Al-Qaeda attacked a church in Baghdad on Oct. 31, 2010, killing at least 58 people. Since then, other attacks have been carried out against Christians in Iraq. One gunman was reported to have said, “We will go to paradise if we kill you and you will go to hell.” Let’s get to the point: Many Muslims believe it’s Allah’s will to carry out attacks against Christians. Their reference is the Koran.
My heart goes out to the Iraqi Christian community. In 2003, there were an estimated 800,000. At least half of the Christian population has fled that country. Iraq is not an isolated story by any means.
In another recent story, a Christian mother named Asia Bibi in Pakistan was given a death sentence for blasphemy. The police claimed that she called the Koran a “fake” and made negative comments about Mohammed. The Voice of the Martyrs reports that she had a religious debate with Muslim women which ended when she was physically attacked for proclaiming Jesus Christ to be “the true prophet of God.” A cleric then reported her to authorities.
In Iran and the Palestinian territories the story is not much different. Christians continue to face brutal persecution from its Islamic persecutors. Ayatollah Khamenei publicly called the “network” of house churches in Iran a threat to Islam.
Why are so many Muslims fearful of conversions to Christianity? Again, their reference is the Koran which strongly teaches against conversion from Islam, with severe consequences against those who do.