MidnightWatcher's Blogspot

Given the fact that ancient Ethiopia is now modern day northern Sudan, I hope the writer of the article below is wrong in his assessment. But in light of what has transpired in the Islamic world over the past two years, including within the Ethiopian Muslim community, it wouldn’t surprise me if the growing tension between the Ethiopian government and the Islamist push for a Sharia-based state is indeed set to explode …

By Brad Macdonald, The Trumpet – “In April 2011, the Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry delivered a bold forecast. Here’s what he wrote: ‘Libya and Ethiopia are … going to be closely allied with Iran! … So you need to watch Libya and Ethiopia. … You need to continue to watch for Libya and Ethiopia to make a severe and rapid turn into the radical Islamic camp.’

At the time, many readers rejected this warning as absurd. This is a ‘most bizarre article,’ retorted one Trumpet reader from Ethiopia. My country is ‘one of the oldest and [most] devout Orthodox Christian nations on the planet (since third century) and a staunch ally of the United States. On behalf of U.S., Ethiopia invaded Somalia in late 2006 and kicked out ruling Islamic Courts Union …. [That] doesn’t sound like a nation doing Iran’s bidding.’

He’s right too, at least in his facts.

On May 5, 2011, when Mr. Flurry published ‘An Islamic Takeover of Libya and Ethiopia,’ he again inspired disbelief. ‘I don’t think this is a sensible prophecy,’ wrote one reader from Ethiopia, ‘especially when it comes to the situation of Ethiopia. … Please, try to study what exactly the situation is in Ethiopia. The country is dominated by Christians for centuries, and this is highly unlikely to change.’ He’s right too, factually.

There’s a larger lesson here, which we’ll get back to later. But for now, let’s follow this reader’s advice and study the situation in Ethiopia at the start of August 2012, more than 18 months after Mr. Flurry first delivered his ‘absurd’ forecast.

Last week, the Washington Times published an article headlined ‘Muslim Protests Raise Fears of Radical Islam in Ethiopia.’ According to the Times, ‘Clashes between Islamic protesters and riot police over the weekend inEthiopia have raised fears that Muslims are becoming increasingly radical in a predominantly Christian country that has been a key U.S. ally in combating terrorism in the Horn of Africa.’

Two days later, a headline in the Christian Science Monitor asked, ‘Will Ethiopian Crackdown Stir Islamist Backlash?‘ The Monitor warned that the ‘the act of civil disobedience from Muslims, who constitute at least one third of the population, is a rare sign of instability in a country seen by U.S. policymakers as a bulwark against radical Islam in the volatile Horn of Africa region.’

In recent months, there has been a measurable increase in  Read more…

By Pervaiz Khokhar, Salem News – “The streets are most dangerous that is, unless it’s a Friday, when a few Syrian Christians dare to step outside of their homes amidst the persecution of Syria’s Christians by the Islamic rebels of the ‘Free Syrian Army.

The Christians in Syria … could be facing a bloodbath. The signs are there right now, and only Russian and Chinese resistance to ‘the West’ is keeping the Syrian church from complete extermination.

In many Syrian towns, lawlessness has become the norm. When government forces aren’t present, Muslims have been known to rob churches and kidnap, rape, or even kill Christian women. Innocent bystanders simply making trips to the store have been gunned down. Curfews have done little to make anyone feel safer or less fearful, so the Christian community simply bands together and prays.

Hundreds of these Christian residents have watched their lives and their very freedoms slip away right before their eyes. Homs, a city which has been occupied by both government and rebel forces for weeks, is now alone the site of more than 1,500 violent deaths. As the Arab Spring continues to rage throughout Syria, thousands more people have lost their lives in a movement that seeks to strip President Bashar al-Assad’s regime of its power. And as Islamic protesters clash with government forces, Christians have become hopelessly tangled in the crossfire.

The most recent fighting has left over 50 Christians dead. One victim, a young Christian boy, was killed by rebels who filmed the murder and then blamed the act on government soldiers.

Another victim, a Christian man, was taken captive by rebels before being cruelly asked by them, ‘How do you want to die?’ The man suffered a complete breakdown before he was eventually released. But the ever-present fear of persecution and violence is only part of the problem for Syria’s Christians…

Many in the Christian community, which comprises approximately 6 percent of Syria’s population (1.5 million, including Christian refugees from Iraq), have fallen into severe financial hardship since the Arab Spring uprising, primarily because they are too afraid to leave their homes to go to work. Because of the violence, a shortage of basic supplies such as gas, electricity, and many supermarket products has contributed even further to the desperate situation.

Although the Syrian church has historically enjoyed peace and religious freedom under the Assad regime, the Arab Spring has destabilized that peace, as Christians are now typically perceived as supporters of the existing government. With help from fellow Muslims in Saudi Arabia, many Islamic fundamentalists are taking advantage of the opportunity to pursue their agenda in Syria, which has significantly increased the persecution of Christians.” Read more.