Christian Persecution Is Increasing -- Demand Action

Sunday, Czech Republic Interior Minister Milan Chovanec said his country will send back to Iraq a group of Iraqi Christians who tried to move on to Germany instead of staying in the Czech Republic. CTK news said a group of 25 Iraqis took a bus on Saturday to Germany, where they were stopped after crossing the border. German police asked the Czechs to take the Iraqis back and it was agreed, according to CTK. Chovanec said the 25 Iraqis had abused Czech generosity and should go back home. Police imposed a week deadline for them to leave. Chovanec said : "The 7-day deadline, which the Iraqi Christians got along with their passports, is meant for them to be able to arrange the return home. This time cannot be used to break laws or to move to another Schengen country. I asked the Czech police to use all legal means so that these people, who abused the good will of the Czech Republic and her citizens, are returned to Iraq." Thirty-seven Christian families were supposed to go to the Czech Republic from Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq and Lebanon refugee camps, but Chovanec has suspended the relocation program. It should be noted that several thousand people, mostly Moslems, passed through Czech territory last year in the mass wave of migration. None of them were returned to the Czechs or sent back to Iraq or Syria. ~~~~~ Human rights organizations say attacks against Christians around the world increased greatly last year. David Curry, CEO of Open Doors USA, says : "I don't believe most Americans have an accurate understanding of the real state of Christian persecution around the world." Curry cited poor US news coverage. Open Doors USA is part of an international organization based in the Netherlands that tracks and brings awareness of Christian persecution through its World Watch List. It began in 1955 when a Dutch man smuggled Bibles into Poland during Soviet occupation. In 1981, Open Doors smuggled 1 million Bibles into China in Project Pearl, landing them on a beach where 10,000 Christian Chinese waited to distribute them throughout China. Time magazine described Project Pearl as “A remarkable mission...the largest operation of its kind in the history of China." Another million Bibles were smuggled into the Soviet Union in 1988. Open Doors USA reports over 7,000 Christians were killed last year because of their faith...almost 3,000 more than the previous year." The fastest growth areas are the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia, Curry said. The numbers are expected to climb again this year. ~~~~~ Last month, human rights organizations pressured the Obama administration to declare deaths of Christians by ISIS genocide. In his statement, Secretary of State John Kerry cited the beheading of 49 Egyptian and Ethiopian Coptic Christians in 2015, among other atrocities. Open Doors welcomed Kerry's declaration, saying the persecution in the Middle East and Africa "increasingly takes the form of ethnic cleansing." ~~~~~ Last December, Johnnie Moore, author of "Defying ISIS: Preserving Christianity in the Place of Its Birth and in Your Own Backyard," told Newsmax President Obama will do something to help persecuted Christians around the world only when "the people in this country raise their voices." Moore hit Obama's inaction, based on not wanting to fuel a holy war : "So, that means that a million Christians in Iraq and a million in Syria that have lost their lives or lost their homes...don't get any special treatment from the United States." ~~~~~ Dear readers, this isn't just a Middle East problem. American Christians are very worried about religious freedom. A just released LifeWay Research survey finds 63% say they're facing more persecution, with 38% who "strongly agree," up from 2013, when 50% felt growing persecution, and 28% strongly agreed. And 60% say religious liberty is declining in America, up from 54% in 2013 -- 74% of Protestants and 59% of Catholics say Christians face growing intolerance. Christians are clearly targeted for persecution. Tell President Obama to act. Contact your Senator. Be a Proud Christian.