Anti-Christian sentiment

"Discrimination against Christians" redirects here. For religious persecution of Christians, see Persecution of Christians. For the scholarly criticism of Christianity, see Criticism of Christianity.
Anti-Christian sentiment
Demonstrators in Chicago, 2008

Anti-Christian sentiment (Christophobia or Christianophobia) encompasses discrimination and intolerance against Christians, according to Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE).[1]

The Pew Research Center has performed studies on international religious freedom, researching restrictions on religion originating from government prohibitions on free speech and religious expression as well as social hostilities undertaken by private individuals, organisations and social groups.[2][3] In many countries around the world, Christians are subject to restrictions on speech, and suffer communal violence and hate crimes.

Anti-Christian expressions

Arson

Main article: Church arson

Arson attacks on churches have been seen in Norway and the United States. Some arson attacks are considered hate crimes perpetrated for racial reasons by people inspired by racial hate groups.[4][5] Headliners of the black metal genre have claimed responsibility for inspiring (and sometimes perpetrating) over fifty Norwegian church burnings from 1992 to 1996 alone.[6] Among the most notable was Fantoft Stave Church, which the police believed was destroyed by the one-man band Burzum, Varg Vikernes, also known as 'Count Grishnackh'.[6] The burnt-out shell of the building is featured on the cover of his 1993 EP Aske (Norwegian for 'ashes').

Vandalism

The vandalism or defacement of Christian property is one form of the expression of anti-Christian sentiment. The destruction of property held by churches and Christian individuals can be in violation of various criminal laws, and can violate hate speech laws if it is racially or religiously motivated.[7]

Examples of anti-Christian sentiment in politics and culture

Middle East

Fiorello Provera of the European Parliament called the Middle East "the most dangerous place for Christians to live" and cited Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who blamed the international community for failing to deal with what she considers a war against Christians in the Muslim world.[8]

Former Lebanese president Amine Gemayel stated in 2011 that Christians had become the target of genocide after dozens of Christians were killed in deadly attacks in Egypt and Iraq.[9]

According Israeli ambassador to the United States Michael Oren, in the hundred years leading up to 2010 the Middle East's Christian population dwindled from 20% to less than 5%. Oren argues that with the exception of Israel, Christians in the Middle East have endured severe political and cultural hardships: in Egypt, Muslim extremists have subjected Coptic Christians to beatings and massacres, resulting in the exodus of 200,000 Copts from their homes; in Iraq, 1,000 Christians were killed in Baghdad between the years 2003 and 2012 and 70 churches in the country were burned; in Iran, converts to Christianity face the death penalty and in 2012 Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani was sentenced to death; in Saudi Arabia, private Christian prayer is against the law; in the Gaza Strip, half of the Palestinian Christian population has fled since Hamas seized power in 2007 and Gazan law forbids public displays of crucifixes; in the West Bank, the Christian population has been reduced from 15% to less than 2%.[10]

Egypt

In Egypt, the government does not recognize religious conversions from Islam to Christianity.[11] Since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in 2011, Egypt's Coptic Christians have been the target of increasing opposition and discrimination. In 2011, anti-Christian activity in Egypt included church burnings, protests against the appointment of a Coptic Christian governor in Qena, and deadly confrontations with the Egyptian army. On television Islamists referred to Christians as heretics and said they should be made to pay the jizya tax. A Coptic priest accused Islamists in the country of massacring uninfected pigs predominantly owned by Copts during a swine flu scare: "They killed these innocent pigs just because they thought they violated their religion in some way." In October 2011 a draft resolution passed by the European Parliament accused Egypt of persecuting the country's Christian population. By mid-2012 10,000 Christians had fled the country.[12][13][14]

Iraq and Syria

The consolidation of power in the hands of Shiite Islamists in Iraq since the overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime has been to the detriment of Iraq's Christian communities. Friction between rival sects in Iraq has frequently resulted in violence being directed against Christians in the country. Consequently, there has been a flight of Christians from some areas to Europe and to the United States. Since 2003, hundreds of thousands of Christians have fled Iraq, such that the Christian population, which may have been as high as 1.4 million prior to the Iraq War, has dropped to 500,000, with numbers continuing to decline. Between 2003 and 2012 more than 70 churches were bombed. In 2007 Al Qaeda militants killed a young priest in Mosul, and in 2010 gunmen massacred 53 Assyrian Christians in a Baghdad church.[14][15][16][17]

During the Syrian Civil War and the spillover into Iraq, Persecution of Christians by ISIL and other militant groups has been ongoing. The Fall of Mosul and Qaraqosh in the 2014 ISIL advance in Iraq lead to an estimated 100,000 Christian civilians being displaced. After the fall of Mosul, ISIL demanded Assyrian Christians in the city to convert to Islam, pay tribute, or face execution.[18] ISIL begun marking homes of Christian residents with the letter nūn for Nassarah ("Christian").[19][20] Thousands of Christians, Yazidis (the latter whom were given only the choice of conversion or death) and other, mostly Shi'a Muslims (whom ISIL consider to be apostates) have abandoned their homes and land. The destruction of cultural heritage by ISIL has included the Mosque of the Prophet Jonah, revered in all Abrahamic faiths.

Israel

In Jerusalem, there have been instances of Christian churches being vandalized with spray-painted offensive remarks against Christianity, including death threats. These are believed to be price tag attacks by extremist settlers.[21][22] In Tel Aviv in 2008, three teenagers burned hundreds of Christian Bibles.[23][24]

A number of Ultra-Orthodox/Haredi youth have reportedly spat at Christian clergymen. Archbishop Aris Shirvanian, of Jerusalem's Armenian Patriarchate, says he personally has been spat at about 50 times in the past 12 years.[25][26] The Anti-Defamation League has called on the chief Rabbis to speak out against the interfaith assaults.[27] Father Goosan, Chief Dragoman of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, stated that, "I know there are fanatical Haredi groups that don't represent the general public but it's still enraging. It all begins with education. It's the responsibility of these men's yeshiva heads to teach them not to behave this way".[28] In January 2010, Christian leaders, Israeli Foreign ministry staff, representatives of the Jerusalem municipality and the Haredi community met to discuss inter-faith tolerance. The Haredi Community Tribunal of Justice published a statement condemning harassment of Christians, stating that it was a "desecration of God's name." Several events were planned in 2010 by the Orthodox Yedidya congregation to show solidarity with Christians and improve relations between the Haredi and Christian communities of Jerusalem.[29][30]

In July 2012, a former member of the Knesset, Michael Ben-Ari, who supports Kahanism, videotaped himself tearing up a copy of the New Testament and throwing it in the trash. Ben-Ari referred to it as a "despicable book" that should be "in the dustbin of history".[31] In response, the American Jewish Committee urged the Knesset to censure Ben-Ari, while a spokesman for Benjamin Netanyahu also condemned Ben-Ari's actions.[32]

Palestine

According to the organization Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), state-controlled Palestinian media frequently demonize religions like Judaism and Christianity. PMW translated into English a children's television program aired twice in 2012 it said featured a young girl saying Jews and Christians are "cowardly and despised."[33]

West Bank

In 2002, a mob of Palestinian Muslims burned Christian property in Ramallah.[34] A dossier submitted in 2005 to Church leaders in Jerusalem listed 93 incidents of abuse alleged to have been committed against Palestinian Christians by Muslim extremists and 140 cases of gangs allegedly stealing Christian land in the West Bank.[35] In May 2012 a group of 100 Muslims attacked Taybeh, a Christian village in the West Bank.[36]

Gaza

In 2007, the Gaza Strip had a tiny Christian minority of 2,500–3,000. The Hamas overthrow of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza during that year was accompanied by violent attacks against Christians and Christian holy sites by Islamic militants. A Catholic convent and Rosary Sisters school were ransacked, with some Christians blaming Hamas for the attack. In September 2007 Christian anxiety grew after an 80-year-old Christian woman was attacked in her Gaza home by a masked man who robbed her and called her an infidel.[37][38] That attack was followed less than a month later by a deadly assault on the owner of the only Christian bookstore in Gaza City. Muslim extremists were implicated as being behind the incident.[39] The library of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) was bombed in 2008 by gunmen who, according to guards at the site, asked why the guards worked for "infidels."[40]

In 2011, the Christian population of Gaza Strip was less than 1,400. A member of the Catholic faith told The Guardian he was stopped by a Hamas official and told to remove a wooden crucifix he was wearing.[41]

Saudi Arabia

The human rights advocacy group International Christian Concern (ICC) told the Christian Post that 35 Christian Ethiopians – men and women – were violently arrested in Jeddah in December 2011 while holding a prayer meeting in their home. The prisoners complained of being persecuted on account of their faith and of being pressured to convert to Islam, and the women reported undergoing a humiliating strip search. According to the ICC, one prisoner said, "The Muslim preacher [that was sent by officials to speak to the prisoners] vilified Christianity, denigrated the Bible and told us that Islam is the only true religion."[42]

Europe

Norway

Anti-Christian graffiti in Tampere, Finland

On 6 June 1992, the Fantoft Stave Church, a wooden structure originally built in 1150 in Fortun, when the Vikings converted to Christianity, and moved to Bergen in 1883, was burnt down.[43] At first the fire was attributed to lightning and electrical failure. In January 1993 Varg Vikernes, also known as "Count Grishnackh", was interviewed by a local journalist in his apartment decorated with 'Nazi paraphernalia, weapons and Satanic symbols'. Vikernes, at the time a proponent of White nationalism, social conservatism, survivalism and his Neo-völkisch ideology, declared that he wanted to blow up Blitz House and Nidaros Cathedral. He has publicly supported black metal fans burning down eight churches in Norway. He used a photo of the charred remnants of one church taken soon after the fire on his band Burzum's album entitled Aske (Norwegian for ashes). Following his statement, the Norwegian authorities began to clamp down on black metal musicians.[44]

In 1994, Vikernes was found guilty of murder, arson and possession of illegal weapons (including explosives) and given the maximum sentence under Norwegian law of 21 years in prison.[44] He was released in 2009.[45]

The following is a partial list of Norwegian Christian church arsons in 1992 by anti-Christian groups reported by English-language media sources:

Russia

Many attacks, arsons and acts of vandalism against churches in Russia are reported each year.[51][52] The acts of vandalism are often accompanied by Satanic symbolism and graffiti.[53] In many instances, icons and crosses are burned and vandalized, and swastikas and Satanic symbols are painted on the walls of the churches (while in other attacks on churches in Russia they can be understood as more simple robberies).[52] Some of the attacks on the churches, such as the cutting down of crosses, appear to be conducted by groups organized online and by local youth.[54]

Sweden

On 7 February 1993, the Lundby New Church in Gothenburg, Sweden was burnt down.[55]

United Kingdom

In the 2011 UK Census, 59.5% of the population marked their religion as "Christian", making Christianity the majority religion.[56] Rowan Williams said in 2013 that Christians in the UK who feel "mildly uncomfortable" at "not being taken very seriously" or "being made fun of" in the UK should not compare themselves to Christian minority groups facing "murderous hostility" in countries that lack freedom of religion.[57]

Conservative politician Mark Pritchard has said that a "politically correct brigade" has removed Nativity plays from schools, which he says is "Christianophobia".[58]

In 2007, a church building in Brighton was vandalised with anti-Christian graffiti by squatters.[59]

Africa

Mali

The Islamist group Ansar Dine has led to Christians fleeing their cities to avoid being put under sharia law.[60]

Sudan

The Foreign Missionary Society Act of 1962 put a limit on the number of churches constructed. Students in military training were forbidden from praying unlike Muslims.[61]

Zanzibar

In Muslim-majority Zanzibar, part of Tanzania there have been numerous attacks on churches. A bishop condemned the lack of action by the government.[62]

Americas

Bolivia

An angry mob of Indigenous peoples destroyed the only evangelical church in the remote village of Chucarasi in the Bolivian Andes after beating a congregational elder unconscious. Villagers apparently attacked their Christian neighbors because they blamed them for a hail storm that damaged local crops.[63]

Brazil

Christianity was faced with resistance and hostility by several social groups of colonial Brazil, from native peoples to blacks, who had been enslaved in Africa. The anti-Christianity took an underground form among consumers of illustrated literature in the eighteenth century. It crossed the nineteenth century and reached the twentieth century as a movement of “inner De-Christianization” largely empowered by secularizing forces which have arisen from philosophies such as positivism, anarchism, socialism and modernism.

Chile

The killing of the priest Faustino Gazziero in 2004.[64] CNTV program The Comedy Club parodies of Jesus,[65] the burning of the image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (national Patroness),[66] and the subsequent mock of the faithful's grief in a nationwide newspaper.[67]

Since 2015, twelve churches have been burned in southern Chile, 10 Catholic ones and two Protestant ones. Attacks are supposedly from the Mapuche indigenous people, who are campaigning to reclaim ancestral lands, according to authorities.[68]

“We are going to burn all churches.” Thus declared the note left at the ruins of the Christian Union Evangelical church in Ercilla, Chile, after an arson attack on March 31, 2016.[69]

Cuba

Government regulations aimed at curbing the growth of Christian house churches in Cuba[70]

United States

Jay Scott Ballinger admitted to committing 30 to 50 church arson attacks in eleven states between 1994 and 1998. Ballinger, who describes himself as a Satanist, spray-painted an inverted cross on the steps of one church they burned, saying it was part of a satanic ritual.[71][72] Some American Atheists have run a series of billboard campaigns ridiculing Christmas in Times Square, in 2012 one read "Keep the merry! Dump the myth!"[73] and in 2013 proclaimed "Who needs Christ during Christmas? Nobody".[74] Secular humanist Chris Stedman criticized the campaign.[75]

Asia

China

Christians in China have been detained, denied the protection of the laws, and ordered to refrain from religious activities outside of China's single official Protestant church.[76]

India

North Korea

Pakistan

Christians in Pakistan are a minority, making up 1.6% of the population, and religious minorities are frequently discriminated against.[77] The Pakistan blasphemy law mandates that blasphemy of the Qur'an is to be punished. Critics of the laws say that Christians like Asia Bibi are sentenced to death with only hearsay for evidence of alleged blasphemy.[78] At least a dozen Christians have been given death sentences,[79] and half a dozen murdered after being accused of violating blasphemy laws. In 2005, 80 Christians were behind bars due to these laws.[80]

Christians in Pakistan have been murdered in outbreaks communal violence, such as the 2009 Gojra riots, and have been targeted by militant groups, with the Peshawar church attack killing 75 Christians in Peshawar in 2013,[81] and the Lahore church bombings killing 15 in 2015.[82][83] The campaign of violence by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan has been described as a genocide.[84][85][86]

See also

Related topics

References

  1. ↑ "Bishops condemn Christianphobia" Religious Intelligence; October 1, 2008 Archived 6 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑ "Global Restrictions on Religion (Executive summary)". The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. December 2009. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
  3. ↑ "Global Restrictions on Religion (Full report)" (PDF). The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. December 2009. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  4. ↑ Fulton, Greg (2006-03-08). "Time Magazine". Time.com. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  5. ↑ "Washington Post article". Washington Post article. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  6. 1 2 Grude, Torstein (Director) (1 January 1998). Satan rir Media (motion picture). Norway: Grude, Torstein.
  7. ↑ "Vandals scrawl hate speech across Phoenix church". azcentral. 7 January 2015.
  8. ↑ Provera, Fiorello (9 April 2012). "Fiorello Provera: Christianity's Via Dolorosa". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 7 June 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  9. ↑ "Ex-Lebanon Leader: Christians Target of Genocide". CBS News. 3 January 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  10. ↑ Oren, Michael (9 March 2012). "Israel and the Plight of Mideast Christians". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  11. ↑ Fowler, Lilly (18 June 2012). "Coptic Christian ex-patriots keep a wary eye on Egyptian elections". The Washington Post. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  12. ↑ Fathi, Yasmine (4 December 2011). "Egypt Copts react to Islamist electoral win". Ahram Online. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  13. ↑ Mostafa, Abdallah (28 October 2011). "EU parliament accuses Egypt of persecuting Christian minority". Egypt Independent. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  14. 1 2 Tevrov, Daniel (16 June 2012). "Syrian Christian Support For Assad Regime May Turn Out To Be A Losing Strategy". International Business Times. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  15. ↑ "Pope marks Easter with call for end to violence in Syria". Fox News. Associated Press. 8 April 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  16. ↑ "Christians fleeing Iraq". Watertown Daily Times. 14 March 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  17. ↑ Arraf, Jane (8 April 2012). "A northern Iraqi Easter". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  18. ↑ "BBC News - Iraqi Christians flee after Isis issue Mosul ultimatum". BBC News. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  19. ↑ "Iraqi Christians flee after Isis issue Mosul ultimatum". BBC News. August 7, 2014. Archived from the original on August 7, 2014. Retrieved August 7, 2014.
  20. ↑ Loveluck, Louisa (August 7, 2014). "Christians flee Iraq's Mosul after Islamists tell them: convert, pay or die". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on August 7, 2014. Retrieved August 7, 2014.
  21. ↑ Zaimov, Stoyan (21 February 2012). "Christianity in Jerusalem Under Attack? Extremists Hit Another Church". The Christian Post. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  22. ↑ Elgot, Jessica. "Rabbis condemn attacks on Israel's Christian sites". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  23. ↑ In a 2008 Tel Aviv incident, hundreds of copies of the New Testament, which had been handed out in the city (allegedly by Messianic Jews in order to convert Ethiopian Jews), were burned by three teenaged Orthodox students of Judaism. Uzi Aharon, the town’s deputy mayor, told CNN he had collected the New Testaments but that he did not plan for them to be burned. The youths had done so while he was not present. Once he found out that the fire was going, he put it out.
  24. ↑ Bixler, Mark (28 March 2008). "Hundreds of New Testaments torched in Israel". CNN. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  25. ↑ Barkat, Amiram (27 June 2009). "Christians in Jerusalem want Jews to stop spitting on them". Haaretz.
  26. ↑ Rosenberg, Oz (4 November 2011). "Ultra-Orthodox spitting attacks on Old City clergymen becoming daily". Haaretz. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  27. ↑ "ADL Calls On Chief Rabbis to Speak Out Against Interfaith Assaults In Old City". 17 October 2004.
  28. ↑ Oz Rosenberg (15 November 2011). "Ultra-Orthodox spitting attacks on Old City clergymen becoming daily". Haaretz.
  29. ↑ Ahren, Rachel (5 March 2010). "Capital Anglos mobilize against practice of spitting at Christians". Haaretz.
  30. ↑ Ahren, Raphael. "Capital Anglos mobilize against practice of spitting at Christians". Haaretz. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  31. ↑ "MP tears up copy of New Testament". The Australian. 18 July 2012.
  32. ↑ "AJC Urges Knesset to Censure MK Ben-Ari for New Testament Desecration". Archived from the original on 23 July 2012.
  33. ↑ Zaimov, Stoyan (20 June 2012). "Palestinian TV Criticized for Using Young Girl to 'Promote Hate' Toward Christians, Jews". The Christian Post. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  34. ↑ Radin, Charles A. (6 February 2002). "Defendants killed in court; mob fears grow in West Bank". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  35. ↑ de Quetteville, Harry (9 September 2005). "'Islamic mafia' accused of persecuting Holy Land Christians". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  36. ↑ "Muslim attacks against Christians on the rise in West Bank". World Tribune. 28 May 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  37. ↑ Hadid, Diaa (27 June 2007). "For Gaza's Christians, new reality unsettling". The Houston Chronicle. Associated Press. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  38. ↑ Abu Toameh, Khaled (25 April 2007). "Christian-Muslim tensions heat up". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  39. ↑ Silver, Eric (8 October 2007). "Gaza's Christian bookseller killed". The Independent (London). Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  40. ↑ "Militants bomb Gaza YMCA library". BBC News. 15 February 2008. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  41. ↑ Greenwood, Phoebe (23 December 2011). "Gaza Christians long for days before Hamas cancelled Christmas". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  42. ↑ Oleszczuk, Luiza (9 February 2012). "Christians Imprisoned in Saudi Arabia Pressured to Convert to Islam". The Christian Post. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  43. ↑ In Cod We Trust, By Eric Dregni. p.185. Books.google.com. 2008-09-22. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  44. 1 2 3 Chris Campion (21 February 2005). "In the face of death". London: Guardian. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  45. ↑ "Ute av fengsel". Dagbladet.no (in Norwegian). 22 May 2009. Archived from the original on 25 May 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2009.
  46. ↑ "New Page 1". thetruemayhem.com. Archived from the original on 9 March 2009.
  47. 1 2 3 Lords of Chaos (1998): 78
  48. 1 2 3 4 Lords of Chaos (1998): 79
  49. 1 2 3 Satan rides the Media (1998)
  50. ↑ Satan rides the Media
  51. ↑ Pope Supports Russian Church’s Position on Vandalism MOSCOW, October 18 (RIA Novosti)
  52. 1 2 Acts of vandalism against Orthodox churches in Russia, 1998-2008 RIA Novosti, 14:46 01.12.2008
  53. ↑ ПО РОССИИ КАТИТСЯ ВОЛНА ВАНДАЛИЗМА: В ГОРОДАХ ОСКВЕРНЯЮТСЯ ЦЕРКВИ И ХРАМЫ http://tbn-tv.ru/
  54. ↑ Антирелигиозные вандалы нашлись в Интернете 28 августа 2012, Russia Today
  55. ↑ Lords of Chaos (1998): 113, 269
  56. ↑ http://www.ons.gov.uk/census/2011-census/index.html
  57. ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/10244716/Persecuted-British-Christians-need-to-grow-up-says-former-Archbishop-Rowan-Williams.html
  58. ↑ Christianophobia warning from MP BBC News 4 December 2007
  59. ↑ Anger as squatters wreck church BBC News, 31 May 2007
  60. ↑ Christians flee from Islamists in northern Mali retrieved 17 August 2012
  61. ↑ Human rights and religion – Page 257 Liam Gearon – 2002
  62. ↑ Tanzanian church leaders demand action retrieved 17 August 2012
  63. ↑
  64. ↑ "Estupor en Chile por sacerdote asesinado, El Nuevo Diario, Nicaragua". Archivo.elnuevodiario.com.ni. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  65. ↑ "Sigue la disputa por parodia del Club de la Comedia, Observatorio de Medios FUCATEL, 11/10/10". Observatoriofucatel.cl. 1999-02-22. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  66. ↑ "Chilean bishops deplore attack against Our Lady of Carmel at Cathedral of Santiago". Catholic News Agency.
  67. ↑ "No permitas que The Clinic ofenda a la Virgen del Carmen, Muévete Chile, 12/05/08". Muevetechile.org. 2012-12-03. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  68. ↑ http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2016/04/12/indigenous-militants-burn-another-church-in-southern-chile/
  69. ↑ http://irishcatholic.ie/article/chile%E2%80%99s-burning-discontent
  70. ↑
  71. ↑ "Suspect with satanic impulses confesses to burning churches".
  72. ↑ "Unusual Suspects in Church Burnings". Time. 8 March 2006.
  73. ↑ Zaimov, Stoyan (December 22, 2012). "NY State Senator Wants Atheist 'Nobody Needs Christ' Christmas Ad Removed From Times Square". Christian Post.
  74. ↑ "Christmas Is Kicking Ass in the War on Christmas". 20 Dec 2013.
  75. ↑ "Why atheists should quit the 'War on Christmas’". CNN Religion blogs. 21 Dec 2013.
  76. ↑ Chastain, Mary. "Christian Persecution in China Despite Supposed Religious 'Freedom'". Breitbart.com. 2013-10-14.
  77. ↑ "Country Profile: Pakistan" (PDF). Library of Congress Country Studies on Pakistan. Library of Congress. February 2005. Retrieved 2013-02-19. Religion: Approximately 1.6 percent of the population is Hindu, 1.6 percent is Christian, and 0.3 percent belongs to other religions, such as Bahaism and Sikhism.
  78. ↑ Debra Killalea (4 Nov 2014). "Last ditch appeal to save Asia Bibi, sentenced to death under Pakistan’s tough blasphemy laws". News.com.au.
  79. ↑ "Q&A: Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws". BBC. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  80. ↑ "Christians often victims under Pakistan's blasphemy law". Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  81. ↑ New York Times: "Suicide Attack at Christian Church in Pakistan Kills Dozens" by ISMAIL KHAN and SALMAN MASOOD September 22, 2013
  82. ↑ "Two blasts at Lahore churches claim 15 lives - PAKISTAN - geo.tv". geo.tv. 15 March 2015.
  83. ↑ Agencies - Imran Gabol - Nadeem Haider - Waseem Riaz - Abbas Haider - Akbar Ali. "15 killed in Taliban attack on Lahore churches". dawn.com.
  84. ↑ "After the Malala Yousafzai shooting, can shock therapy free Pakistan?". Ibnlive.in.com. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  85. ↑ "The Problem Of Pakistan". Ibtimes.com. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  86. ↑ "Pakistan should be on the genocide watch list: US think tank". Indiatoday.intoday.in. 2012-09-26. Retrieved 18 February 2013.

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