Why the Christian silence on Muslim persecution of Christians.

The explanation for the silence is perhaps the fear that protests will only endanger those minorities even more. Evidently the time when Western governments will take up the cudgels for embattled coreligiionists is passed. .

Why the Silence on Islamist--and Sometimes Muslim-Majority Regimes--Persecution of Christians?

Barry Rubin

On July 12, seven churches were bombed in Baghdad with 14 people being killed, many of them while attending religious services.

Christians in Muslim-majority areas are constantly being targeted by radical Islamists, especially in the Gaza Strip (where they've largely been driven out altogether), Iraq, Pakistan, Sudan, and parts of Nigeria. There is also tremendous pressure against the Christians (Copts) of Egypt. Hundreds of specific incidents of murder, kidnapping, expulsion, threats, and the destruction of churches have been documented.

In other places--notably Syria and the Palestinian Authority's territories, and of course in Israel--Christians are protected and able to practice their religion freely. In other countries, like Saudi Arabia, the practice of Christianity by foreign workers is tightly restricted.

It is a mystery to me why Western Christian churches and organizations have been so indifferent to the persecution and murder of their co-religionists. This story is rarely covered in the mainstream media. There are no protests and little aid being rendered to imperiled Christian communities.

Indeed, when it is mentioned--as in the recent special issue of National Geographic magazine--the only country blamed is Israel. Yet my direct contacts with West Bank Palestinian Christians leaves no doubt that the cause of emigration is Hamas and such elements, either through threats or fear that Islamists will come to power in future.

Since Muslim-majority states or areas are the only places in the world today where Christians face real persecution, the silence on this issue is both inexplicable and despicable.