(Los Angeles Times) Borzou Daragahi and Amro Hassan - A devastating New Year's Day terrorist bombing at a Coptic church in Egypt that killed 21 people was the latest in a wave of violence against Christian communities in the Muslim world, some of which date back to antiquity. An Oct. 31 siege on a Baghdad church that killed 58 parishioners sparked a new Christian exodus from the Iraqi capital and the northern city of Mosul. About 1,000 families sought refuge in Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish enclave afterward, according to the UN. In an annual New Year's speech at the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI said: "In front of the current threatening tensions, in front of especially the discrimination, tyranny and religious intolerance that today hit in particular the Christians, once again I deliver the pressing invite to not cave in to depression and resignation," adding that officials' "words are not enough" in confronting religious intolerance. "There must be a concrete and constant effort from leaders of nations." Most Middle Eastern countries outside the Arabian Peninsula have sizable Christian communities, including the Maronites in Lebanon, Armenians in Iran, and the Orthodox in Syria. But their numbers have shrunk over the last century, experts say. Christians now account for less than 5% of the Middle East's population, down from 20%.
2011-01-03 07:53:22Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive