(Israel Hayom) Prof. Eyal Zisser - Seventy years after the end of Jewish life in Iraq and Syria due to persecutions and expulsions, the continued existence of Christianity in those countries is threatened by radical Islamist groups. Islamic State engaged in the systematic destruction of churches in the territories it held, but churches are attacked and often burned in other Arab and Muslim countries. The extremists also don't spare mosques of Muslims that don't share their radical views and have targeted them in hundreds of attacks within the framework of their jihad. European governments have failed to stand in defense of Christian communities in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, to avoid being perceived as enemies of Islam. Jihad, however, made its way to European shores a while ago. In recent years, in France alone, hundreds of churches have been attacked by extremists, the majority of them Muslim. Europe still believes that burying its head in the sand is the best way to cope with the challenge posed by radical Islam, but denying the existence of a problem doesn't solve it. The writer is a lecturer in the Middle East History Department at Tel Aviv University.
2019-04-30 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive