Apartheid in the Middle East
THE MIDDLE EAST'S REAL APARTHEID
By Efraim Karsh
"Israel Apartheid Week his
cities and campuses throughout the world. This charge, of course, is not
only completely false, but the inverse of the truth. If apartheid is
indeed a crime against humanity, Israel is actually the only apartheid-free
state in the Middle East. By contrast, apartheid has been an integral
part of the Middle East for over a millennium, and the Arab Muslim nations
continue to legally, politically, and socially enforce this discriminatory
practice against their hapless minorities.
Religious Intolerance: Muslims
historically viewed themselves as distinct from, and superior to, all
non-Muslims. Non-Muslims, known in history as "Dhimmis," never
enjoyed equal rights under Islam. Even non-ruling Muslim factions have
been historically oppressed by their dominant co-religionists
Ethnic inequality: This legacy of intolerance extends beyond the religious sphere. As longtime imperial masters, Arabs, Turks and Iranians treat long-converted populations, notably Kurds and Berbers, as inferior.
Racism: The Middle East has become the foremost purveyor of anti-Semitic incitement in the world. Likewise, Africans of sub-Saharan descent are held in deep contempt, a vestige of the region's historic role as epicenter of the international slave trade.
Gender
discrimination: Legal and
social discrimination against women is pervasive throughout the Arab-Islamic
world. Discrimination against homosexuals is even worse.
Denial of
citizenship: The withholding
of citizenship and attendant rights from a large segment of the native-born
population is common. Palestinian communities in the Arab states offer the
starkest example of this discrimination.
Slavery: The Arabic-speaking countries remain the
world's foremost refuge of slavery, from child and sex trafficking in Saudi
Arabia and the Gulf states to actual chattel slavery in Sudan and Mauritania.
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Why do you disguise a Christian missionary site as though it id pro-Israel?
ReplyDeleteThis site isn't simply about addressing faith based issues. I did post some blogs about the issue of Christianity such as the persecution of Christians in Middle East nations. I also addressed theological differences between Christianity and Islam and the shortcomings of other views such as relativism. This site is about understanding the Christian faith, but it is also about human rights.
DeleteWith all due respect, this site offends my religious sensibilities. One can fight discrimination without actively promoting one's own religion.
ReplyDeleteDialoging about faith is not a huge deal. You have the right to believe what you please, I’m simply approaching faith-based issues from a scholarly perspective. I examine faiths with a critical eye, same as I do with history and human rights issues.
Deletehttps://www.facebook.com/jewsforjudaismcanada/photos/a.133263693380471.11973.122228941150613/2207896642583822/?type=3
ReplyDeleteNobody offends me when they question Christian teachings. I used to be an agnostic, I asked questions about it for years.
DeleteYou just don't get it. The very statement that "Jesus is Lord" is offensive to people who have been persecuted in the name of that "lord" for 2000 years. Not to mention the theological aspects that offend our religious sensibilities.
ReplyDeleteMy friend, if you are offended by the faith based posts, don't read them. Focus on the Human Rights ones. My primary focus was to bring awareness to the persecuted people in the Middle East and to expose the danger that Jihad poses to all people. Believe me, I do get it. I have a degree in Holocaust studies. I know all too well the terrible things that people who professed to be Christians have done. How many times have Christians put each other to the sword? It's the main reason I abandoned Christianity over 18 years ago. However, I learned that I could not judge a faith based on what people who professed to follow it have done over the centuries, I had to judge a faith by what it teaches. If my name offends you that much, I will change it, but please don't ignore the human rights posts simply because you don't agree with my faith.
DeleteApparently you call yourself Bridge of Grace Mission, but you want us to believe that you are not a missionary.
ReplyDeleteYou call yourself "Jesus is Lord," but you want us to think that this site is simply an academic site for comparative religion.
I may not be the smartest person in the world, but I am not stupid.
I never even implied that you are stupid. I had to add in "Mission" because the blogger site wouldn't just let me use Bridge of Grace. Yes, I've done missionary work. Yes, I do make posts about faith issues, but I am also a humanitarian and I concern myself with the sufferings of all people. When I visited people living in dire poverty in Pakistani brick kilns, I gave aid to all the people I met there, regardless of their faith. I approached the faiths as an academic over the years because I am an academic. I have dozens of books about various faiths. I support Israel's right to exist in peace. I believe they have legitimate claims to Judea and Samaria. I oppose terrorism and believe in fighting against the lies spread by BDS and others who seek to smear Israel. Let's just leave the faith out of it and focus on the Israel and human rights portions of the blog.
DeleteChristian Evangelicals are among the best friends of Israel. But they do not label themselves as "Jesus is ..." Nor do they engage in missionary work of any type.
ReplyDeleteOne wishes that you were one of them.
This is the sort of statement I would expect from you:
ReplyDelete'In a heartfelt speech before some 180 Jewish and Christian attendees of the first-ever Jerusalem Day joint Jewish-Christian Bible study at the Knesset, former Congresswoman and presidential candidate Michele Bachmann asked for “repentance from the Jewish people for the horrible and arrogant way Christians – myself included – treated and regarded the Jewish people.”
'Bachmann made her statements at the Knesset event, which was co-sponsored by the Knesset Caucus for the Encouragement of Bible Study, the Schindler Society and Israel365’s Yeshiva for the Nations. This was the third such Bible study and the first one to take place on Jerusalem Day.
'Bachmann was responding to statements she made in 2015 in which she urged Jews to convert to Christianity to help usher in the End of Days.
'“I ask for forgiveness from the Jewish people for what it is that we have done,” said Bachmann. “I apologize profoundly and ask forgiveness from the Almighty God that these statements brought pain.”
'She said that as she continues to read the Bible, she realizes it is all about Israel and “Hashem,” the Hebrew term for God. Bachmann explained that in the 70 years since the founding of the State of Israel, “He is truly changing the world and He is changing my heart.”
'MK Rabbi Yehudah Glick, Rabbi Oriel Einhorn, spiritual leader of the Kfar Shmaryahu community, and Dr. Shani Taragin each offered Jewish teachings that centered on Jerusalem in honor of Jerusalem Day. Both Glick and Einhorn focused on the May 14 move of the United States embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, as part of prophecy fulfilled.'
If by missionary work do I try to convince the Jewish people to follow Jesus, no I don't do that. I only discuss matters of the faith with those who are comfortable doing so. If by missionary work that I engaged in humanitarian activities such as going overseas to see the poverty and persecution that people are facing and that I want to bring awareness and aid to them, then yes, I do that, but I work to fight poverty in my own nation as well. I have always felt deep shame for what those who professed to have been Christian have done to the Jewish people for far too long, and I beg God to forgive us for what we have done. I have dedicated much of my life to fighting anti-Anti-semitism, and I will continue to do so.
Delete