Displaying items by tag: minorities

The Bishop of Southwark was one of fifteen bishops who visited the Holy Land for ‘2019 Holy Land Coordination’. A communiqué issued by this group said: ‘We have seen how there are Israeli citizens from many different backgrounds who coexist and work together for the common good of our society. Christians there make a vital contribution, especially through schools, hospitals, involvement in public life, and attempting to build bridges between different faiths. Yet it is clear that they also face profound difficulties across all aspects of their lives. Along with Palestinian Arab citizens and migrants, many Christians are systematically discriminated against and marginalised. Those we met expressed particular concern about the Nation State Law that was recently passed. They warn that this creates a constitutional and legal basis for discrimination against minorities, undermining the ideals of equality, justice and democracy. We stand with Israel’s Christians and all those challenging discrimination, in support of their call to protect the country’s pluralism.’

A Sri Lankan brick-maker is living with death threats after his conversion to Christianity, often seen as a ‘foreign’ religion, even though Christianity arrived in the Indian sub-continent almost two thousand years ago. Nimal is illiterate, but attended Bible school. When he talks about his faith, many people mock and challenge him. Rising from poverty to set up a small business, Nimal now shares some of his income with his church. Christian charity Open Doors International recently visited Nimal’s family. To watch the video about him, click the ‘More’ button.

The persecution against Christians is worse today than in any period of history, said a report by Aid to the Church in Need. The great rabbi of France, Haim Korsia, made an urgent request to Europe and the rest of the West to defend the non-Muslims of the Middle East, whom he compared to the victims of the Holocaust. A new human rights report has revealed that Iraqi minorities such as Christians, Yazidis and the Chabaqui people are victims of a ‘slow-motion genocide’ that is destroying their ancestral communities to the point of disappearance. 81% of Iraq's Christians have disappeared. For the Sabians, the devout community of San Juan Bautista, the number is even worse: 94%. As for the Yazidis, 18% have died or left the country. Another human rights organisation, Hammurabi, reports that there were 600,000 Christians in Baghdad, but there are only 150,000 now.