Freedom Of Religion

Around this time of the year here in America there is a lot of Sturm und Drang around the holiday traditions of various religions. Although there are the usual assholes who get bent out of shape regarding Christmas, Chanukah (Hanukkah), and/or Kwanzaa displays and message, most of us are relatively tolerant.

Would that it was the same elsewhere.

Attacks Against Christians In Nigeria Kill At Least 39

Attacks across Nigeria by a radical Muslim sect killed at least 39 people (on Christmas), with the majority dying on the steps of a Catholic church in a massive explosion after Christmas Mass.

The first explosion Sunday struck St. Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla near Nigeria's capital just after 8 a.m. The attack killed 35 people and wounded another 52, said Slaku Luguard, a coordinator with Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency.

The wounded filled the cement floors of a nearby government hospital. Bodies lined an open-air morgue.

In Jos, a second explosion struck near the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Church, state government spokesman Pam Ayuba said. Gunmen later opened fire on police guarding the area, killing one officer, he said. Two other locally made explosives were found in a nearby building and disarmed.

By noon Sunday, explosions echoed through the streets of Damaturu, the capital of Yobe state, where fighting between security forces and the sect already had killed at least 61 people in recent days. The most serious attack on Sunday came when a suicide bomber detonated a car loaded with explosives at the state headquarters of Nigeria's secret police, the State Security Service.

(The group claiming responsibility), Boko Haram has carried out increasingly sophisticated and bloody attacks in its campaign to implement strict Shariah law across Nigeria, a multiethnic nation of more than 160 million people. The group, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege" in the local Hausa language, is responsible for at least 504 killings this year alone, according to an Associated Press count.

This Christmas attack comes a year after a series of Christmas Eve bombings in Jos claimed by the militants left at least 32 dead and 74 wounded. The group also claimed responsibility for the Aug. 26 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, that killed 24 people and wounded 116 others.

Men look at the wreckage of a car following a bomb blast at St. Theresa Catholic Church outside the Nigerian capital Abuja on Christmas Day. 

In other countries the words may change but the tune remains the same.

Kirolos Andraws had every reason to be excited about the January uprising in his native Egypt, figuring democracy would bring hope for young people like him.

Then one day in February, says Mr. Andraws, a gang of thugs beat him and told him, "you deserve to die." His offense, he says: refusing to convert to Islam.

Mr. Andraws is one of thousands of Coptic Christians—followers of an ancient form of Christianity with its own language and rituals—who have come to the U.S. to escape rising persecution in Egypt.

For decades Copts have suffered attacks by Islamists who view them as "kafir"—Arabic for nonbelievers. But there is now a sense among Middle East experts that they have become more vulnerable since the revolution.

This year, mobs have looted and attacked Coptic churches, homes and shops throughout Egypt. Churches have been burned down, and one Copt had his ear cut off by a Muslim cleric invoking Islamic law.

Strong gains by Islamist parties in the recent elections have further raised fears among the Christian minority that they won't have a place in the new Egypt.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a federal advisory agency, asked the State Department to place Egypt on its list of "countries of particular concern"—egregious violators of religious freedoms. The department declined, saying that its goal is to work with the Egyptian government to improve conditions for Christians.

That last paragraph is another indication of how dysfunctional and delusional Hillary's State Department is.

The common theme of these two stories is, of course, the absolute lack of tolerance of Islam. Not surprising anymore, but still disturbing. I am getting really, really tired of Islamic apologists who say it's only a few radical fundamentalists who give the rest of them a bad name. It is past time for so-called moderate Muslims (if there is such a thing) to stand up and denounce their radical cousins. And it is way past time for the rest of the world to enforce civilized standards of behavior on any religion that uses its beliefs as a shield to protect cowardly and murderous behavior.

Thought exercise: go back to that first story about the church bombings in Nigeria. Switch the words "Christian" and "Muslim."Change "churches" to "mosques." Now imagine the world's reaction. The media's. Would it be the same? Greater? Less?

I think w all know the answer to that one.

I'm willing to bet that the majority of Americans, regardless of their religious leanings, are not overly concerned about others who believe differently. Our guiding tenet is that you have the right to do whatever you want, as long as you don't interfere with my right to do the same.

Again, would that it was the same elsewhere...