Middle East and Terrorism: ‘He Targeted My Child for Sexual Exploitation’: The Persecution of Christians, August 2024

by Raymond Ibrahim

“Women who disappear and are never recovered must live an unimaginable nightmare. The large majority of these women are never reunited with their families or friends because police response in Egypt is dismissive and corrupt.” — Coptic Solidary report, “‘Jihad of the Womb’: Trafficking of Coptic Women & Girls in Egypt”, copticsolidarity.org, September 10, 2020, Egypt.

The following are among the abuses and murders inflicted on Christians by Muslims throughout the month of August 2024.

Muslim Slaughter of, Violence against, and Hate for Christians

Burkina Faso: According to an Aug. 30 report,
Muslims had slaughtered more than 100 Christians, and kidnapped many
more in just three months, between late May and late August. During the
latest reported atrocity, which occurred on Sunday, Aug. 25, Muslim
militants slit the throats
of about 26 people inside a church: “All non-Muslim men over the age of
12 were separated out before being killed.” Not content with killing,
they also vandalized the church, “tried to desecrate the tabernacle, and
painted inscriptions on the wall that had a fresco of the Sacred Heart
of Jesus.”

Uganda: On Aug. 19, sword-wielding Muslims slaughtered
Yowabu Sebakaki, a 52-year-old Christian man who had been leading
Muslims to Christ. Earlier in the summer, Sebakaki had, according to his
wife, received threatening text messages, including:

“We are aware of some secret meeting you are undertaking.
You have to stop preaching as well as converting our faithful Muslims
to Christianity, and if not, then soon we are coming for your life.”

Sebakaki was murdered while returning home from a meeting with
converts. David Nkomba, who had accompanied him on the trip home, said,

“Just when we were five kilometers from reaching the
homestead, at around 6:20 p.m. a motorcycle came up just behind us, and
in no given time Sebakaki was struck with an object which happened to be
a ‘panga’ (long Somali sword) on the back near the neck. He fell down
and then was cut by another panga at the head. Sebakaki became
unconscious due to too much bleeding…. Other attackers were shouting,
‘Your time has come, and pray hard if your God will save you – you have
been deceiving people about life after death given by Issa (Jesus).’ I
took off, but I managed to recognize one of the attackers as Rashid
Siriman, a well-known radical Muslim youth from Mbale.”

Sebakaki was rushed to a hospital but died en route.

Ireland: On Aug. 15, a Muslim teen randomly stabbed and nearly killed
a Catholic chaplain. Prosecution described the attack as
“indiscriminate, unprovoked, frenzied, and arbitrary.” According to the
report,

“The 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named because he is a
minor, was charged with stabbing Fr Paul Murphy at Renmore Barracks….
Fr Murphy, aged in his 50s, was attacked around 10.35pm and later taken
to University Hospital Galway. He is recovering from multiple stab
wounds after undergoing surgery. The teenage boy was brought before a
sitting of the Children’s Court in Galway on Saturday where he was
charged with assault causing harm. Detective Sergeant Paul McNulty told
the court the attack was ‘frenzied’ and gardaí (state police) believe
the accused holds a ‘radical Islamist mindset.’ … The court heard the
chaplain had ‘seven deep lacerations’ to his arms which required
surgery, as well as minor cuts to his body and face…. The judge
directed that the boy have access to appropriate medical and
psychological care.”

Egypt: According to an Aug. 17 post on X, Muslims attacked
Christian families—including women and children—heading to a historic
church in Qalybia near Cairo for a procession. Some of the Copts were
severely injured and hospitalized in critical condition. (Click here for a short subtitled video of one of the attacked Christians explaining what happened.)

Lebanon: During a wild tirade, Reda Saad, a pro-Hezbollah commentator, did not even bother to hide a deep-seated antagonism
against Lebanon’s Christians, who have historically been the largest
demographic of the nation, although now they are a close second to
Muslims:

“I fear that the Christians in Lebanon will face a
similar destiny to that of the Afghans, when they clung to the wheels of
the American helicopters and are thrown from the sky. I fear that you
won’t have an airport or a port (to flee from). And perhaps the foreign
warships are coming to take you, to the last of you…. Unfortunately,
did you see where you ended up? You can’t even appoint a president!….
So let everyone know that the role of Christians in Lebanon has ended!
You have become a minority in this country, and yet you still hold high
positions… Nobody would accept this issue. The coming generations will
not accept it. They will not accept that the president must be
Christian; he must be a Sunni Muslim or Shi’ite.”

Muslim Rape and Abduction of Christian Women

Pakistan: On Aug. 10, Atia Bibi, a 28-year-old Christian woman and mother was subjected to a “harrowing ordeal”
when a group of Muslim men attacked, beat, and robbed her entire
family, before marching her into a nearby field where they repeatedly
raped her for nearly two hours. “I begged them to leave me,” she recounted, “but they pushed me further into the sugarcane field and raped me multiple times.” Her husband, Naveed, also described the ordeal:

“They slapped and punched me repeatedly, leaving marks on
my body. One of the robbers took my wife into the field while another
held a gun to my head, threatening to kill my son if I resisted or made
any noise.”

Even though crime and rape are rampant in Pakistan, religious
minorities are disproportionately targeted, as their victimizers know
the system can be counted in to look the other way.

In a separate incident, on Aug. 9, a Muslim man abducted,
forcibly converted, and married Fairy Shaukat, a 12-year-old Christian
girl. According to the girl’s mother, Parveen, a widow with eight
children,

“Fairy had gone to a nearby shop to buy groceries in the
afternoon, but she did not return home. My sons started searching for
her but could not find her. We then filed a complaint with the police,
but their attitude was not welcoming. Instead of helping us, they
delayed the registration of a First Information Report (FIR).”

Later, after a neighbor had informed the Christian family that he had
seen a local Muslim man, Muhammad Asad, abducting the girl,

“We informed the police about the accused, but they still
did not take any action, giving sufficient time to Asad to convert the
minor child and contract an Islamic marriage with her…. On Aug. 13, my
sons received the Nikahnama (Islamic marriage certificate) of Fairy
through WhatsApp from an unknown number. We were shocked to see the
document and urged the police to take action against this underage
marriage. When the police finally raided the house of the accused, he
was not there. It’s nearly 20 days now that I haven’t seen my child, and
we have no information about her safety…. Fairy is just 12 years old.
She had no access to a cell phone and rarely went out of the home by
herself. She was abducted by Asad, who we have heard is a loafer. He
targeted my child for sexual exploitation, and my heart sinks every time
I think of how she is being treated in captivity.”

Discussing this case, a Christian attorney, Sumera Shafique, said

“I’m filing a petition in the Lahore High Court for the
child’s recovery. It’s very unfortunate that police delay action in
cases involving underage minority girls, which allows the perpetrators
to scar these children for life… The accused not only kidnapped the
child, he converted her and contracted an Islamic marriage to save
himself from prosecution (a common practice by kidnappers to sexually
exploit underage non-Muslim girls).”

Egypt: Sometime in early August, Christina Karim Aziz, a 20-year-old Christian girl, disappeared
off the streets of Asyut, where she had gone to apply for a job. Her
family immediately went to police to report the disappearance; police
responded with nothing. Since then, the girl’s family has taken to
social media, crying out to whoever will hear them—including President
Sisi, whom they have publicly implored to intervene and help. She is
only the latest of many Christian girls to disappear off the streets of
Egypt. Earlier in the year, for example, and also in Asyut, Irene
Ibrahim Shehata, a 21-year-old Christian also disappeared under
circumstances very similar to Christina’s, including nonresponsive
police, and the family crying out to Sisi. This entire process is
discussed in a 2020, 15-page Coptic Solidary report, “‘Jihad of the Womb’: Trafficking of Coptic Women & Girls in Egypt”:

“The capture and disappearance of Coptic women and minor
girls is a bane of the Coptic community in Egypt, yet little has been
done to address this scourge by the Egyptian or foreign governments,
NGOs, or international bodies. According to a priest in the Minya
Governorate, at least 15 girls go missing every year in his area alone.
His own daughter was nearly kidnapped had he not been able to intervene
in time…. The rampant trafficking of Coptic women and girls is a
direct violation of their most basic rights to safety, freedom of
movement, and freedom of conscience and belief. The crimes committed
against these women must be urgently addressed by the Egyptian
government, ending impunity for kidnappers, their accomplices, and
police who refuse to perform their duties. Women who disappear and are
never recovered must live an unimaginable nightmare. The large majority
of these women are never reunited with their families or friends because
police response in Egypt is dismissive and corrupt. There are countless
families who report that police have either been complicit in the
kidnapping or at the very least bribed into silence. If there is any
hope for Coptic women in Egypt to have a merely ‘primitive’ level of
equality, these incidents of trafficking must cease, and the
perpetrators must be held accountable by the judiciary.”

Muslim Attacks on Christian ‘Blasphemers’

Egypt: On Sunday, July 28, a military court sentenced
a Christian conscript to three years in prison for “blasphemy” against
Islam. According to court documents, Yusuf Sa’d Hanin was charged with
“committing behavior that is harmful to discipline, order, and military
requirements,” after he exchanged, what prosecution called, “statements
offensive to Islam” in a private conversation via Messenger. These
“offensive” statements were made last May, 2024, while Yusuf was on
leave from compulsory military service, and celebrating Easter with his
family in his residence in Beni Suef governorate. During this time,
Yusuf got into a verbal altercation and exchanged insults with a Muslim
man via text. The Muslim man immediately broadcast what the Christian
said, otherwise private, personal exchanges.

This, as is often the case, instantly provoked unrest among the
Muslim populace of the village. Local officials, however, managed to
quell the nascent uprising by assuring the Muslims that the Christian
would pay. On the very next day, Yusuf was ordered to return to the
Central Security camp, to resume his military training. He was seized
and taken blindfolded to a National Security headquarter, where he was
savagely beaten, insulted, and interrogated, including on whether he was
following any Christian preachers or involved in any Coptic
organizations, all of which he denied. Soon thereafter he was sent to
and sentenced by a military court to three years’ imprisonment.

Separately, a Muslim convert to Christianity, who has been imprisoned
for more than two years in Egypt, has, according to an August 20 report, been on a hunger strike. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom summarized his great “crime” as follows:

“On December 15, 2021, authorities arrested (Abdulbaqi
Saeed) Abdo, a Yemeni refugee, from his Cairo home. Abdo’s arrest
followed his appearance on a Christian TV channel talking about his
conversion to Christianity and alleged persecution Christians in Yemen
face. Abdo had also been involved in Facebook groups for Christian
converts. He was charged with joining a terrorist group (Art. 86 ECC),
contempt of Islam (Art. 98(w) ECC), and discrimination against Islam
(Art. 161 ECC).”

Pakistan: On Aug. 7, an irate Muslim mob of nearly 300 people attacked and tried to kill a Saima Masih, a 32-year-old Christian mother of two, after a neighbor, Muhammad Haider, accused her of desecrating the Koran. According
to Akmal Bhatti, chairman of an organization called the Minorities
Alliance Pakistan, “The mob would have lynched Saima if the police had
not reached there on time and rescued her.” Once the jihadist genie of
retribution had been uncorked, the raging Muslims also “attacked some
other Christian residents of the village, forcing them to flee their
homes and hide in the fields to save their lives.” Whipping up more
violence, Islamic extremist groups were also present, inciting the mob
against Christians. Bhatti suggested that Muhammad Haider had a personal vendetta against the Christian woman:

“Saima denied desecrating the Quran. She reportedly said
that her neighbor, Haider, had asked her for an empty sack, which she
gave him. However, after some time Haider returned with some other
Muslims and accused her of placing defiled pages of the Quran in the
sack, which she repeatedly denied.”

Although police “saved” the Christian woman’s life, they also
“registered a blasphemy case against her under the pressure of the mob,
which is very unfair,” Bhatti said. “The poor woman will now have to suffer in prison for years while her two children will be deprived of her love and care.” He added
that the government was taking no action against the exorbitant abuse
of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws: “Christians in Punjab are increasingly
being targeted through blasphemy accusations, yet our state is not
bothered at all.”

In a separate incident, according to an Aug. 29 report,

“A village fair meant for celebration became a nightmare
for two Christian brothers when they were accused of desecrating the
Quran. Like many other boys at the fair, the brothers, along with Muslim
children, threw fake currency notes during a swing boat ride. Among the
showered notes, some slips containing Quranic verses were discovered.
It was assumed that these slips with Quranic verses were torn and thrown
by the Christian brothers, leading to the arrest of their mother and
grandfather. Although the Christian mother and grandfather were released
after the boys were presented at the police station, the mother remains
devastated by the arrest of her beloved sons.”

Muslim Attacks on Christian Churches, Crosses, and Cemeteries

Italy: On August 5, a Muslim migrant from North Africa was arrested for robbing
a church in Turin. There were many other acts of arson, desecration
(including of a Christian cemetery), statue breaking, and thefts
targeting churches in Italy throughout the month of August, including here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Austria: According to an Aug. 19 report,
Islamic graffiti—including phrases such as “Islam will win”—smeared on a
Viennese church is no longer being dismissed as the work of
“mischievous teens.” “In view of the recently foiled terrorist attack in
Vienna,” that city’s VP leader, Karl Mahrer said
in reference to the targeting of a Taylor Swift concert, “such graffiti
is an alarming warning signal that must not be ignored. We are at a
decisive turning point.” The vandalism of the St. Anthony Church is, he
added, suggestive of “profound problems that are at the very heart of
Vienna.”

France: On Aug. 4, the tabernacle of Saint Pierre Church was broken and set on fire,
and its religious statues and icons were smashed on the floor. “We can
only regret this completely scandalous act,” said Philippe de
Gonneville, mayor of Lège Cap-Ferret. “The town is normally very calm;
we were very surprised, it seems totally improbable…. There is an
ostensible desire to destroy the sacred.”

United Kingdom: During the night of Aug. 7, a beloved statue of Mother Mary was desecrated at the St. Joseph’s Church in the Goan district of Wembley. According to the report,
“The Goan community has a great devotion to the statue of Mother Mary,
with throngs of Goans stopping by to pray in front of the statue
throughout the day and night.” After saying that he had contacted
Muhammad Butt, leader of Brent Council under Wembley, G.O.A. UK
President Ravi Vaz, said
that “Butt has assured that everything will be done.” However, “If
needed, I will escalate this to a higher level.” Discussing this
incident, Joyce De Souza of the Labour Party, said:

“We are parishioners of this Church and this news was
shocking…. While this anti-social activity was done to target and hurt
the community’s religious feelings, Elvis (her husband) and I appeal to
the community to stay united at this difficult time…. Let us support
communal harmony which is of utmost importance during this crucial
time.”

There were at least two other instances of theft and desecration in UK churches during August, here and here.

Turkey: On Aug. 24, a Christian cemetery in Istanbul was
desecrated. Workers at the Agios Eleftherios Cemetery found that the
barbed wire fence surrounding the graveyard had been cut, the guard dogs
sedated, and several gravestones and crosses desecrated. The Archons of
the Ecumenical Patriarchate condemned the vandalism, denouncing it as a
“deliberate act of desecration and hatred for the Greek Orthodox
community of Constantinople,” one that evinced a “contempt for religious
freedom.” The Turkish government’s lack of response and commitment to
protect the “increasingly precarious position of religious minority
communities in Turkey” was also criticized.

Indonesia: On Sunday, Aug. 18, a mob consisting of local officials forcibly dragged
a Christian pastor from his church and sealed off its site on the
dubious claim that the place had originally belonged to the government.
After characterizing the incident as “violent and anarchic,” the pastor,
Herri Soesanto, said,

“I was harassed and dragged by a mob that I estimated was
about 50 people… What was disappointing was those people who closed
my church were my friends… I never imagined the violence that
government officials made, causing upset among the congregation.”

He added that when the church purchased the site, no one, including
the real estate agent, had said anything at the time suggesting that the
government owed the land. Indonesia is approximately 83% Muslim and 11%
Christian. According to Open Doors 2024 World Watch List, which tracks
the plight of Christians around the world, the persecution level in
Indonesia is “very high.”

Egypt: On Aug. 30, a massive fire “broke out”
in the Coptic Christian Diocese of Beni Suef in Egypt, consuming all of
the five-story Christian building’s contents—reception halls, offices,
libraries, precious books, furniture, and computers—as well as more than
300 wooden benches belonging to the adjacent Church of the Virgin Mary,
which were in the diocese courtyard at the time for repairs. At least
ten people, including a clergyman and several staffers, were injured and
hospitalized.

Diocese spokesmen who were present said
that it was only due to “Divine Providence” that a large number of
children present in the building, which houses three children’s schools,
were saved. It took approximately five hours for firefighters to put
out the blaze. Although initial reports stated that a full forensic
investigation as to the cause of the fire would be underway, a security
source quickly announced that the fire was caused by “faulty electrical
wires.”

As critics point out, however, this is only the latest of many churches in Egypt—see here, here, here, and here—to be torched and immediately attributed to “faulty wires” and other natural causes. In one month alone, August 2022, a full 11 churches reportedly “caught fire.” Forty-one Christian worshippers, including many children, were killed
in just one of these fires. Also “interesting” is that “accidental”
fires in mosques—which outnumber churches in Egypt by a ratio of 40 to
1—are completely unheard of.

About this Series

While not all, or even most, Muslims are involved, persecution of
Christians by extremists is growing. The report posits that such
persecution is not random but rather systematic, and takes place
irrespective of language, ethnicity, or location. It includes incidents
that take place during, or are reported on, any given month.

Raymond Ibrahim, author of Defenders of the West, Sword and Scimitar, Crucified Again, and The Al Qaeda Reader,
is the Distinguished Senior Shillman Fellow at the Gatestone Institute
and the Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the Middle East Forum.

Source:https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20966/persecution-of-christians-august

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