Sunday, January 22, 2012

Iranian pastor sentenced to death. Sacramento Sabeel remains silent

Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, languishes on death row in Iran. A 2010 brief from the Iranian Supreme court stated that his sentence was based on the crime of apostasy, renouncing the Islamic faith. Pastor Nadarkhani, a member of the Protestant evangelical Church of Iran has been offered leniency if he agrees to renounce his Christian beliefs. He has refused.

From the Jpost

"...Giulio Meotti, an Italian journalist with Il Foglio and author of the book A New Shoah, wrote “After the ethnic cleansing of Jews in 1948 from the Arab countries, Islamic fundamentalism is now trying to push away the Christians from the region. They want to establish a pure Islamic environment and the mass exodus already began under our noses.”

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Christian Post wrote last week on its website, “The Christian community in Syria has been hit by a series of kidnappings and brutal murders; 100 Christians have now been killed since the anti-government unrest began."

From Dr. Richard Landes, an associate professor of history and director and cofounder of the Center of Millennial Studies at Boston University:

"There’s a bizarre, eery, indeed terrible (a-)symmetry between the nearly hysterical concern of the media and the ‘progressive’ NGOs etc. about Israeli violations of the Palestinian ‘human rights’ and the nearly total silence about the horrendous things happening to Christians in Muslim majority countries, not necessarily at the hands of their neighbors but of Salafists, Jihadis, etc.”

Indeed there is.

Sacramento Sabeel Conference workshop and Plenary topics

• Palestine-Israel: History and current developments including Arab Spring.
• Children & Youth in Palestine & Israel: Living under occupation and apartheid.
• Christian Zionists to Mainstream Christians: Their role in maintaining support for Israel despite its human rights violations.
• Kairos Palestine: Reflecting on and applying this document written by Christian Palestinians about what is happening in Palestine.
• Islamophobia: What it is and what is behind it.
• Black Perspectives on Apartheid in Palestine: Connecting Palestine to other social justice & peace issues.
• Bias in the Corporate & Independent Media: How it works and how to overcome it.
• Congress/U.S. Administration: Understanding America’s Pro-Israel Lobby (AIPAC) and other influences on U.S. policies towards Israel
and strategies for changing those policies.
• Boycott & Divestment: Using this historic strategy on campuses, in the faith community, and in the community at large.
• Direct Action: How and when to do it (and have fun!).
• Public Advertising Campaigns: How, when, and where they can be effective.
• Communicating about Palestine: How to talk about the issue (including doing presentations).
• Organized Silencing: Understanding the structure, funding and strategies of those who attempt to silence any criticism of Israel’s policies.
• The Palestine Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) Campaign: What is it and how to participate.
• Addressing False Charges of Anti-Semitism.

The Sacramento Sabeel Conference "organizes silence" and consistently ignores the injustice and persecution of Christians in the Middle east. Clifford D. May describes the war against the Christians as "The most important story not being told ". In spite of their mission of pursuing "peace and justice", its not being told by Sabeel, either.

Dr. Martin Luther King jr once said "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." Shame on you, Sabeel for your collusion in "organizing silence".

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