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The Kitchen Sink
Be Wary of Stories of Persecution in Far Flung Corners of the World
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<blockquote data-quote="JosephZ" data-source="post: 77658392" data-attributes="member: 396496"><p>Thanks. Even if it's not widespread, false reporting of Christian persecution is definitely a problem. It only takes one or two fake stories to make people question everything these organizations are claiming. Unfortunately, this is a problem that goes unnoticed for the most part because so many Christians accept and expect the information they find on Christian websites and from organizations that help persecuted Christians around the world to be true. I never questioned it myself until I started noticing these sites and organizations giving different accounts to incidents that were taking place in the Philippines.</p><p></p><p>I found the examples from Uganda by reading the persecution section of this forum. I took the names of the people and the towns where the alleged persecution took place from the post and was able to find local stories that came out days or weeks before they were being reported by the Christian websites that gave a different account. Apparently some persecution sites find local stories and either twist a few words around or add a few to make them appear as though the victims are killed or injured because of their faith.</p><p></p><p>I was once contacted by the co-founder of a fairly well-known website that claims to bring attention to Christian persecution. He was looking for priests in Mindanao that could give him examples of persecution. Below is a screenshot of a portion of that conversation. I've edited out most of the individual's name and will not name the website he is associated with since this was intended to be a private conversation. Neither I nor any of the priests I know wanted to share our experiences with him, even with his offer of help for the victims.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]346813[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Below is an article that was posted on this "Christian Persecution" website that was written by the individual who contacted me.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]346815[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>While the article doesn't make the claim the fishermen were Christian, since it is a Christian persecution site and it says <em>"Remember, that the Muslims are constantly hunting after and killing Christians. Please help your brethren and donate now.",</em> what else would readers be led to believe?</p><p></p><p>The fishermen in this story were not Christians and the incident had nothing at all to do with religion.</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.philstar.com/nation/2014/01/04/1275102/remains-8-executed-badjao-fishermen-found" target="_blank">Remains of 8 executed Badjao fishermen found</a></p><p></p><p><em>ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - Villagers and authorities recovered the remains of eight fishermen, who were executed by suspected pirates and were missing for 10 days, separately along the seas of the coastal village and island east of this city, according to police and officials.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>The police said the victims were among the 11 local sea gypsies known as Badjao of the Muslim tribe in this southern port city who were executed by pirates on Christmas day.</em></p><p></p><p>It just doesn't make sense to me why these organizations feel like it's necessary to fabricate stores of persecution when there are so many true examples to be found, or why they would feel it's a good idea to even do this. Fake stories of persecution damage the Christian witness. Imagine if a Muslim who is personally familiar with an event that took place in their country were to read one of these fake stories of persecution. Will it make them angry? Make them think that Christians are liars?</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I wouldn't say the conflict in Mindanao is a necessarily a Muslim-Christian issue. The vast majority of Christians and Muslims in Mindanao live peacefully, in harmony with their neighbors, and without fear of each other. Those who do live in fear based on the religion of their neighbors would be few and far between. Unfortunately, the media often decides to focus on that minority.</p><p></p><p>The conflict in Mindanao is a result of deep-rooted injustices that have been carried out against what is today a minority Muslim and indigenous population.</p><p></p><p>Islam predated Christianity by 200 years in the Philippines and arrived in Mindanao in the 14th century. Since that time, there have been many attempts throughout history to convert the Moro people to Christianity, first by Spain as part of the "Spanish Inquisition," followed by the United States' continued policy of "Manifest Destiny" following the Spanish-American War. Up until the involvement of the United States in 1898, the Moros, for the most part, were able to resist attempts at external dominance of Mindanao. The US, and later the independent government of Manila, promoted the settlement of Christians from the northern provinces of the Philippines to the most fertile lands of Mindanao. This in turn displaced the local Moro and other indigenous populations, and by the 1960s, the Moro population had become a minority in their own homeland.</p><p></p><p>The biggest push of Christians from the north occurred in the 1950s and 1960s, and there are countless Moro's alive today who experienced having their lands stolen from them firsthand. Many of these same Moros have also experienced violence and lost loved ones at the hands of colonizers or in the many conflicts that were a result of the colonization of Mindanao. Since 1970, more than 100,000 lives have been lost and many more displaced in Mindanao, with a vast majority of those affected being Muslims.</p><p></p><p>The terrorist groups are simply exploiting past injustices and are motivated more by greed and self interest rather than religious ideology. These groups are often involved in the illegal drug trade, arms smuggling, abductions, and extortion.</p><p></p><p>While Christians are often targeted by these groups, those who suffer the most are Muslims.</p><p></p><p>The situation has improved a lot since a peace agreement between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front was signed in 2014 and the formation of what's known as the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in February 2019, but clashes still take place between the government and terrorist groups that have aligned themselves with ISIS. Here are a few examples over the past couple of weeks:</p><p></p><p><a href="https://english.news.cn/20240429/16fe17881b80462499119b1204a569e1/c.html" target="_blank">5 suspected militants killed in southern Philippine clashes</a></p><p></p><p><a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/philippine-troops-kill-12-suspected-muslim-rebels-clash-109513255" target="_blank">Philippine troops kill 12 suspected Muslim rebels in clash that wounded 7 soldiers</a></p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.manilatimes.net/2024/04/27/news/abu-sayyaf-militant-linked-to-15-beheadings-killed-in-basilan-clash/1943535" target="_blank">Abu Sayyaf militant linked to 15 beheadings, killed in Basilan clash</a></p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.sunstar.com.ph/zamboanga/3-dawlah-islamiya-terrorists-killed-in-lanao-clash" target="_blank">3 Dawlah Islamiya terrorists killed in Lanao clash</a></p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.bworldonline.com/the-nation/2024/04/15/588306/terrorists-kill-4-milfs-in-maguindanao-del-sur-ambush/?amp" target="_blank">Terrorists kill 4 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Maguindanao del Sur ambush</a></p><p></p><p>There are also occasional terrorist attacks that target civilians, but they have decreased significantly over the past few years. I'm not sure if you're familiar with the Marawi Siege, which took place in 2017. This was a conflict that involved terrorist groups aligned with ISIS taking over the city of Marawi, a city with a population of more than 200,000, 96% of which are Muslims. While Marawi is predominantly Muslim, there were Christians that lived and worked there that were directly targeted during the attack.</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.refworld.org/reference/countryrep/amnesty/2017/en/119159" target="_blank">'The Battle of Marawi' - Death and Destruction in the Philippines</a></p><p></p><p><em>Militants often executed Christians at de facto checkpoints, which the Christians were approaching in order to exit the city. Militants usually performed the killings with a pistol, a rifle, or by cutting the victim’s throat. Journalists have reported cases where civilians were beheaded. Most victims were shot and killed immediately after being questioned by the militants. Most victims were shot and killed while standing or kneeling on the ground; some were shot and killed while running away.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Many Muslim residents helped Christians to evacuate by escorting them out of the city in their vehicles, disguising them in traditional Muslim clothing, or persuading militants that the Christians were Muslim.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Adam, in his forties, was in the parking lot of the Amai Pakpak Medical Hospital when he saw militants hijack the hospital’s ambulance and execute the driver. “I saw them stop the ambulance,” he said. “They asked [the driver] to say the Shahada, but the driver was not able to answer so they shot him. ... Then they came to me and asked me to recite the Shahada [and I did], and they let me live.”</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Hassan, a driver and shop-owner in his thirties, witnessed militants kill six people by cutting their throats. He did not know the victims, but he was told that they were Christian carpenters. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>John, a Christian construction worker in his thirties, from Iligan City, was working on a house in Marawi, in the neighbourhood of Basak Malutlut. From the balcony where he was standing, John noticed armed men, dressed all in black, approach his colleague. The armed men asked if he was Muslim or Christian and he answered Christian. Immediately afterwards, one of the men shot him with a rifle and killed him. “He shot him in the head. He was shot suddenly,”</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Hafiz, a Muslim religious leader and merchant from Marawi, was standing in the plaza in Banggolo, in a large chaotic line of people and cars trying to evacuate from the city, when militants shot and killed an unarmed civilian. Hafiz told Amnesty International that the man was shot because he could not recite the Shahada. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Ameera, in her forties, was attempting to evacuate from Marawi City with a group of about 20 people when militants shot one member of their group. Ameera told Amnesty International that a militant approached the group and singled out a man in his twenties and asked him if he was Maranao. The man responded that he was a Balik Islam – a convert to Islam. The militant asked the man to recite the Shahada, and the man was unable to say it. The militant then asked him to bow down and then shot the man with his pistol twice in the head and killed him. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Aden, in his twenties with four children, witnessed militants summarily execute eight civilians because they were Christian. “I have a friend who owns a bake shop. He said please come with me to save these Christians... [We all got in a car and started driving to Iligan] ... when we got to [neighbourhood] Emie, the ISIS stopped the car and made the Christians line up... and shot them. I saw it. They killed them one by one... Before getting out of the car they were asked by the ISIS [fighters] to say Takbeer [Allahu Akbar], and the Christians could not recite it..." All the men were forced to crouch down with their hands on their head, and then they were shot in the head. All eight were killed by the same fighter, who was using an Armalite rifle.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Some Christian workers elected not to risk attempting to evacuate during the first few days of the siege. They decided to remain hidden – ‘trapped’ – in houses and buildings in Marawi rather than risk being killed or captured by militants. Many of these trapped Christians were ultimately able to escape; however, others were killed by militants while attempting to flee. </em></p><p></p><p>After five months of fierce fighting, the government was finally able to regain control of the city; unfortunately, much of it was destroyed during this time, and much of the city is still in ruins to this day, with more than 80,000 people remaining displaced. The government's failure to rebuild the city and address the needs of those who are still displaced continues to fuel terrorist recruitment and activities in the region. One example of this would be an attack that took place during a Catholic Mass in December:</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.rappler.com/nation/mindanao/marawi-explosion-updates-december-3-2023/" target="_blank">At least 4 dead, 45 hurt in explosion during Mass in Marawi</a></p><p></p><h3></h3></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="JosephZ, post: 77658392, member: 396496"] Thanks. Even if it's not widespread, false reporting of Christian persecution is definitely a problem. It only takes one or two fake stories to make people question everything these organizations are claiming. Unfortunately, this is a problem that goes unnoticed for the most part because so many Christians accept and expect the information they find on Christian websites and from organizations that help persecuted Christians around the world to be true. I never questioned it myself until I started noticing these sites and organizations giving different accounts to incidents that were taking place in the Philippines. I found the examples from Uganda by reading the persecution section of this forum. I took the names of the people and the towns where the alleged persecution took place from the post and was able to find local stories that came out days or weeks before they were being reported by the Christian websites that gave a different account. Apparently some persecution sites find local stories and either twist a few words around or add a few to make them appear as though the victims are killed or injured because of their faith. I was once contacted by the co-founder of a fairly well-known website that claims to bring attention to Christian persecution. He was looking for priests in Mindanao that could give him examples of persecution. Below is a screenshot of a portion of that conversation. I've edited out most of the individual's name and will not name the website he is associated with since this was intended to be a private conversation. Neither I nor any of the priests I know wanted to share our experiences with him, even with his offer of help for the victims. [ATTACH type="full" alt="edited response.jpg"]346813[/ATTACH] Below is an article that was posted on this "Christian Persecution" website that was written by the individual who contacted me. [ATTACH type="full" alt="edited response2.png"]346815[/ATTACH] While the article doesn't make the claim the fishermen were Christian, since it is a Christian persecution site and it says [I]"Remember, that the Muslims are constantly hunting after and killing Christians. Please help your brethren and donate now.",[/I] what else would readers be led to believe? The fishermen in this story were not Christians and the incident had nothing at all to do with religion. [URL='https://www.philstar.com/nation/2014/01/04/1275102/remains-8-executed-badjao-fishermen-found']Remains of 8 executed Badjao fishermen found[/URL] [I]ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - Villagers and authorities recovered the remains of eight fishermen, who were executed by suspected pirates and were missing for 10 days, separately along the seas of the coastal village and island east of this city, according to police and officials. The police said the victims were among the 11 local sea gypsies known as Badjao of the Muslim tribe in this southern port city who were executed by pirates on Christmas day.[/I] It just doesn't make sense to me why these organizations feel like it's necessary to fabricate stores of persecution when there are so many true examples to be found, or why they would feel it's a good idea to even do this. Fake stories of persecution damage the Christian witness. Imagine if a Muslim who is personally familiar with an event that took place in their country were to read one of these fake stories of persecution. Will it make them angry? Make them think that Christians are liars? I wouldn't say the conflict in Mindanao is a necessarily a Muslim-Christian issue. The vast majority of Christians and Muslims in Mindanao live peacefully, in harmony with their neighbors, and without fear of each other. Those who do live in fear based on the religion of their neighbors would be few and far between. Unfortunately, the media often decides to focus on that minority. The conflict in Mindanao is a result of deep-rooted injustices that have been carried out against what is today a minority Muslim and indigenous population. Islam predated Christianity by 200 years in the Philippines and arrived in Mindanao in the 14th century. Since that time, there have been many attempts throughout history to convert the Moro people to Christianity, first by Spain as part of the "Spanish Inquisition," followed by the United States' continued policy of "Manifest Destiny" following the Spanish-American War. Up until the involvement of the United States in 1898, the Moros, for the most part, were able to resist attempts at external dominance of Mindanao. The US, and later the independent government of Manila, promoted the settlement of Christians from the northern provinces of the Philippines to the most fertile lands of Mindanao. This in turn displaced the local Moro and other indigenous populations, and by the 1960s, the Moro population had become a minority in their own homeland. The biggest push of Christians from the north occurred in the 1950s and 1960s, and there are countless Moro's alive today who experienced having their lands stolen from them firsthand. Many of these same Moros have also experienced violence and lost loved ones at the hands of colonizers or in the many conflicts that were a result of the colonization of Mindanao. Since 1970, more than 100,000 lives have been lost and many more displaced in Mindanao, with a vast majority of those affected being Muslims. The terrorist groups are simply exploiting past injustices and are motivated more by greed and self interest rather than religious ideology. These groups are often involved in the illegal drug trade, arms smuggling, abductions, and extortion. While Christians are often targeted by these groups, those who suffer the most are Muslims. The situation has improved a lot since a peace agreement between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front was signed in 2014 and the formation of what's known as the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in February 2019, but clashes still take place between the government and terrorist groups that have aligned themselves with ISIS. Here are a few examples over the past couple of weeks: [URL='https://english.news.cn/20240429/16fe17881b80462499119b1204a569e1/c.html']5 suspected militants killed in southern Philippine clashes[/URL] [URL='https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/philippine-troops-kill-12-suspected-muslim-rebels-clash-109513255']Philippine troops kill 12 suspected Muslim rebels in clash that wounded 7 soldiers[/URL] [URL='https://www.manilatimes.net/2024/04/27/news/abu-sayyaf-militant-linked-to-15-beheadings-killed-in-basilan-clash/1943535']Abu Sayyaf militant linked to 15 beheadings, killed in Basilan clash[/URL] [URL='https://www.sunstar.com.ph/zamboanga/3-dawlah-islamiya-terrorists-killed-in-lanao-clash']3 Dawlah Islamiya terrorists killed in Lanao clash[/URL] [URL='https://www.bworldonline.com/the-nation/2024/04/15/588306/terrorists-kill-4-milfs-in-maguindanao-del-sur-ambush/?amp']Terrorists kill 4 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Maguindanao del Sur ambush[/URL] There are also occasional terrorist attacks that target civilians, but they have decreased significantly over the past few years. I'm not sure if you're familiar with the Marawi Siege, which took place in 2017. This was a conflict that involved terrorist groups aligned with ISIS taking over the city of Marawi, a city with a population of more than 200,000, 96% of which are Muslims. While Marawi is predominantly Muslim, there were Christians that lived and worked there that were directly targeted during the attack. [URL='https://www.refworld.org/reference/countryrep/amnesty/2017/en/119159']'The Battle of Marawi' - Death and Destruction in the Philippines[/URL] [I]Militants often executed Christians at de facto checkpoints, which the Christians were approaching in order to exit the city. Militants usually performed the killings with a pistol, a rifle, or by cutting the victim’s throat. Journalists have reported cases where civilians were beheaded. Most victims were shot and killed immediately after being questioned by the militants. Most victims were shot and killed while standing or kneeling on the ground; some were shot and killed while running away. Many Muslim residents helped Christians to evacuate by escorting them out of the city in their vehicles, disguising them in traditional Muslim clothing, or persuading militants that the Christians were Muslim. Adam, in his forties, was in the parking lot of the Amai Pakpak Medical Hospital when he saw militants hijack the hospital’s ambulance and execute the driver. “I saw them stop the ambulance,” he said. “They asked [the driver] to say the Shahada, but the driver was not able to answer so they shot him. ... Then they came to me and asked me to recite the Shahada [and I did], and they let me live.” Hassan, a driver and shop-owner in his thirties, witnessed militants kill six people by cutting their throats. He did not know the victims, but he was told that they were Christian carpenters. John, a Christian construction worker in his thirties, from Iligan City, was working on a house in Marawi, in the neighbourhood of Basak Malutlut. From the balcony where he was standing, John noticed armed men, dressed all in black, approach his colleague. The armed men asked if he was Muslim or Christian and he answered Christian. Immediately afterwards, one of the men shot him with a rifle and killed him. “He shot him in the head. He was shot suddenly,” Hafiz, a Muslim religious leader and merchant from Marawi, was standing in the plaza in Banggolo, in a large chaotic line of people and cars trying to evacuate from the city, when militants shot and killed an unarmed civilian. Hafiz told Amnesty International that the man was shot because he could not recite the Shahada. Ameera, in her forties, was attempting to evacuate from Marawi City with a group of about 20 people when militants shot one member of their group. Ameera told Amnesty International that a militant approached the group and singled out a man in his twenties and asked him if he was Maranao. The man responded that he was a Balik Islam – a convert to Islam. The militant asked the man to recite the Shahada, and the man was unable to say it. The militant then asked him to bow down and then shot the man with his pistol twice in the head and killed him. Aden, in his twenties with four children, witnessed militants summarily execute eight civilians because they were Christian. “I have a friend who owns a bake shop. He said please come with me to save these Christians... [We all got in a car and started driving to Iligan] ... when we got to [neighbourhood] Emie, the ISIS stopped the car and made the Christians line up... and shot them. I saw it. They killed them one by one... Before getting out of the car they were asked by the ISIS [fighters] to say Takbeer [Allahu Akbar], and the Christians could not recite it..." All the men were forced to crouch down with their hands on their head, and then they were shot in the head. All eight were killed by the same fighter, who was using an Armalite rifle. Some Christian workers elected not to risk attempting to evacuate during the first few days of the siege. They decided to remain hidden – ‘trapped’ – in houses and buildings in Marawi rather than risk being killed or captured by militants. Many of these trapped Christians were ultimately able to escape; however, others were killed by militants while attempting to flee. [/I] After five months of fierce fighting, the government was finally able to regain control of the city; unfortunately, much of it was destroyed during this time, and much of the city is still in ruins to this day, with more than 80,000 people remaining displaced. The government's failure to rebuild the city and address the needs of those who are still displaced continues to fuel terrorist recruitment and activities in the region. One example of this would be an attack that took place during a Catholic Mass in December: [URL='https://www.rappler.com/nation/mindanao/marawi-explosion-updates-december-3-2023/']At least 4 dead, 45 hurt in explosion during Mass in Marawi[/URL] [HEADING=2][/HEADING] [/QUOTE]
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