Friday, May 31, 2013

Christians the Greatest Victims of Bloodshed in Syria


Arab Spring betrayed, danger of Sharia, says bishop
ICC Note: The Arab Spring—at one time a commendable, idealistic dream—has now plummeted toward a grave reality: the only freedoms gained were those of Islamists that demand complete submission from Christians and other religious minorities. Many Christians in Syria fear the same will happen to them if President Bashar al-Assad is deposed. While many Christians have publicly denounced the brutality of President Assad and by no means support the regime, most Christians see little hope in an alternative government which, they fear, will be led by Islamists who will hinder or outright abolish the religious freedoms long experienced by Christian in Syria. "We do not have precise estimates on how many have been forced to flee Syria for Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey but once there were two million Christians in the country and 160 small Christian villages that are now completely empty,” said Archbishop Elias Chacour, head of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in Israel.
By Nina Fabrizio
5/28/2013 Syria (ANSAmed) – Archbishop Elias Chacour, head of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in Israel, said Christians had suffered the greatest bloodshed since the Arab Spring which in his view had failed.
"Arab Spring is a mistaken definition. In Tunisia, Egypt, Iraq, Libya and now in Syria we are witnessing a wave of bloodshed, and we will not see a garden grow from this socalled spring," he warned.
Across the Arab world and in the Middle East, he said "many are dying, but those who are losing the most are Christians".
He told journalists the hopes of the people who rose up against the regimes have been betrayed by the "danger" imposed by Sharia, Islamic law.
Head of the largest Christian community in Israel - 80,000 faithful out of a total 150,000 Christians - expressed his concern particularly for Christians being forced to flee the civil war in Syria.
Chacour compared the situation to Iraq after the US "invasion".
"We do not have precise estimates on how many have been forced to flee Syria for Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey but once there were two million Christians in the country and 160 small Christian villages that are now completely empty".

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