In this mailing: Raymond Ibrahim: "Nowhere to Turn for Safety": The Persecution of Christians, February 2021 Amir Taheri: The Game that Left Iran in Historic Impasse "Nowhere to Turn for Safety": The Persecution of Christians, February 2021 by Raymond Ibrahim  •  March 14, 2021 at 5:00 am       "[W]hat is happening in eastern DRC, the killing of innocent civilians on an almost daily basis, is an underreported tragedy." — Illia Djadi, human rights activist acquainted with the region, Persecution, International Christian Concern, February 16, 2021 — Democratic Republic of the Congo A Muslim colonel stole weapons from an armory and then blamed the 12 soldiers on duty for the theft. Six of those 12 soldiers—all Christians—were then executed on January 25. — The Christian Post, February 4, 2021 — Nigeria "It's not only about these six soldiers.... Nigeria is becoming like Somalia and Rwanda. That was exactly how it started, with the government taking sides and backing the members of a particular ethnic group. That's the situation. Even in the security forces, Christians are being targeted." — Emeka Umeagbalasi, a lawyer, The Christian Post, February 4, 2021 — Nigeria "Many Nigerians now believe the Army fights for Islam, not Nigeria.... The Army's lack of action to protect Christians comes directly from its leaders in government... When troops go into areas controlled by radical Islamists to defend Nigerian Christians, the government orders them to retreat. Then, Islamist rebels shoot them in the back." — The Christian Post, February 4, 2021 — Nigeria Four converts to Christianity, arrested on the charge of "acting against national security by forming a house Church," were sentenced to a combined total of 35 years in prison.... Apparently thinking his sentencing too lenient, the [judge] further informed the Christian prisoners... that "your actions are worthy of death." — Uganda Christian News, February 3, 2021 — Iran During the court hearing, testimony was offered that "In Syria there was a practice whereby if they kill an apostate, they are assured passage to Heaven in the afterlife".... The accused were granted bail. — Malta Today, February 12, 2021 — Malta Although all mosques in Algeria were given permission to reopen on February 15, churches were denied the same permission. Pictured: The Basilica of Notre-Dame-d'Afrique in Algiers. (Image source: Damien Boilley/Flickr/Wikimedia Commons) Sexual Assaults on and Forced Conversion of Christian Women Bangladesh: Two Muslims brutally raped a married Christian mother. On the evening of February 5, the 43-year-old woman was at home alone (her husband worked nights and her son was studying at a distant school). Two men broke in and attacked her. According to the woman: "With their faces covered, they looked like thieves, but instead they wanted sex and started beating me up. As I tried to disentangle myself, I recognised Mohammed Alam's face [a neighbor]. They kept beating me; I was scared and helpless. I asked for some water and they gave me a glass mixed with a sleeping pill that made me unconscious for three days." Continue Reading Article The Game that Left Iran in Historic Impasse by Amir Taheri  •  March 14, 2021 at 4:00 am       This is why many, even among the critics of the regime, insist that showing any interest in this year's presidential election, slated for June, is not only a waste of time but active participation in a massive political deception. Today the pro-US faction, also backed by Britain, still hopes to revive the scenario by fielding a candidate in June. But that would require a much bigger effort by President Joe Biden to inject massive cash into Iran's morbid economy, grant major diplomatic concessions to the "New York Boys" and contribute to creating a feel-good atmosphere. Even then, the scenario may not work. Khamenei... could propel one of his minions in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, his main support base, into the presidential slot and pave the way for one of his sons to emerge as the next "Supreme Guide". Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's presidency ends like the scene of a car crash. With the official inflation rate at over 50 percent, unemployment hovering over 25 percent and over 40 percent of Iranians pushed under the official poverty line, talk of "hope" seems indecent to say the least. Pictured: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. (Photo by Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images) "Not worth a bucketful of spit!" This is how US President Harry Truman described the vice-presidency when he himself filled that slot under President Roosevelt. Today, some commentators believe that he colorful description could be applied to the position of the president in Iran. This is why many, even among the critics of the regime, insist that showing any interest in this year's presidential election, slated for June, is not only a waste of time but active participation in a massive political deception. How relevant are such analyses? To be sure, the system put in place by the late Ayatollah Ruhallah Khomeini and his group could be anything but republican. In fact, what we have in Iran today is a form of "Imamate" of the kind existed in North Yemen under the Hamidi imams. During the 1978-79 revolts against Iran's constitutional monarchy, neither Khomeini nor any of his closest associates spoke of a republican system. Continue Reading Article