska vjerovanja, rituali i tradicije svi ukorijenjeni u Svetoj Zemlji i najraniji crkveni očevi dolaze s tih istih područja istočnog Sredozemlja u kojima su kršćanske zajednice danas u ovakvom položaju.

Those in the West who seek to understand the events of Sept. 11 and the struggle now taking place between the West and a radical “Jihadist” (“Holy War”) movement must not forget that the scars of radical Islam are also visible in the Middle East itself.