Crucified Again: Exposing Islam's New War on Christians by Raymond Ibrahim Read Free Book Online Page A

world”—Muslims are regularly confronted with vestiges of Christianity. In Egypt alone, which was a major intellectual center of early Christianity before the Islamic invasions, there may be some sixteen million Coptic Christians according to the baptismal registries of the Coptic Church. 27 In short, because of their sheer numbers alone, Christians in the Muslim world are much more likely than others to clash with Islam’s three anti-freedom laws.
    2. Christianity is a proselytizing faith that seeks to win over converts . No other major religion—not Buddhism, Hinduism, or Judaism—has this missionary aspect. These other faiths tend to be coextensive with certain ethnicities. The only other major faith that has as strong a missionary component as Christianity is Islam itself—the one religion that Muslims obviously cannot “apostatize” to. Most Muslims who apostatize to other religions apostatize to Christianity, and hence suffer persecution as Christians. Because Christianity is the only religion that is actively confronting Muslims with the truths of its own message, it is the primary religion to be accused of proselytizing. And by publicly uttering teachings that contradict Muhammad’s, Christians fall afoul of the blasphemy law as well.
    3. Christianity is the quintessential religion of martyrdom . From its inception—beginning with Jesus, and followed by his disciples and countless others in the early church—many Christians have accepted martyrdom rather than betray their faith, in ancient times at the hands of pagan Romans, and in medieval and modern times at the hands of pious Muslims and other persecutors. Few other religions encourage their adherents to embrace death rather than recant their faith, as Christ himself did: “But whoever denies me before men, I will deny him before my Father in heaven” (Matthew 10:33; see also Luke 14:33). As was mentioned above, Islam teaches Muslims to dissemble or publicly renounce their faith—not just when their lives are threatened, but even as a stratagem of war. Moreover, other religions and sects approve of dissimulation to preserve their adherents’ lives. A nineteenth-century missionary observed that in Iran, “Bahaism enjoys taqiyya [concealment of faith] as a duty, but Christianity demands public profession; and hence in Persia it is far easier to become a Bahai than to become a Christian.” 28
    To summarize, because of their large numbers around the globe, including in the Muslim world, Christians are most likely to clash with Islam’s anti-freedom laws. Because sharing the Gospel, or “witnessing,” is a dominant element of Christianity, Christians are most likely to fall afoul of Islam’s blasphemy and proselytism laws, as even the barest pro-Christian talk is by necessity a challenge to the legitimacy of Islam, and thus blasphemy. Because boldness in the face of certain death—martyrdom, dying for the faith—is as old as Christianity itself and integral to it, Christians are especially prone to defy Islam’s anti-freedom laws, whether by openly proclaiming Christianity or by refusing to recant it. Apostates to Christianity are much more obvious in their apostasy—owning Bibles, going to church—than lapsed Muslims who do nothing to arouse suspicion (not going to mosque or reading the Koran is not proof that a Muslim has apostatized). Enthusiastic Christians sharing the Gospel are not just breaking Islam’s proselytism laws, but are much more likely to transgress laws against blasphemy as well by challenging the truths of Islam.
    Plus, there is one other exacerbating factor. More than any other religion, Christianity is Islam’s historical enemy. Converting to Christianity is seen as something of a double betrayal. Not only is the convert an apostate from Islam—which, as we have seen, can be overlooked as long as the apostate keeps his apostasy to himself, as apostates often do—but the open convert is publicly declaring that he has