There are an estimated 14 million Christians in Egypt alone, with millions more in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, and Syria.
According to WorldWatchList, the amount of persecution of Christians in these countries ranges from “severe” to “extreme.”
This story about the situation in a Baghdad suburb is all too typical:
As the last remaining Christian priest in the Baghdad suburb of Doura, Archdeacon Temathius Esha no longer just puts his trust in God’s all-seeing eye. Built into the wall of his vestry, amid pictures of Catholic saints, is a 16-screen CCTV monitor, keeping watch on every corner of his church in case of possible attack.
Along with the armed guard outside and concrete anti-blast walls, it makes St Shmoni’s feel more like a fortress than a house of worship. And after a decade in which Doura’s Iraqi Christian community has been robbed, kidnapped and murdered by Islamist extremists, it finds itself offering sanctuary to an ever-dwindling flock.
“Doura was once one of the biggest Christian communities in Iraq, with 30,000 families,” said Mr Esha, as he prepared for an afternoon congregation that barely filled two of the 22 rows of pews. “Now there are only 2,000 left. They feel they are strangers in their own land, and that makes them want to leave. The bleeding from migration is continuous.”
Today, St Shmoni is one of just two of Doura’s original seven churches still open, casualties of a period in which the area become one of the most notorious al-Qaeda strongholds in Baghdad. In the years that followed the US-led invasion of 2003, two churches were car bombed, while the others closed due to lack of numbers and the kidnapping for ransom of four of Mr Esha’s fellow priests, which has left just him and a local monk remaining.
Yet some people insist that persecution of Christians does not exist, or is so rare as to be LOL-worthy:
@rupertmurdoch millions? Really? I'd like some of what you're drinking!
— Neal Campbell (@nealcampbell) December 22, 2013
LOL!!! @rupertmurdoch says "Christians should pray for millions of fellow believers being killed and persecuted in Middle East.” Millions?
— Neal Campbell (@nealcampbell) December 22, 2013
@nealcampbell I don't think it's "millions", but it definitely does happen a bit. And not just in the Middle East.
— Dan Ficker (@deliriousguy) December 22, 2013
@nealcampbell Totally.
— Dan Ficker (@deliriousguy) December 22, 2013
https://twitter.com/ZachFarmer7/status/414657282056925184
https://twitter.com/JamieMcBellend/status/414632409251201024
@Footy_cricket you really are stupid? Millions? @rupertmurdoch and @FoxNews are masters of deception and exaggeration. #provocateur
— zmanaz ?? (@zmanaz) December 22, 2013
@deliriousguy it happens in the tens, so millions is an extreme exaggeration.
— Neal Campbell (@nealcampbell) December 22, 2013
@Footy_cricket you really are stupid? Millions? @rupertmurdoch and @FoxNews are masters of deception and exaggeration. #provocateur
— zmanaz ?? (@zmanaz) December 22, 2013
"@rupertmurdoch:… Christians should pray for millions of fellow believers being killed and persecuted in Middle East."
LOL @ millions
— Xcntrik (@Xcntrik) December 22, 2013
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