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| Armenian orphans (Turkish Empire, 1915) |
Liberals used to pretend they were better Catholics - other Catholics would fade away as enlightened Christians gradually took their place. Now, via the "National Catholic Reporter", they just try to find ways to directly justify the disappearance of Christians:
On Sept. 22, two suicide bombers rushed worshippers leaving All Saints Church in northwestern Pakistan and set off their devices. They left 85 dead and scores wounded, making this the worst anti-Christian violence in Pakistan since the nation was founded in 1947. The Taliban claimed responsibility.
On hearing this news, most Americans might interpret this act as one of violent religious discrimination, of anti-Christian killing. But my lead guest on "Interfaith Voices" this week says that misinterprets the message.
That guest was Dr. Akbar Ahmed, a native of Pakistan who once administered the frontier area in which the bombing took place. He is also a devout Muslim, an anthropologist, a professor of Islamic studies at American University in Washington, D.C., and an internationally recognized leader in interfaith relations. He is now a U.S. citizen....So I asked him point-blank, "Was this bombing an act of religious discrimination?" Was it religiously motivated? Without hesitation, he said, "No." He pointed to a statement from the Taliban themselves saying it was a response to the United States' frequent and continuing drone attacks in the tribal areas of Pakistan. He said the Pakistani government's protests to the United States have been unable to stop the drones, so the frontier tribes have resorted to their ancient "eye for an eye" response to perceived injustice.
Right... So in order to protest against foreigners, they slaughter and maim their own fellow citizens who are Christians. Instead of challenging this absurd justification immediately, the NCR journalist thought it so compelling that she posted it as an attempt at "interpreting the Pakistan bombing: anti-drone, not anti-Christian".
If it were not the drones, it would be American support for specific countries. Or the Regensburg papal address. Or Russia's anti-terrorist offensive in the Caucasus. Or the French law against veils in public schools. Or offensive cartoons. Or the Swiss ban on the construction of new minarets. Or as revenge for the fall of Granada in 1492 and the loss of Al-Andalus. Or the wounds of British colonialism still all too present in these frontier regions of the former Raj - and this was an Anglican church, therefore these Christians should just disappear already. All very nice interpretive keys for NCR's future articles justifying the genocide of Christians in Muslim-majority nations.
