Christians are free in Iraq
UPDATE: Iran (the larger country) has "rounded up" 14 allegedly Christian converts. The penalty is DEATH. Compare this to the mild persecution encountered by Christians in Iraq. Link: http://michellemalkin.com/archives/006676.htm
Unlike some other "Muslim" countries, Christians are not hunted down and killed in Iraq. That is one thing that our valiant efforts have done. Some other countries kill Christians for merely believing in Jesus Christ. This linked story above helps to make the sacrifices of our brave military all worth it.
Merry Christmas ! (and happy new year)
posted by Chief RZ @ 25.12.06
11 Comments:
And here is a Christmas Story from a Hungarian just after leaving Hungary: From the Budapest Sun
"The meal of Christmas past
By Ádám von Diószeghy
Ádám von Diószeghy, a ’56 refugee, recalls a special Yuletide feast from 50 years ago
IT was Dec 24, 1956. In the late afternoon hours the US Army bus rolled to a stop in front of some converted barracks, full of refugees who had managed to escape the revolution in Hungary, which had come to a bloody and unfortunate end.
The main building bore a homemade-looking sign announcing its name: Hotel Safety, no doubt intended to comfort the arriving unfortunates.
The ride from Salzburg to Munich (and the Army base) took only a few hours, and the snowy beauty of the Alpine foothills along the way made it seem even shorter. The natural setting was perfect for Christmas.
Busload after busload of Hungarian refugees piled off the buses in front of the “hotel,” waiting to be housed. They were all docile, tamed by the endless regimentation to which the various authorities who had controlled their lives for the last two months had subjected them. No revolutionary spirit was evident anywhere. These folks had gotten used to the most unreasonable requests at the most ungodly hours by even the least significant of bureaucrats.
Due to their escape, they had lost everything except their indestructible faith in the west and all its peoples; they even had faith in the west’s bureaucrats! Then again, what choice did they have? They had to believe – they had nothing else to go on.
After getting off the bus, we were separated into groups of 15, to be taken into the cluster of buildings, to be housed for the night or until further orders; in those days one could never be sure. I said “we” because I, an 18-year-old, was in one of those groups. I, too, was a Hungarian refugee. So I, along with the others, stood patiently in the snow and waited.
For a group of refugees who, after a hopeless fight and a dubious escape, had finally reached the west, we seemed an unusually serene but joyless bunch.
No shouts of unrestrained joy could be heard, nor were people hugging one another or patting each other’s backs.
There was a simple explanation: we were hungry and had been so for weeks. This hunger had nothing to do with the hunger one feels after vigorous exercise or a long day without food.
It was not the type of hunger that an apple or a cracker could assuage. It was not the hunger of an over-acid stomach. It was not the hunger of shaking hand, or watering mouth, or even the hunger that causes fuzzy thoughts in a starving man.
It was the long-established hunger of a group of undernourished, but not quite starving, people who had been living for weeks on thin soups of one kind or another and an occasional piece of bread. Maybe some weak coffee now and then.
But even before then, there had been many lean years. Since WWII, and after, under the Communists, good food was scarce and hard to come by. The Austrians had fed us since our escape. We didn’t blame them for the thin soups, because that was about all they could afford to feed us. They had been under the Soviet yoke until only just the previous year. We didn’t blame anybody – we were just very hungry.
Our hopes still lay with the west, of which, in 1956, Austria was just barely a part. But our hope, on that Christmas Eve, of our first decent meal, seemed to be dashed when we were told, as we waited in the snow, that we were going to be served some coffee and doughnuts. In place of gratitude, all any of us could offer was a tired smile.
We had lived through too much to be devastated; we were simply crestfallen and dejected. And we stood, patiently, uninterestedly, shuffling in the snow, waiting for our turn at the coffee pot.
A big US Army sergeant came out of the building and motioned in our group of 15. We went through several doors, up steps, down steps, out some doors, back again through others, seemingly endlessly.
We had no idea what was happening. None of us spoke any English. Ultimately, we arrived at a building in which, after passing through a door, we began to smell food – wonderful, exciting food.
We checked our excitement because there had already been too many disappointments, too many heartbreaks: perhaps we were just passing by somebody else’s dining hall or kitchen.
But the smell got stronger, and now everyone was smelling it and we were getting visibly excited. Our steps quickened, it was starting to get warm and comfortable, and the sergeant was leading us into this big hall that looked like a dining room but was, in fact, an Army-type mess hall.
The smells kept getting stronger and more delicious and overpowering. At the end of the room, there was a counter full of food, real food, and behind it stood smiling, friendly cooks.
Somehow, everyone got a plateful of food and there was no shoving or anything, just wonderment as we all managed to sit down somewhere at a table.
We still couldn’t believe any of it, because it was unbelievable, and even the color and arrangement of the food was fabulous . Deep down, one didn’t want to destroy this beautiful arrangement of greens and yellows and reds....
But the next thing we knew we were all eating and smiling and exclaiming to one another and asking one another if it was real, and did we realize how great and wonderful it was and how heavenly the food tasted.
The warmth it gave us began to stoke cold bodies, cheeks got pink and we all forgot the past and the pain and the loss, and we didn’t care what fate would await us in the strange land of America, because this was not a time to worry and doubt, but of joy.
We couldn’t hate anybody right then, even the Russians, who were still shooting at those who stayed home. We didn’t think of any of that because there were all these great trays full of food, and you could eat as much as you wanted and no one was going to take it from you before you were finished. Any, finally, we were all finished. We were full. And unbelievably happy. At peace. With the world and all in it.
Fifty years have now elapsed. Every time I recall the incident – though I have had many great meals since – I always think of that as the absolutely most fabulous meal I have ever had in my life. That very evening, because it was so special, I wrote down every item that we were served that Christmas Eve night. The other day I came upon the little book in which I made the notes:
The menu
One cup split pea soup
One plate of noodles with chopped hamburger meat
One plate of tossed green salad with dressing and a pineapple ring
One orange
Two slices of bread with two squares of butter
One cup of coffee with cream and sugar"
http://www.uruknet.info/?p=m29378&hd=&size=1&l=e
Here is eyewitness response to 'free christians' in Iraq.
The response to chritianity, the most violent of religions, is appropriate in any form.
With the execution of Hussein...they will be free.....and raptured.
I had to post this before hitting the slopes....
I read the ONE 'eyewitness' report. She seems to at least acknowledge that various religious beliefs can exist in Iraq.
I challenge you on your assertion that chritianity (sic) is the most violent of religions. I have been to several European countries and talked with real people. When we arrived at a new city, they would say..."see that monument, that is where the Muslims arrived and killed our people."
Now to the rapture you speak about with apparently very little knowledge. Of all the Christian Protestant religions, some have a belief in a rapture. But that does not include flying airplanes into buildings, boats into other ships, blowing up buildings, blowing up other religion's 1,000 year old shrines, or blowing up yourself to kill innocent civilians.
The Iraqis have tried Sadam. They will decide when and where to execute him.
http://www.winnipegsun.com/News/Columnists/Gleeson_John/2006/12/21/pf-2913180.html
I got this in an email from a friend in Germany....The premise of 'free' christians in Iraq is getting clobbered.
Our soldiers should not be dying for corporations or christians and definitely not lies. Nothing about the occcupation of Iraq was 'worth it'.
anonymous-- I think I see a trend here. The source quoted is an OP ED from the Winnipeg Sun, a Canadian source. On this blog, The Truth, I like to stick with facts, not opinion. I am waiting for your source indicating that the USA has a 13.8% unemployment rate.
Now, here is a first hand "eyewitness" report from Iraq. Mine: http://magyartruth.blogspot.com/2006/01/christian-church.html
I talked with the man who built the church with his own funds with his son. He left Turkey soon after his father was killed along with one and a half million christians -- Armenians in 1915. I also have a reference to that genocide with pictures on my blog here: http://magyartruth.blogspot.com/2006/01/revisionism.html
Yes, it is written--Christians will be persecuted.
In Iraq and the Middle East, various sects of Muslims have been killing each other for over 1,400 years.
It is not illegal to be a Christian in Iraq. There is a big difference between killings by gangs and state-sponsored killings such as was done by the Talliban.
On another note, a recent symposium in Vail by Charles Sanders on "The Boys of Winter" -- our 10th Mountain Division in Italy. Please answer,
what did Italy do to us?
"It is important to think about those who died for us." Without our military, we would still be English subjects, French, Spanish, or German speaking, and certainly not free Americans. Take a look at some of the "protest signs" by islamic fantatics at Michelle Malkin's blog. One says: _ _ _ _ your freedom!
anonymous-- I will wait for you to identify your mysterious BLS site. The rest of your last post does not contain much truth. It reminds me too much of the communist "red books" that the Hungarians burned after finding out The Truth. I have been there. I have seen and talked with real people. I will not be a party to passing on mis-leading words.
Now. I used the site you suggested. Did you see the direct quote? The numerous sources are not "spouted by criminals occupying the government."
First you have now come close to libel, so I will not publish anything else. Our elected officials are not criminals unless you are speaking of certain Democratic representatives who keep $100,000 in their refrigerators or who make teenagers work for their campaigns and paid staffers the same.
We are a democracy here in the USA, yes, of course, a republic, but we elect our representatives and President. We are not our own enemy. Liars are. Michelle Malkin and Ann Coulter reference their sources. If and when you do the same, you will be on their level.
I suppose Noam Chomsky is one of your heroes?
I have read some of his books and got a chuckle as the "Hooter girls" debunked his 1950's PhD thesis in about five minutes.
I deal and talk The Truth because I have observed the millions of deaths that result from not telling The Truth. Walter Duranty? Ever heard of him?
http://magyartruth.blogspot.com/2006/01/nyt-communist-since-1920s.html
Following are links to assorted media, even wingnut daily, and I am having trouble finding anything about 'free' christians.
Now...where is your version of the 'truth?'
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1159193427145&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
http://news.adventist.org/data/2006/09/1161195482/index.html.en
http://www.danielpipes.org/article/2033
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1888848,00.html
http://mychristianblood.blogspirit.com/iraq/
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=38874
http://www.antiwar.com/cole/?articleid=1342
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=56005&SelectRegion=Middle_East&SelectCountry=IRAQ
http://www.ctlibrary.com/12060
I actually read each and every one of your references.
One- failure getting cache object
Two-a speculative article published prior to 28June04 when the Provisional Iraqi government took over from our US military
Three-- Glad to see this:
"Saddam's Philippines Terror Connection
SADDAM HUSSEIN'S REGIME PROVIDED FINANCIAL support to Abu Sayyaf, the al Qaeda-linked jihadist group founded by Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law in the Philippines in the late 1990s, according to documents captured in postwar Iraq" from one of your suggested documents. Glad to see that you and I can agree on Sadam's connection with Al-Qaeda. I left a post there too.
Four and Five-- Two similar articles following some church bombings. We have similar in the USA, and a muslim group did the same to some stores that sold alcohol "against our laws--get out"!
But my point, which you seem to have missed:
The Iraqi constitution does not incorporate shira law and mandate things like wearing scarves, etc.
It also does not make being a Christian Illegal as is true in several other countries. Saudi Arabia comes to mind. Address this, and reply to the several references I left for you.
Here is a NOW...(real time) post by a journalist who is there, imbedded:
http://www.michaelyon-online.com/wp/christmas-in-kuwait-qatar-and-hanoi-and-singapore-and-jakarta.htm
Six-- (the antiwar article) makes my point above.
It was written in January 2004. There was no Iraqi government then!
Seven--[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] same story as three others. Yes, there were Islamic fanatics.
We had and have fanatics in the USA. One man just spoke at Howard University of the need to "kill all white people"
Eight--December 1, 2004. My post was about Christians celebrating Christmas in December 2006. Again, the Iraqi government does not ban celebrating Christmas by Christians. Sadam banned Shites celebrating their holy days. Remember? You need to address this, and I am still waiting for your reference stating that the US unemployment rate is 13.8%. Thank you for not using too many negative generalities and unproved, opinions. Let's keep this civil.
What is your real problem with rational conservative thinking? For one, I will throw out this: I believe in personal responsibility.
http://patternsthatconnect.blogspot.com/2006/11/liberalism-is-true-conservatism.html
Here is a brillian piece....I'm sure your attempt to derail it will again, be in vain.
Still waiting for your reference that states the USA's unemployment rate is 13.8% !
Christians, Muslims, and Buddists are free in Iraq to celebrate their holidays now that Sadam has been deposed and executed. Yes, some fanatics still burn down churches in the USA, Canada, Iraq and other countries, but in Iraq, there is no law against it nor any of Sadam's henchmen or any other official Iraq police burning down churches or killing Christians just for being a Christian. Your first post was inflamatory and inaccurate.
I read your link. It tried to double speak like communists did in the USSR and other countries.
Have you read The Bridge at Andau? It is a non-fiction book by James Michener: http://magyartruth.blogspot.com/2006/05/iron-curtain.html
You can read about the evils of communism there.
Communists are liberals, not conservatives.
You can see more here: http://magyartruth.blogspot.com/2006/02/einser-kanal.html
and finally, you can see the museum of evil here:
http://magyartruth.blogspot.com/2006/01/communism-is-evil.html
When I mentioned personal responsibility, this is what I meant:
A conservative conserves. He is personally responsible. He does not ask, nor expects some "great government in the sky" to save him from every mistake he makes.
He is his own man.
A liberal (those who perceive themselves to be the all-knowing like Noam Chomsky) thinks that everyone except they are not smart enought to do anything for themselves and need to be "helped".
Thank you, but no thanks. I worked long and hard for a living and do not need anyone telling me what to eat, what type car to drive or when to die.
I left this post on the page you suggested.
I am not sure that rational debate is possible with you, but I am an optimist.
Head Hunter (no email address): Moderated for language.
Yes, Head Hunter, I am aware of the violence that occurred in Iraq during 2004:
http://www.christiansofiraq.com/update.html
I was there in Mosul in 2004. Now. Sadam opened all the jails and let out criminals. Just like in the USA, many are gang members and racist including Islamic fanatics. In the articles, criminals were described, NOT official Iraqi government troops nor policy. This is the same straw man that "13.8%" anonymous used earlier.
Repeating: There is NO official government open season against Christians as in Iran (the larger country). I am sorry that your relatives were killed in Baghdad. Chrisitians will be persecuted as you and I know. I am a Christian.
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