Month: November 2009

Not quite related but powerful nonetheless because of the artistic beauty of the music and architectural beauty of the Swiss village set in the stunning natural beauty of the Swiss Alps, this short video reveals two expressions of human creativity that will disappear if the light of Christianity that nurtured them is extinguished.

Update: To support its position, the SVP cites a famous remark by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who once implied that the construction of mosques and minarets is part of a strategy for the Islamization of Europe. The pro-Islamic Erdogan said: “The minarets are our bayonets, the domes our helmets, the mosques our barracks and the faithful our army.”

Armen Hareyan writing on Huliq News:

The Swiss Minaret ban has drawn many critical voices from around the world. The majority of Muslims in Switzerland are from Turkey and some from the Balkans. Turkey feels the minaret decision pain as number of Christian churches (namely Armenian and Greek) in Turkey are either closed or turned to museums.

Nearly 57 percent of the voters in Switzerland voted to ban the building of Minarets in this picturesque country opening a door for a Europe-wide debate on the issue of religious dialogue throughout the old continent and the Middle East. This was a nationwide referendum, which was supported by Switzerland’s right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP). The Swiss People’s Party is widely associated with anti-immigration campaigns.

Observers report that the Swiss Minaret vote indicates the rise and strength of far-right groups in Switzerland. However, others observe that this vote may the first indication of how the Europeans may feel about the limits that the Christians and Christian churches have to face in number of Muslim Countries. The development is indeed very worrying and calls for removing all the barriers around the world for the freedom of religious worship.

Switzerland has nearly 7.5 million population. The Muslims comprise the small 5 percent of the population with 400,000. They are the second minority next to the Roman Catholic. The country has 150 Mosques where the Muslims worship and only 4 of them have Minarets. Most of the Muslims are from Turkey.

Turkey, on the other hand is one of those countries where the opposite problem exists. While most Muslim countries and many Christians strongly criticized the Swiss Minaret vote, no one in the Muslim world or even in Europe seem to really care about the situation situation of the Christian churches and seminaries for preparation of schools in Turkey.

Read more on Turkey Feels The Pain Of Swiss Minaret Ban on Huliq News.

From the Assyrian International News Agency. (HT: The Volokh Conspiracy):

Cairo (AINA) — In an effort to cover up the Muslim mob violence against the Copts which broke out last week in the town of Farshoot and neighboring villages (AINA 11-22-2009, 11-23-2009), and in view of the complete news blackout imposed by the Egyptian government, Egyptian State Security has intensified its pressure on the Coptic Church in Nag Hammadi and the victims of the violence into accepting extrajudicial reconciliation with the perpetrators, and opening their businesses without any compensation. Similar State Security scenarios have been experienced by Copts in all sectarian incidents in the past, in which they always come out as losers, having been forced to give up civil and criminal charges, while the criminals get away scot-free.

“There will be no reconciliation before full financial compensation has been paid to the Coptic victims, and the criminals are brought to justice, so that safety and security can be restored to the district,” said Bishop Kirollos of the Nag Hammadi Diocese. Continue reading →

From Reuters:

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow

A blast derailed a high-speed Russian train Friday night on the main line between Moscow and Russia’s second city, St Petersburg, raising fears of a new wave of attacks five years after a bombing campaign in Moscow by Chechen rebels.

“We believe the reply will be effective and powerful enough to show these shameful, terrible people that … when the hand of an enemy is lifted against our lives, we are able to defend our citizens,” Patriarch Kirill said at a memorial service in Moscow.

The comments were the strongest statement of anger against the perpetrators by a senior public figure. President Dmitry Medvedev Saturday called for calm and ordered officials to do everything to help the victims of the attack.

No one has claimed responsibility for the blast, but security analysts said militant groups from Russia’s mainly Muslim North Caucasus were the most likely culprits.