John L. Allen Jr.'s book "The Global War on
Christians: Dispatches from the Front Lines of Anti-Christian Persecution"
is required reading for all serious Christians, as well as anyone who cares about
world peace and human rights. Christians are the most numerous among victims of
those persecuted for their religious beliefs; "80 percent of all acts of
religious discrimination in the world today are directed at Christians"
(9). Christians face persecution in more countries than the followers of any
other religion (34). One estimate: every hour, every day, for the past decade,
eleven Christians have been killed. Christianity in the Middle East is
experiencing a genuine genocide.
Persecution includes harassment, second class status,
denial of employment, individual exile, mass expulsion, imprisonment, torture,
rape, crucifixion, and death.
"Does anybody hear our cry? How many atrocities must
we endure before somebody, somewhere" pays any attention at all, asks the
Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem (15). "The world remains totally silent.
It's as if we've been swallowed up by the night," says a Christian in Iraq
(138). "The failure of Christian leaders in the West, and especially in
the United States, to speak our more forcefully in defense of beleaguered Christians"
is nothing short of scandalous (212).
John L. Allen works for CNN, the National Catholic
Reporter, and National Public Radio. He is a superb writer and "Global War"
is an excellent read. You may hesitate to read this book because you cringe
from accounts of torture and other human rights abuses. Jettison that hesitation.
I cried only once while reading this book. For the most part, Allen writes drily,
e.g., "So and so was beaten, raped, and killed." He does not linger
over the kind of poignant detail that would make this book a very difficult
read exactly for the kind of compassionate person who needs to read it. You
will be able to get through this important book. There are no graphic scenes of
upsetting material.
Read properly, this book won't depress you; it will
inspire you. The people in these pages are heroes of unimpeachable courage and
faith. They prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the light shines in the
darkness, and the darkness could not overcome it. There is no finer example
than the Burundi seminarians. In 1997, African seminarians had taken an Easter
retreat on the theme of Christian brotherhood. Shortly thereafter, murderous
rebels invaded their seminary and demanded to know who was a member of the Hutu
tribe, and who was Tutsi, with the intention of massacring the Tutsi. The
seminarians and staff refused to say. They knew full well they all faced death
for their refusal to give in to ethnic hatred. They were martyred.
Christians are the most persecuted persons of faith on
the planet for a few simple, easy to grasp reasons. First, Christianity is the
largest religion on the planet. Second, Christians live on all continents in
significant numbers. Third, the ideologies most likely to oppress persons of
faith, Islam and the Left, include overt, foundational doctrines opposed to
Christianity in particular (Allen does not state this). Fourth, Christian
doctrine itself, given its elevation of conscience and compassion over raw
power, turns Christians into targets for oppressors. Fifth, the Christian
practice of "turning the other cheek" encourages some to conclude
that Christians will not cause any trouble to those who harm them. Sixth,
Christianity suggests a supra-national identity as a Christian as something
greater than ethnic or party affiliation; this threatens nationalists and
totalitarians.
Allen amply documents the assertion that there is a
global war on Christians with material from easily accessible and respected
sources, including secular ones like the Pew Forum, the US Commission on
International Religious Freedom, and the US Department of Homeland Security. He
uses statistics and case studies.
Allen cautions: there is no single enemy or remedy;
concerned persons must not respond with sensationalism or violence. Allen
thoroughly rejects scapegoating of any group, including Muslims; he honors
Muslims who themselves have been martyred in defense of Christians. Members of
any or no religion can persecute Christians, including Buddhists. Buddhist
monks have participated in acts of violent persecution of Christians. Allen
acknowledges that Christians can and do persecute other Christians. He tells
the story of Maria Elizabeth Macias Castro, who exposed drug cartel activity in
Mexico. In a very Catholic country, drug dealers killed her.
The stories Allen tells, without any hint of
sensationalism or sentimentality, are extreme. In Egypt, Muslims pour sulfuric
acid on Coptic Christians' cross tattoos in order to remove them. In Orissa, India,
mobs carry out a pogrom of Christian homes. In Pakistan, a Christian faces death
for drinking from a "Muslim" well. In Ivory Coast, two Christian
brothers are crucified. In Afghanistan, a Christian is imprisoned for handing a
Bible to someone.
Allen argues that in considering whether or not a victim
can be counted as a victim of Christian persecution, one must consider the
motives of the victim as well as that of the victimizer. Sister Dorothy Stang
was murdered in the Amazon for helping poor farmers to resist land grabs by rich,
powerful ranchers, and for raising awareness of the environmental price of
deforestation. She read the Beatitudes, "Blessed are the peacemakers"
to her killers.
Christophobes will inevitably argue that the persecuted
deserved their fates. Nonsense. Christian martyr Shahbaz Bhatti "defended
the rights of Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims." He opened a free school with an
entirely Muslim student body (91).
Allen's book ends with suggestions for action. Those
concerned for persecuted Christians, Allen recommends, should pray, they should
get the word out about persecution, they should come to realize that the Christian
church is a global phenomenon, they should donate to existing charitable
organizations and create their own innovative charities, they should involve
their own political leaders, and they should aid resettled refugees. They
should do all this in partnership and consultation with those being persecuted.
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