Belgium King Albert II Christmas speech sparks controversy

The Belgian king has provoked a sharp response to a Christmas message in which he drew parallels with the rise of fascism in the 1930s.

Albert II warned against the dangers of populists seeking scapegoats for current economic difficulties.

Flemish separatist leader Bart De Wever assumed the remarks were aimed at him and said he had overstepped his role.

Belgian political experts and commentators argued that the broadcast had intervened in political debate.

In his broadcast, the king said that "in these troubled times we live in, we should remain vigilant and see through populist arguments".

Populists were, he said, "trying to find scapegoats for the crisis, whether foreigners or compatriots from another part of the country".

Such thinking persisted in Belgium as much as in other European countries and "the crisis of the 1930s and the populist reactions of that time must not be forgotten", the king said.

Belgium has a deepening divide between its Flemish (Dutch-speaking) north and French-speaking south, and there has been speculation that the country could ultimately break up.

'Hiding behind the throne'

Mr De Wever, whose New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) party made big gains in elections in October and is now the biggest political force in Flemish-speaking Flanders, accused the king of "implicitly" referring to the N-VA in his speech.

On Belgian radio he accused Belgium's French-speaking PM, Elio Di Rupo, of "hiding behind the throne", arguing that he must have seen an advance copy of the speech and given it the green light.In a newspaper article in De Standaard, he accused the king of choosing "the path of a royalty of division", adding in a later broadcast interview that he could no longer see the monarch as playing the constitutional role of referee.

"[Di Rupo] won't say I'm a fascist but apparently believes it and lets the king say it," Mr De Wever said.

The separatist leader also took a swipe at a predecessor of Albert's, Belgium's wartime King Leopold III (then a prisoner of war), who met Adolf Hitler "for coffee" at Berchtesgaden in Bavaria in 1940 and took Belgium "to the brink of civil war".

'Bridge too far'

Mr De Wever's angry remarks followed a series of objections from political commentators and academics.

Prof Carl Devos of Ghent University said that the passage of the speech should have been dropped, while monarchy expert Prof Mark Van den Wijngaert said a comparison with the 30s was "a bridge too far".

But another Flemish political leader, socialist Bruno Tobback, said the monarch was merely expressing what other European heads of state had said in their Christmas messages.

Sociologist Benoit Scheuer told La Libre Belgique that it was fine for the king to warn of the dangers of populism, although he believed the major democratic parties should speak out as well.

King Albert has taken a strong position before on Belgium's political difficulties and the monarch does traditionally play a role in attempting to resolve constitutional problems.

In July 2011, Albert gave an emotional televised address, appealing to political leaders to display "modern citizenship" to bring an end to a drawn-out crisis, which left the country without an elected government for a world-record one-and-a-half years.

In an apparent foretaste of his controversial Christmas message, the king warned viewers at the time that if their political impasse remained unresolved, they risked the emergence of a form of "poujadism", referring to a right-wing populist movement in 1950s France.

Egypt - Muslim Brotherhood Vice-Chairman Al-Aryan: Israel to collapse within 10 years

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi's advisor and Muslim Brotherhood Vice-Chairman Essam Al-Aryan explained on his Facebook page what he meant when he called upon Jews with an Egyptian background to return to Egypt. "Israel will be erased within 10 years. The Jews conquering the historic Palestinian territories are an obstacle to the Right of Return and it is Israel's fate to collapse in the upcoming years."

"The future name of the country will be Palestine and those who lived there from the beginning will live there and those who conquered it will have to go back to their countries," he said. (Roi Kais)

Two Muslim candidates win seats in Belgium local elections

 

Two candidates from Islam Party have won their way to the local councils in two major districts of the Belgian capital Brussels.

The local elections were held in Anderlecht and Molenbeek on Sunday. 

The party reportedly plans to field candidates for the regional and parliamentary elections and also intends to fight for seats in the European Parliament. 

The results have been hailed as a new era for the Muslim community in Belgium.

On April 26, The London-based human rights group Amnesty International criticized politicians for failing to act against the growth of Islamophobia in Europe in a report entitled "Choice and Prejudice," focusing on the rise of political movements that target Muslims or Muslim practices in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland. 

A 2008 estimation showed that 6 percent of the Belgian population, about 628,751, is Muslim. Muslims construct 25.5% of the population of Brussels, 4.0% of Wallonia and 3.9% of Flanders. 

ISRAEL: Christian Community Continues to Grow

On the eve of Christmas celebrations in the Holy Land —Dec 25 for Catholics and Protestants and Jan. 7 for Orthodox Christians—the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) released new data on the Christian community in Israel, Ynetreported.

 

According to the CBS, there are 158,000 Christians living in Israel, constituting 2 percent of the population. This is up slightly from 154,500 last year.

Of the Christian population, 80.6 percent are Arab, primarily residing in northern Israel. Nazareth—the childhood home of Jesus—is the largest Arab-Christian town.

Most of the non-Arab Christians are immigrants from the former Soviet Union who came to Israel with their Jewish families under the Law of Return.

The CBS noted that Arab Christians fared best in terms of education in comparison to all other ethnic groups in Israel. For example, some 56 percent of Arab Christians, compared with 50 percent of Jewish students, 36 percent of Druze students and 34 percent of Muslims, received a high school diploma that met the basic demands of Israeli universities.

Israel is one of the few countries in the Middle East that has seen its Christian community grow. An estimate 100,000 Christians have fled the civil war in Syria, while in Egypt, Christians are fearful of the rise of Muslim Brotherhood. Even in the Palestinian Authority-controlled city of Bethlehem—the birthplace of Jesus—the Christian population has shrunk to a third of the town’s residents, down from 75 percent only a few decades ago.

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TURKEY: Christianity no longer a religion, says Turkish minister

Christianity has ceased to be a religion but has become a culture of its own, Turkish Environment and Urbanism Minister Erdoğan Bayraktar said at a recent conference hosted by the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) Women's Group. 

 

"The biggest three countries in the world are not Muslim countries. China, India – only the U.S. believes in a single God. Spirituality and religious feelings are weakening," Bayraktar said.

 

"There are 2.5 billion Christians in the world," Bayraktar said. "Christianity is no longer a religion. It's a culture now. But that is not what a religion is like. A religion teaches; it is a form of life that gives one peace and happiness. That is what they want to turn [Islam] into as well."

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UK: Christians have no right to refuse to work on Sundays, rules judge

Celestina Mba, who lost an appeal against her former employers earlier this month

A new ruling by a High Court judge - the first on the issue in nearly a decade - says that Christians have no right to decline working on Sunday as it is not a “core component” of their beliefs.

The judgment - which upholds an earlier decision - means that individual Christians do not have any protection from being fired for not working on Sundays.

Campaigners said the decision puts Christians at a disadvantage to other religions and means the judiciary are deciding what the core beliefs of Christians can be, which they say is an interference in the right to practise religion.

The judgment was issued by Mr Justice Langstaff as he ruled on an appeal brought by a Christian woman who was sacked after she refused to work on Sundays at a care home.

Celestina Mba claimed the council she worked for pressured her to work on Sundays and threatened her with disciplinary measures - even though other workers were willing to take the shifts. The 57 year-old, from Streatham Vale, south London, worships every Sunday at her Baptist church, where she is also part of the ministry team offering pastoral care and support to the congregation.

She said that when she took the position in 2007 providing respite care for children with severe learning difficulties at the Brightwell children’s home in Morden, south-west London managers initially agreed to accommodate the requirements of her faith.

But within a few months of starting the job, Miss Mba said managers began pressuring her to work on Sundays.

She found herself repeatedly allocated Sunday shifts and threatened with disciplinary measures unless she agreed to compromise her church commitments, meaning she had no alternative but to resign from the job she loved, she said.

The care worker launched an unsuccessful legal claim in February this year and this month lost her appeal in the High Court.

Her constructive dismissal case was funded by the Christian Legal Centre which instructed Paul Diamond, a leading religious rights barrister.

Mr Justice Langstaff, who as president of the Employment Appeal Tribunal is the most senior judge in England and Wales in this type of case, upheld the lower tribunal’s ruling which said it was relevant that other Christians did not ask for Sundays off.

The fact that some Christians were prepared to work on Sundays meant it was not protected, the court said.

The senior judge said that a rule imposed by an employer which affected nearly every Christian would have a greater discriminatory impact than one which only affected a few.

There was evidence that many Christians work on Sundays and this was relevant in “weighing” the impact of the employers’ rule, and the earlier decision did not involve an error of law, he added.

Campaigners said the ruling showed that Christians are being treated less favourably than people from other religions, such as Muslims, Jews and Sikhs. They pointed to cases where the courts offered protection to other religions even when only a minority of adherents were affected.

In 2008 Sarika Watkins-Singh, then 14, successfully claimed she was a victim of unlawful discrimination because she had been excluded from school in Aberdare, south Wales, for breaking a jewellery ban by refusing to remove a “kara” bangle which she said was central to her faith.

But in her case the court did not examine how many Sikhs wanted to wear similar items of jewellery.

The judgment in Miss Mba’s case will fuel concerns that judges are promoting secularism. A report from the cross-party Christians in Parliament group warned earlier this year that there was a lack of religious literacy among judges, politicians and officials.

Andrea Williams, director of Christian Concern, said of the latest ruling: “The court in this case created an unrealistic test which means that people like Celestina who wish to respect the Sabbath will be forced out of the workplace.

“The court seems to be requiring a significant number of adherents of the Christian faith to observe a particular practice before the court is willing to accept and protect the practice.

“In the past year we have seen mandatory tests of faith in relation to the wearing of crosses by Christians, belief about marriage between a man and a woman and now observing the Sabbath when in all cases reasonable accommodation could have been made.

“Such tests do not appear to be similarly applied to Muslims who are permitted to wear the hijab and observe prayers and Sikhs with the kara bracelet.”

In 1994, when Sunday trading in England was liberalised shopworkers were given a guarantee that working would be strictly voluntary, but the guarantee did not apply to people in other sectors.

The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations, published in 2003, say employers must justify Sunday working as a “legitimate business need” and does not give a blanket right to Christians not to work.

If employers fail to treat staff fairly and proportionately, the employee may be able to claim discrimination, the rules add.

The last ruling by judges was when a quarry worker claimed his Christian beliefs had been treated with “contempt” by employers who tried to force him to work on Sundays in 2003.

Stephen Copsey lost his case at the Court of Appeal in 2005, with judges ruling his employer had “compelling economic reasons” for insisting that he worked on Sundays.

Yvette Stanley of Merton council, Miss Mba’s former employers, said it did its best to allow religious practice but also had a duty to meet the needs of the disabled children for whom it cares and added: “We are pleased with the outcome of this second tribunal. Staff recruited in the respite care service are advised that it is by its nature a weekend service.”

Turkey: Ahmet and Dezla - We are 100% Turks and Christians

Ahmet and Dezla Ozgiunes, who have become Orthodox Christian in the last couple of years, speak to Alexandros Massavetas of ‘Kathimerini’ newspaper.

We kept meeting every year in one of the Greek parishes at Nichori of Vosporos during the Easter Service as if we had been keeping an appointment. I thought they were just like the many other Turks who come to the Service out of curiosity to experience the Greek traditional Easter or to celebrate among Christian friends and be part of a multinational and mixed religious congregation.

The couple, elegant, educated and well travelled, is among the thousands of Turks who have recently decided to change their religion and among the very few who do not keep their decision secret. They have decided to share with the readers of ‘Kathimerini’ their internal quest which led them to espouse Orthodoxy, as well as to explain to us what it means to be a Turk and a Christian. The interview took place a few months before they were due to emigrate abroad.

- Several articles in the newspapers on the recent baptisms of Muslims insisted that these involved Turks who were of Greek or Armenian origin and thus they were just ‘returning to their roots’. Was such an origin the reason which led you to espouse Christianity?

(Ahmet) Indeed some people did return to their origins by becoming Christians, but this did not apply to us. I was born in Cappadocia and my ancestors hailed from Caucasus. As far as I know there were no Christians in our family. I acceded to Orthodoxy out of personal interest.

(Dezla) My mother hails from Kavala and my father from Pontos. Some relatives do speak romeika -the local Greek dialect spoken by those who had been Islamized. Nevertheless, abandoning Islam and espousing Orthodoxy was a personal choice and had nothing to do with my origins.

- The Turkish identity has historically been so closely connected to Islam that many Turks cannot accept that a Turk may not be a Muslim. How do you feel about this?

(A) It is true that many people do not view one as a ‘Turk” if he belongs to a different religion, especially if one is a Christian or a Jew. They believe that such a person does not just have a different religion but belongs to a different nation.

(D) This perception is mainly due to historical reasons. It is an ottoman tradition to divide people into different nationalities because of their religion. For example all orthodox people belonged to the Orthodox nation and the ottoman administration did not distinguish them as Bulgarians, Serbs or Greeks because of their identity. In Cappadocia, the inhabitants were distinguished between Romioi and Turks because of their religion. The Orthodox people at my home region, Talas, were native Turkish speakers and they even held their church services in Turkish. Their Orthodox religion was the element which distinguished them as ‘Romioi’. Turkish history gives other different examples. Throughout history, Turkish tribes espoused Christianity throughout the Turkish regions. There are Turkish Christians in Central Asia, in Romania and thousands of Turks in Turkey have espoused Christianity. Nevertheless, being Christian does not exclude them from being Turks. I am also a Christian and 100% Turk, while my native language is Turkish. Besides, to distinguish nations on religious grounds is outdated. People are usually baffled by the fact that a Turk could also be a Christian, but this is slowly changing.

- What’s your profession?

(D) I’m a dietician and also do volunteer work.

(A) I was a director at various governmental organizations and have lived in the US for some years. Later on I did business in Belgium.

- Ahmet, does your decision to espouse Christianity date back to the times you have lived in Christian countries?

No, the ground was laid long before that. Unfortunately, Christianity is presented as something which comes to Turkey from abroad. This is a mistake since Christianity is an important part of the history of the region. This is verified by the privileges that Mohammed the Conqueror gave to the Patriarchate. We see Christianity through the lens of Islam even as children. Many Muslims feel great reverence for Christians, since the Koran insists on this, as it sees Jesus as a prophet. Muslims also hold The Most Holy Lady to a great esteem. 

You have certainly seen the masses of Muslims gathering at various Christian churches in Constantinople worshiping the Saints and asking for their assistance or their mediation. In Turkey, we have been preparing from an early age to receive the Christian ideas. The various problems which arise are due to the education that both sides receive as well as to ignorance. For example many Muslims are not able to comprehend the idea of the Triune God and think that Christianity is a polytheistic religion because it worships three Gods. I am not being critical here. I am just mentioning this as an indication of how misinformation works. It is not right to criticize Islam, a religion which I have abandoned.

- What about your quest Dezla. Has it also begun in Turkey?

(D)Yes, it all started at University. My family was more or less religious, without adhering to everything that Islam demanded. They identified themselves as Muslims and so did I until I started studying in Ankara. Our parents had allowed us reasonable freedom on the matter of religion. When I abandoned Islam, I felt a vacuum which I had to fill. I started reading. I was doing my own research. This is how my own journey began which led me to Orthodoxy.

- Therefore, your course towards Orthodoxy was the result of ‘local’ experiences, without external influences…

(A) Any influence that I might have had from the States and Europe could have only been negative. I could not feel at ease with the Christians there. They repelled me because they have turned Christianity into psychotherapy. They go to Church on Sunday to relax, whereas religion aims to fill a vacuum. In Europe Christianity has been turned into a festival away from any religious references. Let’s take Christmas. Many people do not wish one another ‘Merry Christmas’ but ‘happy holidays’. In Europe, people harbor a very superficial relationship with Christianity. They have no idea about its message neither its spirituality.

- How do Christians here differ from their European counterparts?

(D) We are much nearer to the essence and tradition of Christianity.

(A) We are much more faithful.

(D) At least we adhere to the commands of our religion. We go to Church every Sunday and read the Scriptures together every night for some time. And we pray.

- Do you have any connection with the Greek community here?

(A) We are closely connected since we meet every Sunday at Church. The Greek community has some very nice people and we have become friends. Each one has something to give us. The Services are held alternatively at some church. We often visit the churches at Nichori. Lakis Vingas, who is the president of the community, asks Dezla to read ‘Our Father who art in Heaven’ in Turkish.

(D) Indeed, I read it for the Turkish speaking congregation (Laughs).

- You must find it difficult when the liturgy is all in Greek.

(A) We prepare ourselves for each service at home so that we can follow it when we are there. We have a bilingual version of the Scriptures so that we can follow the Turkish text. It is significant for someone to be able to understand, to participate…

- Fr Euthym’s abdication from the Patriarchate and the creation of the ‘Turkish Orthodox Church’ in 1920 was a traumatic experience. Perhaps it still complicates the acceptability of the Turkish language in the Greek parishes of Constantinople, something already accomplished by other dogmas…

(A) Yes, of course… I hope that in time there will be a liturgical service in Turkish in the Orthodox Church. Today only the Creed of Faith is being read in Turkish. The issue with Fr Euthym must also be settled. It is not right that churches hold a grudge with each other… All Orthodox ought to come under the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

- Did you ever experience any negative reactions from your social circle because of the change of religion? Are you concerned about it at all?

(A) I didn’t meet with any negative reaction; neither do I have any concern.

(D) I didn’t have any adverse reaction. My family was surprised but accepted my choice.

- Do you think that other Turks will follow your example and espouse Christianity?

(A and D) Yes, many will do.

Few have been baptized to date…

- It is true that those who have been baptized are more numerous than those who admit it. They are scared of the reaction from their social circle. They are crypto-Christians.

(A) Yes, there is some fear. But this must change. Society must also change its stance against those who change their religion. Needless to say the Orthodox Church here does not proselytize people. On the contrary, it puts those who want to change through their paces. One must go through a long catechesis and one’s honest intention is tested.

- Was it therefore difficult to be admitted into the ranks of the Orthodox Church?

(A) It took a long time, but it was something we really wanted.

- Do you believe that the government’s recognition of the ecumenical character of the Patriarchate would benefit Turkey?

(A) Of course. In my opinion the Patriarchate is an institution through which the Turks and the Orthodox could come together and this will be crucial for Turkey. Since Turkey wants to become a member of the EE, the Patriarchate could assist in bringing the country nearer to Europe and this role is very significant. Moreover, the Orthodox Church plays the most suitable role in the dialogue between different religions since its congregation has coexisted with the Muslims for centuries. I cannot say that such coexistence was always friendly or peaceful but it has at least created ways of communication. I cannot understand why some people in my country would like to downgrade the Ecumenical Patriarchate. I am both surprised and saddened. This recognition is more crucial for Turkey than it is for example for Greece or Russia. If our government had actively promoted the role of the Patriarchate as the centre of Orthodoxy, Turkey’s spiritual role would have been promoted worldwide. Some nationalist circles in Greece do not wish to have the Patriarchate’s role advanced because it is situated in Turkey. Russia, for its part, wishes Moscow to be recognized as the centre of Orthodoxy rather than the Patriarchate. Unfortunately many people undermine the Patriarchate.

- Have you been alarmed by the attacks against Christians like the murder of Fr Santorio in Trapezounta and the massacre of Christians in Malatia? Who do you think was behind these atrocities?

(A) I don’t think that similar events could take place here in Constantinople. In view of the negotiations with the EE, Turkey is changing dramatically. Turks become more tolerant and open. It is normal that some extremists would object to such changes. Such paranoid resistance to progress is found everywhere amongst extremists circles. These are dark forces which have nothing to do with the state. They are outcasts.

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UK: Muslim population has nearly doubled in the past decade (VIDEO)

Islam is the United Kingdom's fastest-growing religion, and the country's Muslim population has nearly doubled in the past decade.

As the number of British Muslims increases, some are deviating from the faith's traditional norms. Many Muslim women in the UK now walk a tightrope between their Islamic culture and British identity.

Britain's diversity has spawned independent Muslim women who appear to be challenging their cultural and religious boundaries. Being raised in a country that promotes tolerance and acceptance of others, increasing numbers are choosing to reject arranged marriages, and radically opting to marry out of their faith.

In the UK, 21,000 interfaith marriages were recorded in 2001. Although no new statistics on the issue have been released since then, imams in the UK told Al Jazeera that these figures have surged in recent years.

Sheikh Toufik Kacimi, the CEO of Muslim Welfare House, a charity and community centre in London, says he is approached by at least two couples per week to consult on interfaith relationships.

Most religious scholars agree that Islam permits Muslim men to marry "women of the book" - Christians or Jews - thus expanding the number of potential partners to choose from.

Muslim women, on the other hand, are forbidden to marry a non-Muslim unless her partner converts to Islam, say purists. Some men nominally convert to Islam in order to appease their partner's family.

Saudi police foil attempt to celebrate Christmas

The religious police in Saudi Arabia have raided a house in the Al Jawf Province and arrested 41 people, who were “plotting to celebrate Christmas,” a police statement said.

The police said that the detainees were Christian guests of an Asian diplomat, reports the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar.

There were also a Saudi Arabian and an Egyptian, both Muslims, present at the gathering. The police account says the host and the two Muslim guests were “severely intoxicated.”

It is unclear whether or not the people detained in the Wednesday night raid were released or face further prosecution.

Saudi Arabia outlaws any religious practice except those in line with a strict version of Sunni Islam, the state religion in the theocratic monarchy. The authorities usually turn a blind eye to private ceremonies, but this policy is neither set in law nor observed at all times.

The “virtue and vice” police, which enforce religious norms in the country, regularly launch crackdowns on Christians and Hindus living in Saudi Arabia.

The attitude is encouraged by religious leaders, who justify the persecutions. Saudi Arabia's head mufti Sheikh Abdel Aziz bin Abdullah had previously condemned “invitations to Christmas or wedding celebrations,” the newspaper says.

TURKEY: Istanbul's Greeks celebrated Christmas with their traditional "calanda"

 

Istanbul's Greeks celebrated Christmas with their traditional "kalanda" activity where Zoğrafyon Greek High School student chanted Christmas carols on Istiklal Avenue.

Since 2009 Istanbul's Greek community has celebrate Christmas with a special walk on Istiklal Avenue, singing Christmas carols and giving presents to street passers-by. The crowd has been received by Greek Consule to Istanbul and his spouse.

"Calanda means Christmas carols in Greek," Özcan Şabudak, Zoğrafyon Greek high school vice principal, said. "Children used to collect tips by singing carols and donated to charity organizations. Now we are doing the walk to motivate Istanbul's closed Greek community to be more active. We encourage them to confront their fears and be more confident as minority citizens."

Yani Klimentaki, an Istanbul-born Greek, said he was happy to see his community celebrate Christmas in joy even though he complained that many of his friends had to leave Istanbul due to pressures. 

Klimentaki's remarks remind us one more time how challenging it could be to live as minority in Turkey. The Christmas celebration on Istanbul Avenue should mean something to other people as well. 

Maybe it is time that people in Turkey asked themselves why the few remaining Greek community still lived long with fears. (BK/HK)

SIGN A WHITE HOUSE PETITION TO PROTECT CHRISTIANS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Greek Orthodox priests in Damascus pray during a service in January for a Christian boy who was killed in the fighting in the central Syrian city of Homs. (Joseph Eid / AFP/Getty Images)

Greek Orthodox priests in Damascus pray during a service in January for a Christian boy who was killed in the fighting in the central Syrian city of Homs. (Joseph Eid / AFP/Getty Images)

The website Orthodox Christian Laity has posted an appeal to Orthodox Christians in the U.S. to sign a petition to protect Christians in the Middle East:

THIS IS AN IMPORTANT EFFORT. PLEASE TAKE THE TIME AND REGISTER YOUR SUPPORT.

Friends,

Are there 25,000 Orthodox Christians in America who are ready to stand up for Orthodox Christians in the Middle East this holiday season?

Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC) is launching a petition asking President Obama to respond to the fact that religious minorities need protection across the globe, and we need your help.

In Turkey alone — which boasts a population of over 75 million — the number of Greek Orthodox Christians has plummeted to just 3,500 because the Turkish government refuses to grant the Greek Orthodox Church its full religious freedom. 

In occupied Cyprus, Turkish forces have stopped Christmas liturgy from being celebrated by enslaved Orthodox Christians. In Iraq, Syria, and Egypt, religious minorities are unable to worship in peace this holiday season.

Under the White House rules, if we can find 25,000 people to sign the petition, the White House will have to issue a response. Can you help us reach our goal?

To sign the petition, click on the link below:

http://hellenicleaders.com/freedom

Thanks,

Endy

Endy Zemenides
Executive Director
Hellenic American Leadership Council

P.S. This isn’t just a Greek Orthodox issue. Freedom of religion is a basic human right that all people should fight for, whether they’re Christian, Jewish, Muslim, agnostic or atheist. Forward this email to your friends and family and ask them to join the call in protecting this fundamental human right.

Albania: Orthodox Community disappeared - Orthodox in Albania are more than 24% of the population

Orthodox Church: Orthodox in Albania are more than 24% of the population

Red and Black Alliance has today submitted to the Office of the President a formal requestto remove the decoration Archbishop Dr Anastasios of Tirana.

"The Spirit of Dr Anastasios of Tirana is against Albanian territorial sovereignty. Under the Constitution, the church is separated from the state and politics. Archbishop Dr Anastasios of Tirana should be removed the "Order of Skanderbeg". Decorated the founder of the Albanian church, not anti Albanian occupants, "stated representatives of Red and Black Alliance.

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Israeli Embassy: ‘If alive today, Jesus and Mary would be lynched by hostile Palestinians’

Israel’s diplomatic corps finds itself in hot water after posting an inflammatory message on an official Facebook page. Although the message has now been deleted, this is not the first time Israel has used social media to post controversial views.

The message appeared on the IsraelinIreland Facebook page – which is linked to on the official embassy site – on Monday morning. The post comprised a painting of Mary and Jesus, accompanied by the following caption:

"A thought for Christmas… If Jesus and mother Mary were alive today, they would, as Jews without security, probably end up being lynched in Bethlehem by hostile Palestinians. Just a thought…"

The message sparked immediate heated debate, but was taken down within hours.

“An image of Jesus and Mary with a derogatory comment about Palestinians was posted without the consent of the administrator of the Facebook page. We have removed the post in question immediately. Apologies to anyone who may have been offended,” said an official statement from the Israeli embassy in Dublin.

.The message provoked a heated discussion (screenshot from Facebook).

Since then, the IsraelinIreland page has been shut down altogether, and the link on the official website has been removed.

This was not the first time the account, which is updated by unnamed embassy staff, broadcast strong opinions.

It previously claimed that Palestinian children “play how to launch a missile in order to hit innocent Israeli children, woman and men! The apple does not fall far from the tree!” and that “Pro Palestinianism is often just a politically correct cover for anti-Semitism.”

Although a popular tourist destination for Israelis, Ireland has a tempestuous relationship with Israel. The Israeli mission, which is headed by Boaz Mozai, who is deputized by his wife, Nurit Tinari Modai, has captured the headlines with its confrontational approach.

Last year Tinari Modai claimed in a letter that Ireland-based Jews should have their private information made public if they criticize their homeland.

Yet the post doesn’t appear to be an isolated incident and appears as an example of Israel's wider policy of hasbara(which loosely translates as “explanation”). Hasbara is seen as a concerted effort to forcefully promote Israeli views in the face of what Jerusalem perceives to be predominantly anti-Israeli media coverage worldwide. Although the term appeared in the 1970s, the policy has gained new impetus with the ascent of social media.

Within the semi-official policy, Israeli embassies have turned from bland conduits of diplomatic formalities, to headline-grabbing broadcast stations. For example, ahead of the recent vote on the status of Palestine in the UN, the Israeli embassy in Washington posted a cartoonish video showing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas driving a bus full of radicals. At the end of the video Abbas was faced with a fork in the road, with UN membership leading to a war zone, and the alternative to an idyllic land of peace. The video was widely lambasted as disrespectful in the media.

Meanwhile, the recent conflict with Hamas, showed the two sides releasing dueling statements about war movements, losses and plans on their respective Twitter feeds, sometimes even lobbing insults at each other.

Now, a line appears to have been drawn. In the aftermath of the latest social media imbroglio Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor, who lamented that Facebook is a “very informal channel, which is essentially not diplomatic”, promised that in future instances if “anyone is hurt” by official statements, Israeli staff will remove posts and apologize promptly. 

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Germany: Modern-Day Martyrs - Christians now considered most persecuted religious group in the world

It began with a question -- should Christians here, like Muslims, be allowed to call their god "Allah," since they don't have any other word or language at their disposal? The Muslims claim Allah for themselves, both the word and the god, and fear that if Christians are allowed to use the same word for their own god, it could lead pious Muslims astray.

For three years there was a ban in place and the government confiscated Bibles that mentioned "Allah." Then on Dec. 31 last year, Malaysia's highest court reached a decision: The Christian God could also be called Allah.

Imams protested and disgruntled citizens threw Molotov cocktails at churches. Then, on top of everything, Prime Minister Najib Razak stated that he couldn't stop people who might protest against specific developments in the country -- and some took that as an invitation to violent action. First churches burned, then the other side retaliated with pigs' heads placed in front of two mosques. Sixty percent of Malaysians are Muslims and 9 percent Christians, with the rest made up by Hindus, Buddhists, and Sikhs. They managed to live together well, until now.

It's a battle over a single word, but it's also about much more than that. The conflict has to do with the question of what rights the Christian minority in Malaysia is entitled to. Even more than that, it's a question of politics. The ruling United Malays National Organization is losing supporters to Islamist hardliners -- and wants to win them back with religious policies.

Those policies are receiving a receptive welcome. Some of Malaysia's states interpret Sharia, the Islamic system of law and order, particularly strictly. The once liberal country is on the way to giving up freedom of religion -- and what constitutes order is being defined ever more rigidly. If a Muslim woman drinks beer, she can be punished with six cane strokes. Some regions similarly forbid such things as brightly colored lipstick, thick make-up, or shoes with clattering high heels.

Expelled, Abducted and Murdered

Not only in Malaysia, but in many countries through the Muslim world, religion has gained influence over governmental policy in the last two decades. The militant Islamist group Hamas controls the Gaza Strip, while Islamist militias are fighting the governments of Nigeria and the Philippines. Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen have fallen to a large extent into the hands of Islamists. And where Islamists are not yet in power, secular governing parties are trying to outstrip the more religious groups in a rush to the right.

This can be seen in Egypt, Algeria, Sudan, Indonesia to some extent, and also Malaysia. Even though this Islamization often has more to do with politics than with religion, and even though it doesn't necessarily lead to the persecution of Christians, it can still be said that where Islam gains importance, freedoms for members of other faiths shrink.

There are 2.2 billion Christians around the world. The Christian non-governmental organization Open Doors calculates that 100 million of them are being threatened or persecuted. They aren't allowed to build churches, buy Bibles or obtain jobs. That's the more harmless form of discrimination and it affects the majority of these 100 million Christians. The more brutal version sees them blackmailed, robbed, expelled, abducted or even murdered.

Bishop Margot Kässmann, who was head of the Protestant Church in Germany before stepping down on Feb. 24, believes Christians are "the most frequently persecuted religious group globally." Germany's 22 regional churches have proclaimed this coming Sunday to be the first commemoration day for persecuted Christians. Kässmann said she wanted to show solidarity with fellow Christians who "have great difficulty living out their beliefs freely in countries such as Indonesia, India, Iraq or Turkey."

More Rights for Christians?

One of the contradictions of the Islamic world is that the best chances for Christians seem to crop up precisely where a major player actually comes from the political Islam camp. In Turkey it is Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a former Islamist and now the country's prime minister, who has promised Turkey's few remaining Christians more rights. He points to the history of the Ottoman Empire, in which Christians and Jews long had to pay a special tax, but in exchange, were granted freedom of religion and lived as respected fellow citizens.

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