Christianity

(By Quinn Coffey) Just weeks before Pope Francis’ first official visit to the Holy Land, a number of Christian holy sites in Israel and Palestine have been targeted in ‘price tag’ attacks by the radical Israeli settler movement. These attacks have been increasing since 2008. Just weeks before Pope Francis’ first official visit to the […]

Bashar al-Assad

Threatened Syrian Christians taking up Arms, Tackling Extremists

contributors

(By Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi) When it comes to news reports on Christians in Syria, the general focus is on the concerns Christian civilians have about their future, if any, in the country. Though such anxieties are not invalid, reports rarely break new ground. Here I intend to explore how Christians play a role on the […]

Africa

CAR Muslims Risk Ethnic Cleansing: What if Thousands of Christians were forced out of a Muslim Country?

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) The Central African Republic has a population of 4.5 million, about 15 percent of them Muslim, or about 670,000 people. Those Muslims are now, according to Amnesty International, in serious danger of being ethnically cleansed. “The group [Amnesty Interntional] said attacks against Muslims had been committed “with the stated intent to forcibly […]

Christianity

Tripoli Residents Protest as 80,000 Rare Books in Lebanon Torched by Salafis

Juan Cole

(AFP) Angry Lebanese protest over attack on priest’s library (via AFP) Hundreds of Lebanese took to the streets of the northern city of Tripoli on Saturday to protest the torching of a decades-old library owned by a Greek Orthodox priest. The demonstrators held up banners that read “Tripoli, peaceful town” and “This is… —– […]

Christianity

A Delegation of Congressional Christian Zionists to Israel

contributors

(By Shalom Goldman) Shalom Goldman Just before Christmas, GOP Reps. Michele Bachmann (Minn.), Steve King (Iowa) and Louie Gohmert (Texas) wrapped up a largely secretive week-long congressional delegation or CODEL trip that included stops in Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, and Israel. While there didn’t appear to be any public announcements about December’s trip out of Egypt, […]

Christianity

Wounded by Apartheid Wall, Occupied Bethlehem Hopes for Pilgrimage Revival

Juan Cole

(Agence France Presse) Bethlehem eyes tourist boom after dark decade (via AFP) After a decade of unrest, Bethlehem has seen a surge in visits to Christ’s traditional birthplace, raising hopes of a tourism bonanza in the West Bank town despite Israel’s separation barrier. The Palestinian territories’ top tourist destination is… —- Related Video AFP: […]

Christianity

Assyrian Christian Revival in Turkey

contributors

(By Alexander Christie-Miller) The Christian Science Monitor recently reported on an Assyrian Christian revival in southeastern Turkey, fueled by a burgeoning Turkish economy and more tolerant laws enacted by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. In eastern Turkey, a rare renaissance for Middle East Christians (via The Christian Science Monitor) Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses the […]

Christianity

The Flight to Egypt – Coptic Artwork (Picture of the Day)

Juan Cole

h/t osjusa.org Attributed to the Coptic Museum, Cairo, Egypt Coptic Christians probably came to predominate in Egypt by the 600s when Muslim Arabs conquered it. As late as 1200, some historians think that Egypt was half Christian and half Muslim. For the past two hundred years, the Coptic Christian population has been estimated at around […]

art and photography

A Christian Bride of Mosul, Iraq, 1903 (Photo of the Day)

Juan Cole

Caption: A Mosul Bride: The girl in the centre of the picture is a Christian bride decked out in her wedding costume. The gold coins, necklaces, and girdle are her dowry. From M. E. Hume-Griffith and A. Hume, Behind the Veil in Persia and Turkish Arabia: An Account of an Englishwoman’s Eight Years’ Residence Amongst […]