XPost: alt.society.liberalism, alt.religion.christian, alt.apocalypse   
   XPost: alt.politics.obama   
   From: brianwest@mountainbell.com   
      
   Boko Haram continues its march toward making Nigeria an Islamic   
   state. A few weeks ago, as the world focused on the terror   
   attacks in Paris, the group continued its murderous rampage   
   across the northern part of the country. Last weekend it killed   
   dozens in Maiduguri. These are just the latest atrocities from   
   Boko Haram, which has kidnapped hundreds of schoolchildren,   
   murdered thousands of innocent men, women and children and   
   driven hundreds of thousands more from their homes.   
      
   Unfortunately, all indicators point to the likelihood that the   
   worst is yet to come.   
      
   Last month, Open Doors released its 2015 World Watch List, an   
   annual survey of the most dangerous and difficult places in the   
   world to be a Christian. This year’s report uncovered some   
   startling and worrisome trends. In every region of the world —   
   Africa, Asia and even in the Americas — persecution of   
   Christians is growing. There was not one country on the 2015   
   list that decreased its acts of violence and persecution from   
   the previous year. The escalation of violence over the past year   
   was so great that the threshold used to create the list had to   
   be increased. With nearly twice the number of Christians   
   persecuted over the previous year, it’s clear why Christians   
   should be very concerned.   
      
   What may not be as clear is why everyone else should care.   
      
   What all Americans must understand is this: Ending the   
   persecution of Christians is not just morally right; it is in   
   our national interest. When we promote and defend freedom of   
   religious expression throughout the world we are making the   
   world safer for oppressed peoples, we are promoting a value that   
   keeps extremism of any kind in check.   
      
   As Christians are expelled, Islamist extremists are taking their   
   place.   
      
   After 13 years of creating the World Watch List in its modern   
   form, Open Doors has observed that the persecution of Christians   
   is a lead harbinger for discord in the wider society. If history   
   teaches us anything, it is to pay attention to the signs that   
   warn of geopolitical upheaval; in particular, the restriction of   
   religious minority groups.  When religious minorities are first   
   marginalized within a society, then targeted for attacks without   
   notice from the free societies around the world, a purge is the   
   next logical step in the mind of extremists.   
      
   For example, more than a decade ago, Christians in Iraq   
   worshipped in relative peace. Even under the brutal dictatorship   
   of Saddam Hussein, they faced no greater threat to their freedom   
   than the general population of Iraq. But now Iraq ranks third on   
   the World Watch List as one of the most brutal places for   
   expression of the Christian faith.   
      
   In 2003, Open Doors began to take notice of a sharp increase in   
   acts of violence against Christians and their places of worship   
   in Iraq. Open Doors’ warnings to beware extremist groups forming   
   in the North fell on deaf ears, and violence grew year after   
   year. The Iraqi government was unwilling or unable to act, and   
   the wider free world did little to help.   
      
   Since then, Iraq has steadily climbed on the World Watch List,   
   and the number of Christians there has dropped dramatically. In   
   2003, there were approximately 1 million professing Christians   
   in Iraq living side-by-side with their Muslim neighbors in   
   relative peace. Open Doors estimated that in 2014, before the   
   ISIS attacks, there were only 300,000 Christians left in Iraq,   
   many of whom were living as internally displaced persons in the   
   northern part of the country. That’s a loss of more than two-   
   thirds of the Iraqi Christian community.   
      
   Responsible lawmakers and those concerned with the security of   
   all free people should be asking themselves what is filling the   
   void left by the dramatic decline of the Christian community.   
   The answer is obvious: As Christians are expelled, Islamist   
   extremists are taking their place.   
      
   It is time for the international community to pay careful   
   attention to what happened in Iraq, because this scenario seems   
   to be playing itself out again in Nigeria. The Western world   
   cannot afford to continue to drag its feet.   
      
   Boko Haram, an Islamic terrorist group, has been turning up the   
   heat on Christians in northern Nigeria for several years. Last   
   year, at least 2,484 Nigerian Christians were executed or killed   
   for their faith, the highest total of any of the countries on   
   the World Watch List.   
      
   In January, I warned that Boko Haram might be duplicating the   
   tactics and strategies of the Islamic State. Little did I know   
   that, at that very moment, Boko Haram was slaughtering many   
   Christians, along with people of other faiths, in the village of   
   Baga. According to some reports, as many as 2,000 people were   
   killed in what many agencies are calling “Boko Haram’s deadliest   
   act.” Now Boko Haram is expanding its attacks into neighboring   
   countries. If the past is any indicator, it will try to take   
   over all regions of Nigeria as well as Cameroon, Niger and Chad.   
   Unfortunately, the Nigerian government and the rest of the world   
   are doing little to stop the assault on religious liberty.   
      
   An immediate concern for the region is the Nigerian presidential   
   election, slated to take place on Feb. 14. The next week could   
   bring even more attacks as Boko Haram seeks to further   
   destabilize the nation.   
      
   Iraq and Nigeria are but two examples of how the persecution of   
   Christians indicates a society that is about to tip into chaos.   
   The world would do well to pay attention before it’s too late.   
      
      
   David Curry is the President of Open Doors USA. For nearly 60   
   years, Open Doors has worked in the world's most oppressive   
   countries, empowering Christians who are persecuted for their   
   beliefs. Christians are the most persecuted religious group in   
   the world. Each year, Open Doors releases its World Watch List,   
   a ranking of the 50 countries where Christian persecution is   
   worst.   
      
   http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/02/09/persecution-christians-   
   significant-indicator-future-world-   
   chaos/?intcmp=ob_article_footer_text&intcmp=obinsite   
      
       
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)