Muslim civil war continues as ISIS strikes Iran

From Tehran, the capital of Iran, comes a reminder that Islam is not monolithic. As with the other Religions of the Book -- Christianity and Judaism -- there are a number of divisions and even more subdivisions, each one claiming that they and only they have the True Faith. The main groups Sunni extremists, including ISIS, despise Shia-majority Iran. Iran has also come under attack in the past by Arab insurgents. The two biggest Muslim groups are the Sunnis and the Shias. (Westerners used to call Shias "Shi'ites", but had a tendency to mispronounce the word.) They hate each other.

Wahabism, the sect that dominates Saudi Arabia, is an extreme form of Sunni Islam, which is itself more extreme than the Shia version. Sunni extremists, including ISIS, despise Iran, which is mostly Shia. There's also an ethnic divide, as the Iranians aren't Arabs, but a different ethnic group which we used to call "Persian". Anyway, whether through fear or having other things to do -- blowing up Christians -- ISIS hasn't attacked Iran... until today.

Today, ISIS has claimed responsibility for a deadly pair of attacks on Iran's parliament and... wait for it... the shrine of the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

The Tehran attacks began mid-morning, local time, when assailants armed with AK-47s stormed Iran's parliament building, where a session was in progress. One of the attackers blew himself up inside. The siege lasted until mid-afternoon. Not counting the jihadis, 12 innocent Muslims were killed and 42 wounded. This is the first ISIS attack on Iran itself. Until now, when not hunting "infidels" in the streets of London, Paris, Berlin etc., ISIS has been fighting Iranian-backed forces in Syria and Iraq.

In addition to being lethal, the attack on the shrine of Khomeini is symbolically stunning. As Iran's first Supreme Leader, Khomeini is a towering figure in the country and was its revolutionary leader in the 1979 ouster of the shah.

And here's a little detail for clueless Western security forces to keep in mind. Iranian Deputy Interior Minister Mohammad Hossein Zolfaghari told Iran's state TV the "apparently male" attackers wore women's attire. Just yesterday Walt told you about the (perhaps) demented Arab woman who rampaged through a Canadian Tire store in Toronto, attacking innocent bystanders with a golf club (really) and a knife which she had hidden under her Islamic attire. Her face was obscured by a niqab, which she was still wearing when she appeared in court yesterday afternoon.

Dear readers, the Muslim civil war is being fought in the Middle East, but the Islamic extremists' mission to conquer the world (or at least the worthwhile parts of it) and exterminate the "infidels" (meaning US) knows no boundaries. I don't recommend nuking Iran or Syria or Saudi Arabia or Iraq. I think we should let them fight it out until there's just one left and then throw that guy down a deep well. But I do think we should defend ourselves and our Western Christian (?) civilization in our own lands. And the best defence is a good offence!

Question of the day: Where is Santiago Matamoros (St. James, slayer of Moors) now that we need him?

25 worst places to be a Christian

The British newspaper The Guardian has published an overview of the persecution of Christians worldwide, accompanied by a list of the 25 worst places to be a Christian. "Christians are facing growing persecution around the world," they wrote, "fueled mainly by Islamic extremism and repressive governments, leading the Pope to warn of 'a form of genocide' and for campaigners to speak of 'religio-ethnic cleansing,'."

Click here to read The Grauniad's list, with their reasons. Walt's "Reader's Digest version" follows. The list is not in bad-worse-worst order because, well... I don't need to explain, do I?

North Korea - Asia, Communist dictatorship. Believers meet in secret "house churches", risking imprisonment, torture and martyrdom.
Somalia - Horn of Africa, officially Muslim, lawless and chaotic. Christians often executed on the spot.
Iraq - Middle East sandpit, officially Muslim, but which kind of Muslim? Shi'ites and Sunni Muslims are fighting it out in a Muslim civil war, in which the USA and its reluctant allies are meddling for no good reason.
Syria - Like Iraq, only worse.
Afghanistan - Like Syria, only worse.

Sudan - Northern Africa, officially Muslim, Sharia law. Converting to Christianity punishable by death. Blasphemy gets you the lash.
Iran - Middle East, officially Muslim. Safer for Christians than Iraq or Syria, and that's about all you can say.
Pakistan - Asia, officially Muslim. Christians are second-class citizens. Blasphemy (against the Prophet or the Holy Qu'ran) punishable by death.
Eritrea - Horn of Africa, pseudo-Communist dictatorship, Muslim majority. See North Korea.
Nigeria - Africa, divided between Muslim north and nominally Christian south. Sharia law in the north. Boko Haram abducts girls, kills Christians by the thousands.

Maldives - Never heard of it, right? Beautiful little islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of India. Great tourist destination. Officially Muslim. Converting from Islam means forfeiting Maldivian citizenship, and owning a Bible is punishable by death. Churches are banned; Christian migrants and tourists also have to meet in secret and cannot own Bibles.
Saudi Arabia - Middle East, feudal kingdom. Officially Muslim and we're talking Wahabi, the most extreme branch of Sunni Islam. For their faith, Christians may be arrested, imprisoned, tortured and deported.
Libya - North Africa, officially Muslim. ISIS hotspot, going through a civil war following a pointless Western invasion. The new Somalia.
Yemen - Middle East, feudal, officially Muslim. Christians treated as in Saudi Arabia, and caught in the middle of a civil war, with Saudis intervening on the side of Islamic fundamentalists.
Uzbekistan - Central Asia, pseudo-Communist dictatorship. As in China [How did China get left off this list?! Ed.], all churches must be registered with the state. Converts from Islam face imprisonment, beatings and sometimes banishment.

Vietnam - Asia, Communist dictatorship. Not quite as bad as China, since the Roman Catholic Church still has a large following, the legacy of the colonial days. As in China and Uzbekistan, churches must be officially registered. As in China, many churches have been destroyed, and Christians attacked and imprisoned.
Central African Republic - Africa [Duh! Ed.], chaotic, lawless. The militant group Séléka, (= CAR rebels + Muslims from neighbouring countries), have raped, tortured and killed Christians throughout the country. Unlike in other countries on this fecal roster, defence groups made up of people claiming to be Christians are fighting back. Victims, Christian or Muslim, may be eaten.
Qatar - Middle East, Islamic kingdom. Converts to Christianity face banishment and death. Large population of migrant workers have to keep their faith to themselves.
Kenya - Africa. Like Nigeria but substitute Al Shabaab for Boko Haram. If you're a white, presumably Christian tourist, keep your head down.
Turkmenistan - Central Asia, quasi-dictatorship, officially Muslim. See Uzbekistan.

India - Asia. Officially a secular state but under the ruling BJP effectively "Hindustan". Like Pakistan, only with the persecutors being Hindus. In some states there are anti-conversion laws, and attacks on Christians and church buildings occur frequently. Indian Muslims are recommended to move to Pakistan or Bangladesh.
Ethiopia - Horn of Africa. I don't agree with The Guardian on this one, as the majority of Ethiopians are Coptic Christians. But there are Muslim-dominated areas, where Christians report harassment for their faith. The Grauniad says there were 60 violent incidents reported in 2014.
Egypt - Northern Africa, officially Muslim. There is a large(ish) minority of Coptic Christians who were largely left alone until the US-supported overthrow of the Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, which was followed by a sharp increase in anti-Christian violence, with 65 churches, convents, Christian bookshops and schools attacked. There are fears these attacks will increase as radical Islamist groups gain power in the region.
Djibouti - Horn of Africa, officially Muslim. You'll find it on the map next to Eritrea, which it greatly resembles. That's all you need to know.
Burma - Asia, quasi-dictatorship, officially Buddhists. Included in The Guardian's list (I guess) to show that it's not only the Islamists who have it in for Christians. There has been a rise in nationalist religious movements in the past few years, with nearly two dozen Christians killed in clashes with the army in 2014. Buddhist nationalist groups are putting pressure on the government to adopt laws that would make life harder for Christians, such as limiting conversions and restricting interfaith marriages.

So there you have it -- the 25 worst countries in which to be a Christian. OK, 26 if you count China, which you definitely should. And The Guardian says nothing of the persecution of believers in the True Faith by the secular humanists who have triumphed in post-Christian Europe and North America.

Dear Christian readers, please keep in your minds and hearts the words of St. Paul:
2 Timothy 3:12 - And all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
Romans 8:35/37 - Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or persecution, or sword? / But in all these things we overcome, because of Him that hath loved us.

Further reading: "Dying for Christianity: millions at risk amid rise in persecution across the globe" (Companion piece to The Guardian's list)