Corruption is Everywhere > Hunter Biden, The FBI, Truth, and Threats; Samsung Head Pardoned of Corruption; Suu Kyi's sentence raised to 17 years

..

Computer Tech Threatened by FBI of Hunter's Laptop

By KATELYN CARALLE, U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM 

PUBLISHED: 16:18 EDT, 11 August 2022 

Daily Mail

An excerpt from an upcoming book obtained by DailyMail.com claims that the computer repairman who turned over Hunter Biden's laptop to the FBI may have been threatened by one of the agents on the case

An FBI agent who was tasked with retrieving Hunter Biden's laptop from a repair shop in Delaware in 2019 allegedly threatened the store owner, according to an account from his upcoming book.

John Paul Mac Isaac wrote in an excerpt from his book, exclusively obtained by DailyMail.com, that two agents came to his laptop repair store to retrieve Hunter's laptop following a subpoena, which came months after he tried to voluntarily hand over the device to the FBI.

He claimed that during the events on December 9, 2019 at his shop he tried to 'defuse the award situation with humor' and told the two agents 'I'll remember to change your names when I write the book.'

Now, Mac Isaac has actually written a book about the events, American Injustice: My Battle to Expose the Truth, and included the interaction with those agents two years ago.

'Agent Wilson kept walking,' Mac Isaac wrote, 'but Agent DeMeo paused and turned to face me. 'It is our experience that nothing ever happens to people that don't talk about these things,' he said, before turning back and walking out the door.'

The author claims he locked the door after they left and weighed whether that was a 'direct threat' or a 'thinly veiled one.'

The ordeal came more than two months after Mac Isaac said he deployed his father to try and hand over a copy of the hard drive to the feds in New Mexico.

Hunter first came into The Mac Shop is Wilmington on April 12, 2019, according to Mac Isaac's timeline of events, which he detailed to DailyMail.com. The president's son was trying to recover data from damaged devices.

Three days after the initial interaction, Mac Isaac spoke with Hunter on the phone about dropping off a related drive to the recovery efforts, which he did the next day.

April 16, 2019 was the last time Mac Isaac ever heard from or saw Hunter.

When he called him to let him know the job was done and ready for pick up, Hunter never came, Mac Isaac claims.

That same month, Biden announced his candidacy for president.

John Paul Mac Isaac (pictured) is the laptop repairman who turned over Hunter Biden's laptop to the FBI after the president's son came into his shop in 2019. He claims in his upcoming book that one FBI agent said to him: 'It is our experience that nothing ever happens to people that don't talk about these things'.

Shortly after, Mac Isaac said he started speaking to his father about concerns related to the laptop - particularly messages he saw related to Ukraine as a story emerged involving President Donald Trump and collusion in the 2016 campaign.

Ultimately, on October 9, 2019 Mac Isaac's father took a copy of the hard drive that his son gave him to try and hand it over to the FBI in New Mexico.

But, Mac Isaac told DailyMail.com, the field office would not take the device, claiming it was not a federal issue.

He claims less than one month later on November 1, the FBI reached out to his father and on December 9, 2019 two agents came to Mac Isaac's store and retrieved Hunter's backup hard drive along with the laptop and other related paperwork.

Mac Isaac wrote in his book, set for release November 22, 2022, that he asked the agents what he should say if someone came looking for the laptop.

'Tell them you keep abandoned equipment offsite, like a warehouse location,' one agent told him, according to a book retelling.

Hunter's laptop, which came into Mac Isaac's possession in April 2019, included a slew of compromising and X-rated content – including nude, pornographic and drug-related images and videos of the president's adult son

'Tell them it will take a day for you to check and they should call back the next day,' he claims the agent added. 'Then immediately text me at my cell number. From now on, only communicate through my cell number. Not Agent Wilson, just me. We need to avoid communicating through, ah, normal channels. I'm sure you can understand. Text me and we will get the equipment back to you and deal with the situation.'

Mac Isaac noted: 'I felt like I had given away my only good cards and been left with garbage. But it was too late to reconsider; it was done.'

The author and former laptop repairman says in his book that he was relieved to be rid of the materials, but felt that it was a rush job with no real care for the gravity of the matter.

This was further proved, he claims, when he was watching the impeachment trial against Trump start in January 2020 and heard no mention of Hunter's laptop.

FROM A DELAWARE REPAIR SHOP TO GLOBAL HEADLINES: THE HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP SCANDAL 

April 12, 2019: Hunter brought in damaged equipment to John Paul Mac Isaac's laptop repair store The Mac Shop in Wilmington, Delaware. 

April 15, 2019: Mac Isaac called Hunter to drop off a drive related to the recovery efforts. 

April 16, 2019: Hunter dropped off the drive and requested Mac Isaac bill him thru Square when complete the next day. This was the last time he ever heard or saw Hunter. 

April 17, 2019: The job was completed and bill sent and called for collection. 

April 25, 2019: Joe Biden announced his candidacy for president. 

September 3, 2019: Mac Isaac spoke to his father about concerns related to the contents of the laptop and decided to approach the FBI in New Mexico. 

September 20, 2019: While waiting for a copy of the hard drive to arrive that he sent to my father, the Wall Street Journal ran a story about a whistleblower involving a Ukrainian phone call. 

October 9, 2019: Mac Isaac's father approached the FBI in Albuquerque, New Mexico with a copy of Hunter's hard drive. The FBI refused the drive, claiming it was not a federal issue. He claimed the FBI told his father to get a lawyer and leave the FBI field office. 

November 1, 2019: The FBI agent reached out to Mac Isaac's father. 

November 13, 2019: Public impeachment hearings against Donald Trump begun in the Intelligence Committee. 

November 19, 2019: Two FBI agents visited Mac Isaac at his home. He presented Agents Joshua and Mike with document he thought were relevant to the impeachment trial. He claimed the agents refused to look at anything and again refused to take the laptop for evaluation, claiming they needed to run it by their legal team.

December 2, 2019: Agent Joshua calls Mac Isaac to says he want to come to the shop with an FBI tech guy and make a clone of the hard drive. 

December 9, 2019: Agents Joshua and Mike arrive at the shop with a subpoena to collect Hunter's back up drive, along with the laptop and any related paperwork for the repair job. 

January 16, 2020: Impeachment trial starts against Trump. There was no mention of Hunter's laptop. Mac Isaac said this is when he knew for sure the FBI cared more about protecting the Bidens than protecting the then-president or the small town shop owner. 

Late February thru August 2020: Mac Isaac's uncle and father, both retired Col. in the Air Force, knocked on the doors of several members of Congress and White House staffers but got no response. 

August 26, 2020: Mac Isaac sent an email to the office of Trump's lawyer at the time, Rudy Giuliani, detailing efforts to get the contents of the drive to the correct authorities. 

August 27, 2020: Giuliani's lawyer, Bob Costello, sent a response to Mac Isaac and the two spoke on the phone. It ended in the decision to overnight send a copy of the drive to Giuliani's office.

August 28, 2020: Giuliani's office received the hard drive. 

September 23, 2020: Senators Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson released their report on Hunter's activity. 

September 24, 2020: Mac Isaac sent a letter to Senator Johnson's office thru their whistle blower link and explained the situation related to the laptop hard drive. 

September 25, 2020: Johnson's office responded. They asking for more information, including if Mac Isaac is a U.S. citizen, who the agents were who collected Hunter's equipment and whether he had legal counsel. 

October 5, 2020: Johnson's office questioned Mac Isaac over the phone along with two members of the National Security Agency (NSA). They questioned Mac Isaac on if he worked for anyone and if he is Russian. He said they asked nothing about the laptop or its contents. 

October 11, 2020: A reporter from the New York Post tracked Mac Isaac down to confirm he had a copy of Hunter's laptop. The computer repairman called Bob Costello and asked how his identity was leak to the press, but was assured it was normal before a story broke to be leaked. He was also told his name would be left out of the reporting. 

October 13, 2020: Hunter's lawyer called Mac Isaac asking for the laptop. 

October 14, 2020: The New York Post broke the initial story at 6:30 a.m. about Hunter's laptop. Mac Isaac's inbox started blowing up a couple minutes later and by 9:30 a.m., Twitter, Facebook and Google blocked or repressed the story.

Delaware

South Korea pardons billionaire Samsung head Lee Jae-yong to aid economy

By Thomas Maresca

   

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong received a special pardon from South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol,

the government announced Friday, allowing the 54-year-old to take the helm of the country's largest conglomerate.

Photo by Yonhap

SEOUL, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- The South Korean government will grant a special presidential pardon to Lee Jae-yong, the de facto leader of Samsung, it announced Friday in a move that officials said was intended to help spur the economy.

The 54-year-old billionaire tycoon is among the nearly 1,700 people that President Yoon Suk-yeol will officially pardon on Monday, South Korea's Liberation Day holiday.

Lee was released from prison on parole last August after serving around 18 months of a 30-month sentence for embezzlement and bribery of former President Park Geun-hye.

The pardon will allow him to resume running Samsung, the country's largest conglomerate, freeing him from a five-year employment ban after his parole.

Lee was not the only tycoon pardoned Friday -- a handful of other top business leaders received amnesty as well, including Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, who had also been convicted on bribery charges related to Park.

Yoon told reporters Friday that the amnesty decisions were made in an effort to spark an economy that has been struggling with inflation and is showing signs of a slowdown.

"The pardons are above all to focus on people's livelihoods and economic recovery," Yoon said.

Shortly after Yoon took office in May, Samsung Group announced that it would invest $356 billion through 2026, up more than 30% from the previous five years, and employ 80,000 workers.

The country's justice ministry also commented Friday, saying that the pardons of Lee, Shin and other leaders would provide an urgent boost "to overcome the national economic crisis."

"National economic competitiveness is enhanced by carefully selecting and including amnesty items for major economic leaders who are leading the national growth engine through active technology investment and job creation," the ministry said in a statement.

Business leaders had long been lobbying for the pardon of Lee, citing the outsize importance of Samsung on South Korea's export-driven economy, particularly in crucial global sectors such as semiconductors and memory chips. The conglomerate, or chaebol, accounts for around 20% of the country's stock market value.

Public opinion has also been strongly in favor of pardoning the third-generation company head, with some 70% expressing support in a National Barometer Survey poll last month.

There is a lengthy history of tycoons being pardoned in South Korea. The Samsung heir's father, the late former chairman Lee Kun-hee, was convicted for white-collar crimes in 1996 and 2008 but avoided jail time and received presidential amnesty.

Friday's pardons drew sharp criticism from politicians and activists, who claim such impunity feeds deep-seated corruption in business and government.

"Under the guise of 'reviving the economy,' preferential treatment for economic crimes by chaebol heads was again exercised," a joint statement by several activist groups and trade unions said Friday.

"The companies should be managed through transparent and independent decision-making by the board of directors," the statement, released by the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, said. "However, until now, the heads of chaebols have used corporations as if they were their own property and used them as a means to pursue their own interests."

Lee's legal troubles are not over. He is still facing a separate trial on stock manipulation charges connected to the controversial 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates.

Myanmar court jails Aung San Suu Kyi for six more years

on corruption charges

Issued on: 15/08/2022 - 15:32

A Myanmar junta court jailed Aung San Suu Kyi for six years for corruption on Monday, a source close to the case said, taking the ousted leader's prison time to 17 years.

This is basically a life sentence!

Suu Kyi, 77, has been detained since the generals toppled her government in a coup on February 1 last year, ending the Southeast Asian country's brief period of democracy.

She has since been hit with a series of charges, including violating the official secrets act, corruption and electoral fraud. She faces decades in jail if convicted on all counts.

Suu Kyi was sentenced to "six years imprisonment under four anti-corruption charges", said the source, who requested anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Each charge carried a maximum of 15 years in jail. Suu Kyi was sentenced to three years for each, but three of the sentences would be served concurrently, the source said.

She appeared in good health and did not make any statement following the sentencing, they added.

A junta spokesman could not be reached for comment.

The Nobel laureate had already been sentenced to 11 years in jail for corruption, incitement against the military, breaching Covid-19 rules and breaking a telecommunications law.

Journalists have been barred from attending the court hearings and Suu Kyi's lawyers have been banned from speaking to the media.

The United States slammed the latest sentencing as an "affront to justice and the rule of law".

"We call on the regime to immediately release Aung San Suu Kyi and all those unjustly detained, including other democratically elected officials," a State Department spokesperson said.

The coup sparked widespread protests and unrest, and renewed fighting with established ethnic rebel groups.

Dozens of "People's Defence Forces" have also sprung up to fight the junta and have surprised the military with their effectiveness, analysts say.

According to a local monitoring group, the crackdown has left more than 2,000 civilians dead and seen some 17,000 arrested.

It seems odd that the most Buddhist country in the world would be run by a violent military regime.

'Erase the past'

Suu Kyi has been the face of Myanmar's democratic hopes for more than 30 years, but her earlier 11-year sentence already meant she was likely to miss elections the junta says it plans to hold by next year.

"Immune from domestic and international outrage, the punishment trials against Suu Kyi and her supporters are designed to erase the democratic past," independent Myanmar analyst David Mathieson told AFP.

"Their intent is clear to everyone it seems, everyone but the international community."

In June, Suu Kyi was transferred from house arrest to a prison in the capital Naypyidaw, where her trial continues in a courthouse inside the prison compound.

She remains confined to the jail, with her link to the outside world limited to brief pre-trial meetings with lawyers.

Many of her political allies have also been arrested since the coup, with one chief minister sentenced to 75 years in jail.

Last month, the junta stoked renewed international condemnation when it executed Phyo Zeya Thaw, a former lawmaker from her National League for Democracy (NLD) party, for offences under anti-terrorism laws.

Suu Kyi learned of the execution at a pre-trial hearing, a source with knowledge of the matter said, but has yet to speak on the matter.

The junta says it seized power following massive fraud during 2020 elections in which the NLD trounced a military-backed party and which international observers said were largely free and fair.

(AFP)

War on Christianity > After 8 Years Christian Family Free; Buddhists Bash Bangladeshi Church; Harvard Elects Atheist Head Chaplain

..

Pakistani Christian couple released from death row

granted asylum in Europe

By Anugrah Kumar, 

Christian Post Contributor| 

Saturday, August 14, 2021

Shagufta Masih and her husband, Shafqat Emmanuel, with their children | ADF International

Two months after being acquitted by a high court and surviving death threats, a Pakistani Catholic mother and her partially paralyzed husband, who were on death row for seven years on false blasphemy charges, have arrived in Europe.

Shagufta Masih and her husband, Shafqat Emmanuel, faced death threats after reports of their acquittal by the Lahore High Court broke in early June. In 2014, a session court had sentenced the couple to death by hanging.

“We are so relieved to finally be free. The last eight years have been incredibly hard, but we are so happy to be reunited with our children,” said Shafqat Emmanuel on behalf of the family, according to ADF International, a human rights group that supported the Christian couple.

“Although we will miss our country, we are happy to finally be somewhere safe,” added Emmanuel, who was the watchman of a school in the Gojra area of Toba Tek Singh district in Pakistan’s Punjab Province.

The Catholic couple was arrested in July 2013 under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws after a local imam accused them of committing blasphemy by sending him an offensive text message.

Maulvi Mohammed Hussain, a leader at a local mosque, claimed that Emmanuel used his wife's cellphone to send an anti-Islamic text message. He later claimed other messages followed. Hussain said he was praying when he received the offensive text message from an unknown number.

The Muslim cleric reportedly showed the text message to two other imams before approaching his counsel for legal proceedings. He and his lawyer later claimed they both received subsequent blasphemous messages.

Masih’s brother, Joseph, previously told the BBC that his brother-in-law had been tortured and forced to make a false confession.

The text messages were also alleged to have been written in English. Aside from being illiterate, Shafqat and Shagufta are not familiar with the English language — written or spoken.

And yet they were found guilty and originally sentenced to death. Tells you a lot about the justice system in Pakistan.

ADF International’s Director of Advocacy for Asia, Tehmina Arora, said in a statement that their case “is not an isolated incident but testifies to the plight that many Christians and other religious minorities experience in Pakistan today.”

The couple’s lawyer, Saif Ul Malook, said, “These cases are very difficult to litigate, due to the concern for security. There is a very real threat to the life of the clients and the lawyers.” 

Christians are often targeted by both Pakistan’s blasphemy laws meant to protect Islamic sensitivities and by hardliners who carry out violence and have killed scores of believers in the past several years.

The blasphemy law, embedded in Sections 295 and 298 of the Pakistan Penal Code, is frequently misused for personal revenge. It carries no provision to punish a false accuser or a false witness of blasphemy.

Islamist extremists also use the law to target religious minorities — Christians, Shias, Ahmadiyyas and Hindus.

“While the right to religious freedom is protected by the Pakistani constitution, many face severe persecution and denial of their fundamental rights to freedom of expression and assembly,” Arora said. 

“Hopefully, the blasphemy laws in Pakistan will soon be abolished, so others won’t suffer the same fate as Shagufta and I,” Emmanuel said.

The couple's country of asylum has not been disclosed due to security concerns.

Bangladeshi Church Faces Ongoing Oppression From Buddhists

Source(s): AsiaNews, Christian Post

Date: 12 August 2021

Church before and after destruction. - Photo: AsiaNews

For several weeks, a small church in Suandrapara, a village of southeastern Bangladesh, has been facing threats from militant Buddhists who were attempting to coerce the Christians to return to Buddhism, even though many of the churchgoers had converted several years before. As a result of the oppression, most of the 50 members of the Bangladesh Tribal Baptist Church have been forced to stay away from their homes for fear of attack.

Along with the threats, the church building has been physically damaged on two occasions. The Buddhist militants first ordered the church members to demolish their place of worship. When the Christians refused, the assailants destroyed parts of the building, including the front gate and cross, on July 15th. The oppressors demanded that there be no further church activities, giving the believers seven days to return to their former religion. When that deadline passed, the church was again attacked on July 22nd, resulting in additional damages – this time to a wall, door and the tin roof. The Christians were threatened that there would be further consequences if they reported the incident to the police or members of the media.

The pastor, Rev. Tubel Chakma Poran Adetion, states that the members of his church have not gone to the police, since they are considered a minority people group within the village. "We want to live in peace with [the Buddhists] and discuss things with them," he explained. However, if a collaborative discussion cannot bring about a peaceful resolution, the believers are prepared to take the matter to court.

Both Christians and Buddhists are a small minority in Bangladesh, with the vast majority of the population being Muslim. To learn about the challenges facing Christians in Bangladesh, go to our country report.

Pray that God will bestow wisdom upon the members of the Bangladesh Tribal Baptist Church, giving these persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ the right words to say to their neighbours who so strongly oppose the Gospel. May the Holy Spirit provide the inner peace needed so these Christians will remain committed to Jesus, no matter the cost. Pray that God’s Spirit will also touch the hearts of the instigators, bringing about radical transformation in their lives and ultimately harmony to this village community as a whole.

Like all Ivy-League universities, (I think), Harvard was founded as a Christian college.

Harvard University Elects Atheist as New Chief Chaplain

Amanda Casanova |
ChristianHeadlines.com Contributor |
Friday, August 27, 2021

Greg Epstein, 44, was recently unanimously elected to the top spot at the college and is set to begin work this week, Yahoo News reports.

Epstein is the author of the book “Good Without God.”

“There is a rising group of people who no longer identify with any religious tradition but still experience a real need for conversation and support around what it means to be a good human and live an ethical life,” Epstein said.

Epstein was raised Jewish and in 2005 received ordination as a humanist rabbi from the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism.

He then worked as the humanist chaplain for Harvard and later at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In his new role, Epstein will work with students and help coordinate religious events and counsel students.

“Greg was the first choice of a committee that was made up of a Lutheran, a Christian Scientist, an evangelical Christian, and a Bahá’í,” said Lutheran chaplain Rev. Kathleen Reed, chairwoman of the nominating committee. “We’re presenting to the university a vision of how the world could work when diverse traditions focus on how to be good humans and neighbors.”

No Muslims, no Catholics, no Jews (Epstein doesn't count)! But a firm belief that the world would work better without God!

Margit Hammerstrom, the Christian Science chaplain at Harvard, said in an interview that Epstein is respected and popular among the other chaplains at the college.

“Maybe in a more conservative university climate there might be a question like ‘What the heck are they doing at Harvard, having a humanist be the president of the chaplains?’” she said. “But in this environment, it works. Greg is known for wanting to keep lines of communication open between different faiths.”

According to a poll from the Harvard Crimson, Harvard’s student newspaper, more than 40 percent of the students identified as either atheist or agnostic in 2020. In 2017, that number was 32 percent.

With atheistic chaplains, it would be a surprise if the numbers were any different.

Great Lesson from The Voice of the Martyrs

..

"For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." – 2 Corinthians 12:10 ESV

A church occupied in Great Commission work will see growth when people discover the love of the Father through Jesus, His Son. Then, fuelled by the Holy Spirit's guidance, these new followers of Jesus mature in the faith through discipleship and the application of God’s Word. Thus, the church becomes a marvellous blending of young and old, immature and mature, growing together in awe and reverence of the one true God.

However, Christians will encounter hostility in this world because of their faith and witness of Christ. As the church increases through conversion, the world's pushback will be one of threats, intimidation and eventual attack. Regardless of where they live, every Christian will be hated by the world because of their allegiance to Jesus. This is just as true for Christians in Canada as it is for believers in North Korea. While hostility from the world may vary from location to location, suffering for righteousness is a normal aspect of the Christian life.

For example, in Sri Lanka, while mob intimidations and attacks incited by Buddhist monks are common, local authorities often turn a blind eye to these incidents. Such aggression is not what we in the West typically associate with Buddhism, as a "violent Buddhist" is an oxymoron. And yet, whoever rejects Christ, regardless of their religion or belief, the normal outcome will be expressed in opposition to His will and way.

I recall hearing a story of a Sri Lankan pastor who witnessed Buddhist leaders and police stand silently in the foreground as an angry mob stormed his church and set it on fire. When the fire eventually died out, the church was completely gutted, with everything destroyed by the flames. Yet, picking through the charred remains, the pastor found a small clay flowerpot – the only thing that survived the fire.

The next Sunday, the congregation gathered in the ruins of their church. The pastor stood to welcome the members and lifted the flowerpot. He then asked, "Why do you think this little pot survived while everything else burned?" After a moment of silence, the pastor stated, "The reason this little pot survived is because it had already been through the fire while being made and, therefore, was able to withstand the heat."

Drawing a lesson from this little pot, he further explained: "The same can be said about our lives. When we go through trials and challenges because of our faith, we become stronger, our faith becomes stronger, and we can stand firm. Remember Isaiah 43:2 which reads, ‘When you pass through the waters, I [God] will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.’ You may be going through a challenge this very day in your own life. Whatever it may be, it is not a fire that will destroy you, but the Refiner's fire that will purge and purify your faith for His glory."

Christians are made of "stronger stuff," as God uses the difficulties and trials of life to shape us for His unique calling on our lives. The Apostle Paul tells us that all Christians are in the process of being transformed daily into the likeness of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18). He also reminds us of the fact that all things work together for the good of those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). For all who desire to live the Godly life in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:12), the question we must ask ourselves is: How will we respond when trouble comes because of our faith in Him?

Rev. Richard Wurmbrand, the international founder of The Voice of the Martyrs, spent 14 years in a Communist prison. For much of that time, he was imprisoned underground in complete solitary confinement. He endured tortures and mistreatments that should have killed him. And yet, amid such miserable conditions, Rev. Wurmbrand said: "There's always a good reason to rejoice. There is a God in heaven and in the heart. I had a piece of bread this morning. It was so good! Look now, the sun is shining, and so many here love me! Every day you do not rejoice is a day lost!"

What amazing insights from a man who would not allow hate to rule his heart. Instead, Rev. Wurmbrand chose to live a life of worship, even in the darkest moments of his human experience. A characteristic of the Christian life is thankfulness – a thankfulness not influenced by outward circumstances, but one that resides in the recesses of the heart and offers right sacrifices to God. Hope is the "stronger stuff" in the life of a believer who finds peace in the flames of adversity and rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

Grace and peace,

Floyd A. Brobbel

Chief Executive Officer

The Voice of the Martyrs Canada Inc.

Christians are Being Persecuted Around the Globe. That's the Real War on Christmas

Christians at a church on Dec. 12, 2014, in Erbil, Iraq

The next time you get offended when someone wishes you "happy holidays,"

remember those who won't get to celebrate those holidays at all

Scott Arbeiter, USA Today

America’s “War on Christmas” has been raging for over a decade, inciting controversies over nativity scenes, Christmas lights, holiday cards and even Starbucks cups. Everyone from The New York Times to Time has commented on the so-called war, with one side claiming that Christianity itself is at risk, and the other side dismissing the outrage as “histrionics.”  

Of course, it's not a War on Christmas, it is a War on Christianity of which I have been blogging about for some time.

“one of the biggest human rights issues of this era,”

Open Doors USA

There may or may not be a war on Christmas in America. But there certainly is one in other parts of the world, and it is these wars that should be getting our attention. Open Doors USA calls persecution of Christians “one of the biggest human rights issues of this era,” citing instances of violence, imprisonment and murder in countries around the world. According to Open Doors, in 2018 over 245 million Christians were living in places where they experienced high levels of persecution.

"Christians are the most persecuted religious group in the world,"

USCIRF

A report published this year by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) found that Christians in Burma, the Central African Republic, China, Eritrea, Iran, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam face the highest levels of persecution. According to a USCIRF commissioner, "Christians are the most persecuted religious group in the world," and that persecution is only intensifying.  

Christians around the world are suffering horrific atrocities

What does that persecution look like? It looks like government oppression, mob attacks and churches being burned. It looks like rape and attacks on the elderly. It looks like 11 Christians being killed every day for their faith.

In Syria, where over 800,000 people are Christians, Christian villages have been “hollowed out” by ISIS, according to The New York Times. Most historic churches have been demolished or claimed by Islamic groups. Last September, six Christian children were killed in a bomb attack on a Christian village.

Today, with the recent U.S. decision to withdraw most troops from Syria, 150,000 Christians in Northeast Syria are in danger, along with those of many other faiths, according to Lauren Homer, an attorney with Law and Liberty International. Hundreds have already died as their villages have been bombed. 

Time to wake up: Global Christian persecution is worsening while American churches slumber

At the same time, there is little hope of resettlement as refugees, especially in the U.S. In the past several years, there has been a sharp decline in the resettlement of Christian refugees, particularly from countries where Christians face extreme persecution. From FY2016 to FY2019, the number of Christian refugees from Iran has plummeted 95.4%; 94.2% fewer Christians have been resettled from Iraq; and the same group from Pakistan has dropped 74.1%. 

We have the ability to help

And now, a Christian pastor seeking asylum in the U.S. is being sent back across the border under the White House’s remain-in-Mexico policy.  Last week, I met Douglas Oviedo, a Honduran youth pastor who was so effective at drawing young people to Jesus — and away from gangs — that the gangs threatened his life, compelling him to flee his country. After 11 months of waiting in Mexico, Pastor Douglas was granted asylum by a U.S. immigration judge. But he is still not in the clear, because our government has inextricably appealed his case, such that Pastor Douglas could be deported back into the hands of Honduran gangs rather than be allowed to stay in the U.S. and bring his wife and small children.

While I appreciate that President Donald Trump has affirmed his support for Christmas greetings, a much more impactful gesture would be fulfilling his pledge to facilitate the resettlement of persecuted Christian refugees. This would also mean rolling back changes to asylum policy that threaten to deport pastors and others back to the Central American gangs seeking to harm them.

Don't forget about them: On Good Friday and beyond, remember Christians who aren't allowed to take refuge in the US

It’s okay that not everyone in America shares the same faith; in fact, the religious freedom that allows each person to choose for themselves how (or if) to believe is a core American value. My own Christian faith compels me to welcome refugees and asylum seekers whether persecuted for their faith — Christianity or any other — or for their ethnicity, political opinion or other reasons. I challenge “War on Christmas” warriors to keep their focus on the real sufferers this Christmas.

As we reflect upon the nativity story, let’s not forget this detail from the Bible: Just after the three wise men brought their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, Jesus himself was carried by Joseph and Mary across a border to Egypt, fleeing the genocidal persecution of King Herod. We can best honor a refugee Savior this Christmas by remembering brothers and sisters persecuted by the Herods of today and by insisting that our government resume its role as a safe haven for persecuted Christians and others fleeing persecution.

Scott Arbeiter is the president of World Relief, a global Christian humanitarian organization that is among nine agencies that resettles refugees in the U.S. 

Sri Lanka Declares State of Emergency as Sectarian Violence Erupts

By Sara Shayanian  

A state of emergency in Sri Lanka prompted the deployment of police officers and soldiers to civilian-populated areas, after clashes between Muslim and Buddhist communities. File Photo by M.A. Pushpa Kumara/EPA-EFE

UPI -- Sri Lanka declared a state of emergency Tuesday after violence erupted between Sinhalese and Muslim communities.

Officials said soldiers will be deployed to civilian areas for ten days, and a curfew was put in place.

Sinhalese - a people originally from northern India, now forming the majority of the population of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka's government condemned recent arson attacks and riots in the central district of Kandy -- which damaged some places of worship, residences and businesses. Similar violence occurred last month when mobs set fire to Muslim-owned businesses and a mosque.

"The government also condemned the hate and mischievous targeting the Muslim community in particular and another as well, with the clear objective of creating among communities and inciting violence," officials said in a statement.

"The government urged for total cooperation from all citizens irrespective of any communal, religious differences to build a nation that is stable, peaceful and the progressive where diversity is respected."

Tensions flared in the country after a group of Muslim men were accused of killing a Buddhist man. The body of a 24-year-old Muslim man was later found in the town of Digana.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe tweeted Monday that the government would not hesitate to take action against the violence.

"As a nation that endured a brutal war we are all aware of the values of peace, respect, unity & freedom," Wickremesinghe said.

Alan Keenan, a Sri Lanka specialist with the International Crisis Group, said radical Buddhist groups -- who make up 75 percent of the population -- have targeted Muslims with "a significant degree of regularity" in the last five years.

"One of the key underlying elements is the sense that many Sinhalese and Buddhists have is that Sri Lanka is a Sinhalese and Buddhist island and other community, Muslims and Tamils, are here on the sufferance of the majority," Keenan said.

Sounds like Burma! Peace preaching Buddhists in Asia are seeming to become much more violent in their quest to hold on to historical lands in the face of increasing numbers of Muslims - the religion of Peace. Don't you just love irony?

Was Forced Conversion to Islam Really “Historically Rare” in India?

BY HUGH FITZGERALD Jihad Watch

Max Rodenbeck

Here is an exchange between Todd Caldecott and Max Rodenbeck in the Letters Column of The New York Review of Books, on the latter’s claim (in a previously-published review of Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s Heretic: Why Islam Needs A Reformation), that the Muslim practice of forced conversion was “historically rare” and “revived only recently by ultra-extremist groups such as Boko Haram in Nigeria or ISIS in Iraq.” Caldecott provides, by way of answer, an impressively horrifying list of just some of the recorded instances of mass murder of Hindus in India and the mass destruction of Hindu temples and libraries:

For example, in the thirteenth century, Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji destroyed the ancient university of Nalanda, killing all the Buddhist monks and nuns, taking literally three months to burn every single book in the university’s library. Imagine if ISIS or al-Qaeda killed everyone on campus at Harvard or Yale, and burned all the lecture halls, libraries, churches, synagogues, and cultural institutions: such was the untold impact on India, in almost every part of India, for a thousand years.

If you are looking for a reason for 'the dark ages' that is a pretty good clue.

Similar examples of forced conversions and brutality can be found during the reigns of Mahmud Khalji of Malwa (1436–1469 AD), Ilyas Shah (1339–1379 AD), Babur (1483–1530 AD), and Sher Shah Suri (1486–1545 AD), all of whom destroyed temples, killed non-Muslims, and forced the conversion of entire communities. Even during the so-called sulah-i-kul (“peace with all”) initiated by Mughal Emperor Akbar (1542–1605 AD), his son Shah Jahan, known for his supposed monument to love, had almost a hundred temples destroyed in the ancient city of Varanasi alone. Jahan’s son Aurangzeb brought an end to any pretense of this institutionalized peace, and went on a rampage, killing Hindus, destroying temples, and placing severe restrictions on already impoverished Hindu cultural institutions.

Caldecott concludes: “Hopefully, in light of this evidence, Mr. Rodenbeck can reevaluate his claim that the forced conversion in Islam is a ‘historically rare practice.'”

In his reply, Rodenbeck concedes the point at once:

Regarding forced conversion and Islam, it is far from my intent to whitewash a long and mixed record. I stand corrected in my injudicious use of the word “rare.” There are indeed numerous instances of forced conversion to Islam…

But then he goes on to insist, backtracking from his backtracking, that in the case of India, the large number of Hindus who remained testify to an absence of “forced conversions.” What they testify to, in fact, is not to Muslim mildness but to the following:

The Hindu population of India was very large, the number of Muslim invaders comparatively very small. Conversion of such numbers took time; what impresses is not how few Hindus became Muslims but how many. There are now 840 million Hindus in historic India (India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh) – lands once almost entirely Hindu (with a small admixture of Buddhists). And there are now 502 million Muslims in historic India (India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh), where at the beginning of the eighth century there were none. Caldecott thinks the more telling figure is that of the 502 million Muslims; Rodenbeck would have us be impressed that the Muslims left so many Hindus alive, which he thinks shows the “absence of forced conversions” rather than being simple testimony to the size of the task.

The definition of “forced conversion” ought to include not only conversion at the point of a sword or a scimitar, but all those conversions by Hindus in India to avoid the jizyah and the host of other disabilities imposed on those Hindus who were allowed to live as a matter of policy. But why were those Hindus allowed to live? Not out of the goodness of Muslim rulers’ hearts, as Rodenbeck implies, but in order to have enough people to continue paying the jizyah, on which the Muslim state relied.

Rodenbeck seems to think that the survival of any non-Muslims under Muslim rule, no matter how few, testifies to Muslim mildness. He swerves from his discussion of India to the East Indies (present-day Indonesia), where he claims – correctly –that on the island of Bali, 85% of the 4 million Balinese are Hindus. But that is the only island, out of hundreds, where the Hindus held out. Surely more meaningful is the fact that Hindus now constitute less than 2%, and Buddhists 0.8%, of the overall population of Indonesia (now 260 million) that, before the Muslim traders arrived, was 100% Hindu and Buddhist.

K. S. Lal and other historians, both Indian and Western, have calculated that more than 80 million Hindus were killed by Muslims during 250 years of Mughal rule in much of India. Rodenbeck does not address this issue of genocide at all. Perhaps, since those tens of millions of Hindus were not subjected to “forced conversion,” he may think these figures are not relevant to the discussion — after all, they were quite dead.

And this discussion didn't even touch on Islam's march across North Africa or the middle east.