Churches Have Become The #1 Target For Hate Attacks Worldwide

Crime scene officials inspect the site of a bomb blast inside a church in Negombo, Sri Lanka April 21. An estimated 253 people perished in a coordinated series of blasts targeting churches and hotels, shattering the relative calm that has existed in Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka since a civil war against mostly Hindu ethnic Tamil separatists ended 10 years ago. REUTERS/Stringer

Michael Snyder, End Of The American Dream: Churches Have Become The #1 Target For Hate Attacks – An Average Of 105 Every Single Month

The bombings in Sri Lanka have once again put a spotlight on the rising tide of violence against Christians all over the world. According to Open Doors USA, an average of 105 churches and/or Christian buildings are burned or attacked every month. That is more than three per day, and almost all of those attacks get ignored by the mainstream media in the western world. In addition, an average of 345 Christians are killed for faith-related reasons every single month. Of course these numbers will soon be out of date, because violence against Christians continues to escalate all over the globe, and the horrifying attacks that we just witnessed in Sri Lanka are a perfect example.

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WNU Editor: There is a part of me that feels this 105 attacks per month is actually a low-ball number.

Suspected Islamists Kill 6 Christians In church Attack In Burkina Faso

BBC: Burkina Faso: Christians killed in attack on church

Gunmen have opened fire on a church in northern Burkina Faso, killing at least six people, officials say.

The attackers reportedly arrived on seven motorbikes at the end of Sunday's service and killed the pastor, two of his sons and three other worshippers.

It is the first attack on a church since jihadist violence erupted in the West African country in 2016.

Fighters affiliated to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group as well as the local Ansarul Islam have been active.

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More News On Yesterday's Church Attack In Burkina Faso

Pastor among victims of deadly raid on Burkina Faso church -- France 24
Gunmen kill pastor, worshippers in Burkina Faso church -- DW
Six killed in church attack in northern Burkina Faso -- Reuters
At least 5 killed in suspected jihadist attack on Burkina Faso church – reports -- RT

90,000 Christians Were Killed Globally Because Of Their Faith In 2016

Christian Times: Over 90,000 Christians were killed for their faith in 2016, according to new study

Christians are considered as the most persecuted religious group in the world, with over 90,000 adherents killed in 2016, which is equivalent to one being killed every six minutes, according to a research by Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR).

In an interview with Vatican Radio, CESNUR Director Massimo Introvigne said that the number actually decreased from 2015, which saw 105,000 Christians killed for their faith.

He cited the statistics compiled by the Center for Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary for the annual report that is scheduled to be published next month, The Christian Post reported.

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WNU Editor: The latest slaughter was in Nigeria just a few days ago .... Hundreds of Christians, Muslims killed in recent Islamic terror spree in Nigeria (FOX News).

More News On A Report That Claims That 90,000 Christians Were Killed Globally Because Of Their Faith In 2016

90,000 Christians Killed in 2016, 1 Every 6 Minutes: Study -- Christian Post
90,000 Christians Killed for Their Faith in 2016 Alone, Religion Expert Claims -- Christian Today
Religious War? A Christian Was Killed For Their Faith Every 6 Minutes In 2016 -- International Business Times
1 Christian killed for their faith every 6 minutes in 2016 – study -- RT

Islamic State's War Against Christians Has Reached Europe

ISIS militants attack church in Normandy, France. (photo credit:REUTERS)

Ilan Evyatar, Jerusalem Post: Analysis: Islamic State's first act of war on European Christianity

Islamic State has already been waging war on Christians in Iraq and Syria, committing countless atrocities that in March were declared as genocide by the US Congress.

Regardless of whether Tuesday’s attack was the work of Islamic State or whether it was merely inspired by the jihadi rhetoric emanating from the so-called caliphate, its symbolism is hard to ignore.

Previous attacks in France perpetrated by Islamic State and in its name have been against freedom of speech (Charlie Hebdo), Western liberalism (the Bataclan theater), the ideals of the French Revolution, which stand at the heart of Western thought (the Bastille Day truck attack in Nice) and against Jews (Hyper Cacher).

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WNU Editor: The utter destruction of the Christian community in the Middle East has been one of the most under-reported stories in the Western press for the past few years. No more now. This may have been the first Islamic State attack targeting the Christian community in Europe .... it will definitely not be the last .... and it is a story that the Western Press will not be able to ignore.

White House Press Secretary: Islamic State Extermination Of Christians Is Not Genocide Yet

RT: White House: ISIS extermination of Christians can’t be called genocide yet

The Obama administration says Islamic State’s persecution of Christian minorities in Iraq and Syria is not genocide. The point where it is accurate to term it as such “has not been reached,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said at a press briefing.

Asked whether Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) is practicing genocide in its extermination of Christians in Syria and Iraq, Earnest said: “My understanding is the use of that word involves a very specific legal determination that has at this point not been reached.

“We have long expressed our concerns with the tendency of – well, not a tendency – a tactic employed by ISIL to slaughter religious minorities in Iraq and in Syria,” he added.

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Update: White House Press Sec. Can’t Say If ISIS’ Targeting Of Christians Is Genocide (Daily Caller)

WNU Editor: The remarks from the White House Sec. are at the 49:30 mark.

No Future For Christians In Iraq

This chilling image shows an ISIS thug destroying a cross on a church and replacing it with the ISIS banner. Daily Mail

Christian Science Monitor: Christians ready to leave an Iraqi homeland that 'doesn't love us'

At camps for displaced persons in northern Iraq, Christians who fled the Islamic State more than a year ago are preparing to leave their homeland permanently.

ERBIL, IRAQ — When Islamic State militants began attacking the Assyrian Christian village of Qaraqosh in August of last year, many residents thought it was another false alarm. They had fled an expected invasion just a month before, only to return several days later when the threat never materialized.

But this time was different. As mortars began landing on their northern Iraqi town, Fade Yousif received a call from a Muslim friend in nearby Mosul, which had already fallen to the militants. The friend warned that the Islamic State (IS) was on its way to Qaraqosh, and begged him to flee immediately.

Mr. Yousif and his wife, Naghm Yousif Abdel Meseeh, gathered their two daughters, some clothes, and their passports. Then they fled for their lives.

Update: Franklin Graham says report about Christianity going extinct in Iraq is 'sobering' (Christian Today)

WNU Editor: Even the archbishop of Erbil is acknowledging that this is a losing battle .... Archbishop of Erbil: Iraqi Christian refugees are losing hope of returning home (Christian Today).

Islamic State And Other Extremist Groups Are Enslaving, Killing And Uprooting Christians Throughout The Middle East

Members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have desecrated a church in the northern city of Mosul. (Screengrab from ISIS video)

Eliza Griswold, New York Times: Is This the End of Christianity in the Middle East?

ISIS and other extremist movements across the region are enslaving, killing and uprooting Christians, with no aid in sight.

There was something about Diyaa that his wife’s brothers didn’t like. He was a tyrant, they said, who, after 14 years of marriage, wouldn’t let their sister, Rana, 31, have her own mobile phone. He isolated her from friends and family, guarding her jealously. Although Diyaa and Rana were both from Qaraqosh, the largest Christian city in Iraq, they didn’t know each other before their families arranged their marriage. It hadn’t gone especially well. Rana was childless, and according to the brothers, Diyaa was cheap. The house he rented was dilapidated, not fit for their sister to live in.

Qaraqosh is on the Nineveh Plain, a 1,500-square-mile plot of contested land that lies between Iraq’s Kurdish north and its Arab south. Until last summer, this was a flourishing city of 50,000, in Iraq’s breadbasket. Wheat fields and chicken and cattle farms surrounded a town filled with coffee shops, bars, barbers, gyms and other trappings of modern life.

WNU Editor: Since the start of this genocide, I can't recall a single time the Obama administration has said a word on behalf of these Christians. But the White House is not alone .... the media has been largely AWOL, and Muslim leaders throughout the world have been largely silent.

Islamic State Has Launched A Massive Campaign To Kidnap Christians

Sydney Morning Herald: Islamic State now holding 250 Christians in Syria: activists

The number of Christians abducted by the Islamic State in northeastern Syria has risen to more than 250, activists said on Thursday.

The Sweden-based Assyrian Network for Human Rights in Syria said it has documented the number through local organisations and its own observers.

Earlier Thursday, the United Kingdom-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the number at more than 220 and said the civilians were kidnapped from 11 villages near the town of Tal Tamr over the past three days by the militants, who control vast swaths of Syria and Iraq.

WNU Editor: I suspect that the numbers are even more higher than what is being reported.

More News On Reports That The Islamic State Has Launched A Massive Campaign To Kidnap Christians

Activist: ISIS now holds 262 Christians hostages in Syria -- CNN
Activists: Islamic State group now holding 220 Christians in Syria -- Washington Post/USA Today
More Assyrian Christians Captured as ISIS Attacks Villages in Syria -- New York Times
ISIS abducts 220 Assyrian Christians -- Daily Mail/AFP
ISIL kidnapping underlines ‘grave peril’ of Assyrian Christians -- Al Jazeera
Air strikes hit area of Syria where Islamic State took Christians: monitor -- Reuters
Assyrians describe harrowing flight -- Gulf Times
Who are the Assyrian Christians under attack from Islamic State? -- Michael Holtz, CSM

Islamic State Kidnaps 90 Christians In Syria

Al Jazeera: Monitor: 90 Christians abducted by ISIL in Syria

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says abductions took place after ISIL seized Assyrian villages from Kurdish forces.

Fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group have kidnapped at least 90 Assyrian Christians in northeast Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Wednesday.

The Observatory said the abductions took place on Tuesday after ISIL fighters seized two Assyrian villages from Kurdish forces in the province of Hassakeh, the Reuters news agency reported.

More News On Reports That The Islamic State Has Kidnapped 90 Christians In Syria

Islamic State in Syria abducts at least 90 from Christian villages: monitor -- Reuters
IS militants abduct dozens of Christians in Syria -- AP
Islamic State group kidnaps scores of Syrian Christians -- France 24
‘ISIL abducts’ at least 90 Christians in Syria -- Euronews
Islamic State 'abducts dozens of Christians in Syria' -- BBC
Islamic State seizes Christians again – this time in northeastern Syria -- CSM
Isis kidnaps 90 Christians in Syria, say activists -- The Guardian
ISIS abducts scores of Christians in northeastern Syria, groups say -- CNN
Activists: Islamic State Militants Kidnap 90 Assyrian Christians -- VOA
Islamic State said to abduct at least 70 Christians in Syria -- Washington Post

Iraq's Christians Take Up Arms To Fight Against The Islamic State

Many Iraqi Christians displaced by ISIS are volunteering to form a force against the militant group.(Photo courtesy Calvin Isaac)

Wall Street Journal/The Australian: Iraqi Christians take up arms against Islamic State

HUNDREDS of Christian men are picking up rifles for the first time at a former US military facility in the hills of northeast Iraq and training to reclaim their towns from Islamic State militants who stormed the country last year.

WNU Editor: Better later than never.

More News On Iraq's Christians Taking Up Arms To Fight Against The Islamic State

Iraqi Christians Form Militia to Defend Against Islamic State -- CS
WSJ: Iraqi Christians Training to Reclaim Towns Lost to ISIS -- Newsmax
Iraq's Assyrians Form Militia to Fight ISIS -- Assyrian International News Agency
IS sells off stolen Christian goods and burns manuscripts -- The Tablet
Iraqi Christians take arms against ISIS -- Al Arabiya

Radical Islam Is Now Threatening Christians In The Sub-Sahara

Reuters: Radical Islam a growing threat to sub-Saharan Christians: report

WNU Editor: Here is an easy prediction .... this "conflict" is only going to intensify.

Report: Islamic State Has Converted Christian Churches Into Torture Chambers

A woman walks inside a damaged church in Maaloula. The Christian town was attacked last spring by extremist forces. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

ISIS Is Turning Christian Churches Into Torture Chambers Where It Forces Believers To Convert To Islam… And Funding Its Terror Mission By Selling Stripped Artifacts To Western Collectors -- Daily Mail

* Christian churches are reportedly being turned into torture chambers
* Artifacts worth millions have been stolen and sold to western collectors
* Experts say the fanatics goal is to 'wipe out' Christianity

Islamic State militants are turning Christian churches into torture chambers where they force attendees to convert to Islam, it has been reported.

The fanatics are also said to be stripping the former places of worship of ancient relics, which they are smuggling to Western collectors to help fund their terrorist activity.

Christians were reportedly being held captive in make-shift torture chambers set up in raided churches in Qaraqosh, Iraq.

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More News On Reports That The Islamic State Has Converted Christian Churches Into Torture Chambers

ISIS reportedly selling Christian artifacts, turning churches into torture chambers -- FOX News
ISIS Turning Churches Into Torture Chambers -- China Topix
IS turning Churches into dungeon, selling Christian artifacts in black market -- NDA India
ISIS Using Christian Churches as Torture Chambers, Funding Terror Through Smuggling Ancient Religious Artifacts -- Gospel Herald
ISIS: Selling Christian Artifacts, And Using Churches As Dungeons For Torture? -- Inquisitr
ISIS Selling Church Artifacts on Black Market to Fund Terrorism -- CP

Islamic State Militants Have Destroyed The 7th Century Green Church In Tikrit, Iraq

Islamic State Reportedly Destroys 7th Century Green Church In Tikrit, Iraq. One Of Middle East's Oldest Christian Sites -- Huffington Post

Islamic State continues to destroy sacred sites across Iraq.

The militant group reportedly blew up a 7th century Christian site known as the Green Church in Tikrit, Iraq on Wednesday. The site belonged to the Assyrian Church of the East and was restored by the Saddam Hussein regime in 2000, according to RT News.

A source on the ground told Iraqi news that the militants used "improvised explosive devices" planted in the surrounding area. The entire church was reportedly destroyed in the blast.

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Update: ISIS destroys 7th-century church, historical mosque in Iraq’s Tikrit -- RT

My Comment: As I have said many times before .... one of the most unreported stories in the world today is the extermination of the Christian faith and its symbols in the Middle East.

Iraq's Largest Christian City Has Fallen To Advancing Islamic Militants. Tens Of Thousands Are Reported Fleeing

ISIS Overtakes Iraq's Largest Christian City -- CNN

(CNN) -- Iraq's largest Christian town has been overrun by the same militant Islamists who have gained a foothold in parts of eastern Syria and western and northern Iraq.

The latest advance by ISIS (or the Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) has caused thousands of Christians in the city to flee, just as other minority groups targeted by ISIS have done, as well as Shiite Muslims.

The French government confirmed that the Iraqi city of Qaraqosh has fallen into the hands of the militant al Qaeda offshoot.

"France is highly concerned about the latest progress of ISIS in the North of Iraq and by the taking of Qaraqosh, the largest Christian city of Iraq, and the horrible acts of violence that are committed," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said in a statement.

France called for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to discuss the threat in Iraq.

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More News On Iraq's Largest Christian City Falling To Advancing Islamic Militants

Iraq Christians flee as Islamic State takes Qaraqosh -- BBC
Thousands of Christians flee Islamic militants pulling down church crosses in Iraq after their biggest town is overrun by ISIS -- Daily Mail
Militants in Iraq seize cluster of Christian villages near Kurdish region as civilians flee -- FOX News/AP
Islamic State militants' offensive sparks mass Christian exodus as Pope asks for international intervention -- Sydney Morning Herald
Iraqi Militants Take Over Christian Town -- VOA
‘All Christian villages are now empty’ as Isil advances -- AP
100,000 Iraqi Christians have fled their homes and face risk of genocide, warns Patriarch -- The Tablet
Iraqi Christians flee as Isis takes Kurdish town -- Financial Times
Islamic State militants seize Christian town in northern Iraq; thousands flee -- Washington Post
Almost 200,000 flee Iraqi town captured by Islamic State -- Irish Times
Jihadists offensive sparks mass Iraq exodus -- AFP
Islamic State takes control of Iraq's largest Christian town -- Daily Times
Militant takeover of Iraq’s largest Christian city, mountaintop siege fuel calls for aid -- FOX News

Iraqi Christians Live In Fear Of ISIS

Assyrian International News Agency

Days Of Terror: Iraqi Christians Live In Fear Of ISIS -- Katrin Kuntz in Qaraqosh, Iraq (Spiegle Online)

Some 40,000 Christians live in Qaraqosh, a town near Mosul, Iraq. Residents have been gathering daily in 12 local churches as ISIS jihadists advance towards the community. Their existence is a precarious one.

It was the evening of Tuesday, June 10 when Salam Kihkhwa walked into a mobile phone shop in the Qaraqosh city center to purchase more minutes for his phone. Kihkhwa surfs the Internet for several hours each day and was carrying an iPhone 5s in his hand as he navigated his way past brackish puddles on the edge of the road. He set a few wrinkled dinar notes down on the counter to pay for a pack of Winchesters. Just at that moment, he recalls, he heard the scream: "The jihadists are in the city!"

Salam no longer remembers where the scream came from or whether it was a man or a woman. But he knows he left his cigarettes and money on the counter, grabbed his phone and made a run for it. Hundreds of others joined him, and the crowd kept swelling as it dashed through the streets of Qaraqosh.

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My Comment: Their days are numbered.

Iraq's Christians Make A Last Stand

Iraq's Beleaguered Christians Make Final Stand On The Mosul Frontline -- The Telegraph

Some Christian families from Mosul have sought refuge in St Matthew’s Monastery, writes Richard Spencer. Others vow to take a stand against the Islamists - whatever the cost

Captain Firaz Jacob knows he may well be mounting a last stand at the frontiers of the Christian settlement of Bartella on the outskirts of Mosul.

Less than a mile down the road are the jihadists of Isis, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, and the portly, middle-aged Mr Jacob is aware that his home-grown militia are outnumbered.

“I stand here waiting for my destiny,” he said, as he stood this week by the last check-point on the road to Mosul and the black flags waiting in the desert.

Speaking of why he and his men were refusing to give up and go, Capt Jacob said was determined to resist the jihadists and their allies, who last week over-ran most of the rest of northern Iraq.

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Update: The religious cleansing of Iraq's Christians -- Lela Gilbert, FOX News

My Comment: We are witnessing 1,800 years of history being wiped out .... and little if any reaction from Western governments.

Thousands Of Iraqi Christians Flee As ISIS Militants Burn And Loot Churches (Updated)

Iraq Christian Town Bartella Forced To Protect Itself From ISIS After Military Flees -- CBS

Just 10 miles away from the center of Iraq's second largest city, Mosul, which was overrun by jihadist militants last week, is Bartella, a Christian town living in fear.

On the road to Mosul, CBS News' Holly Williams stopped at the last checkpoint before territory now controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The militants have vowed to impose strict Islamic law in Mosul, and they've allegedly massacred dozens of non-Sunni Muslims in their advance.

Just outside the militants' control, and desperately vulnerable to attack an attack by ISIS, sits Bartella. Williams says Christians have inhabited the town for almost 2,000 years. The locals still pray in Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus.

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Previous Post: The Mass Exodus Of The Last Christians In Iraq Begins

More News On Reports Of Thousands Of Iraqi Christians Fleeing As ISIS Militants Burn And Loot Churches

Thousands Flee as Terrorists Take Over Iraq's Christian Heartland -- Christianity Today
Iraqi Christians flee homes amid militant push -- AP
Thousands of Christians Flee as ISIS Militants Burn, Loot Churches in Captured Iraqi City -- Christian Post
Christians pray amid Iraq crisis -- Al Arabiya
Why Christians are under pressure to exit Iraq -- Christian Today

Islamic Rebels In Syria Impose A 'Terror Tax' On Christians

In 2013, ISIL removed crosses from The Martyrs Church in Raqqa and hoisted their flags [Reuters]

Al-Qaeda Rebels in Syria Tell Christians to Pay Up or Die -- Time

ISIS leaders are invoking an ancient law to force Christians living in their areas to pay for protection

Radical Islamist rebels running the northern Syrian city of Raqqa have made the Christians living in the area an offer they can’t refuse: pay for protection, convert to Islam, or “face the sword.”

In a statement posted to Jihadi websites and signed by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-designated emir of the future Islamic caliphate of Raqqa, as well as the founder of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS] rebel brigade, Christians are urged to pay a tax in order to continue living under ISIS’s protection. The terms are simple: twice a year wealthy Christians must pay the equivalent of half an ounce of gold — about $664 by today’s market value. Middle-class Christians have to come up with half that sum, and poor Christians can get away with paying a quarter, or about $166.

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More News On Al Qaeda Rebels Imposing A "Terror Tax" On Christians

Islamists demand levy in gold from Christians in Syrian city they control -- Reuters
Islamists in Syrian city offer Christians safety -- at a heavy price -- CNN
Syria militants claim Christians agreed to pay tax -- Washington Post/AP
Jihadists subjugate Christians in captured Syrian city -- Haaretz
ISIL demands gold to 'protect' Christians -- Al Jazeera
Al-Qaeda-linked group demands protection money from Christians in Syrian ‘Caliphate’ -- National Post/The Telegraph
Syrian Christians pledge submission to Islamists: report -- Washington Times
Syria crisis: ISIS imposes rules on Christians in Raqqa -- BBC
Radical preacher says Syrian militants should not impose Islamic tax on Christians -- FOX News/AP
Generations on, Christians fleeing Syria return to Turkish homeland -- Reuters
Syria’s Christian Sheep Among the Wolves: A ragtag militia defends the community against Islamists and the Assad government. -- Andrew Doran, NRO
Why Won’t Western Churches Condemn Muslim Oppression of Christians? -- Tom Wilson, Commentary

Syria's Christians Flee As Kidnappings, Rapes, And Executions Escalate In Rebel Controlled Areas

Soldiers loyal to the Syrian regime walk near a damaged church in Qusair, Syria, June 6. (CNS/Reuters/Rami Bleibel)

Syria’s Christians Flee Kidnappings, Rape, Executions -- Daily Beast

Running from assault, abduction, and assassination at the hands of jihadists and FSA rebels, Syria’s ancient Christian community fears a religious pogrom is set to erupt.

Traumatized by what they have endured inside Syria and fearful for their future, Christians fleeing the 32-month-long civil war say the persecution of Christians is worsening in rebel-held territories in the country’s north—and that the kidnapping, rape and executions of Christians aren’t just being carried out by jihadist groups, but also by other Sunni Muslim rebels, including those affiliated with the Western-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA).

Christian refugees who have recently arrived in southeast Turkey—many of whom are retreading the steps of their forebears, who fled persecution in southern Turkey during the last century—say Christians are being seen as fair game by an assortment of jihadists and Islamist rebels, including FSA-affiliated fighters and others with the Army of Islam. Most of the targeting of Syrian Christians has been blamed on al Qaeda affiliates Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State of Syria and Sham (ISIS), but refugees like 45-year-old school director Rahel say the picture inside is more confused.

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My Comment: Half a million Christians have fled Syria in the past 2-3 years .... I predict that most of the remaining one and a half million Syrian Christians will be gone in the next 2-3 years.

Is The West Responsible For The Violent Deaths Of 4 Million Muslims Over The Past Three Decades?

Learn About Tableau

How Millions Of Violent Muslim Deaths Feed The Cycle Of Terrorism -- MSNBC 

The West, especially the United States, is waging a campaign of genocide and oppression against Muslims aimed at wiping Islam’s followers off the map -- at least that’s how radical Islamists see it. That propaganda message – publicized and parroted by Islamic militants the world over – has reverberated with deadly results this year in Boston, London and Nairobi. And underscored by continuing conflicts in Egypt, Syria, Africa and elsewhere, it is gaining traction among mainstream Muslims and even forcing the White House to consider its impact when setting foreign policy. Why? Because of this fact, according to Ed Husain, senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations: Muslims have been dying violently in staggering numbers over the past three decades in conflicts around the world, many of them instigated by non-Muslim nations.  Read more .... My Comment: It is always easy to blame others .... by doing so one can then deny being accountable and/or responsible for one's own actions.