Syria’s Christian city of Ma'loula fallen to rebels.Christians beheaded.One of world's oldest churches sacked and burned.
Their incursion into the town, led by extremist Islamists, reinforces the worst
fears of Syrian Christians and could bolster President Bashar al-Assad’s claims that he is the Christians’ protector....
Most of the town’s residents have fled, and Maaloula, one of the last places where Aramaic, the language of Jesus, is still spoken by Christians and some Muslims, has become a one-word argument against Western support for the rebels — at the worst possible time for Mr. Obama and the opponents of Mr. Assad.
Syrian-Americans lobbying against the proposed American missile strike flooded Congressional message boards with appeals for Maaloula. A common refrain was that Mr. Obama was throwing Syria’s Christians “to the lions.”
It was a powerful accusation in a region where a decade of unrest and rising sectarianism, from Iraq to Egypt, has threatened and displaced large sectors of the Middle East’s Christians, a population that had already shrunk significantly through emigration over the past century....
But the encounter with the rebels had done little to reassure the nuns that in the long run Syria’s Christians would retain the peaceful existence they had long enjoyed.
“If Maaloula survives, it will be a miracle,” Mother Sayaf said. “Maaloula is empty. You see ghosts on the walls.”
...More than 450,000 Christians have fled their homes, church leaders say, during more than two years of war.
On the battlefield ... sectarian killings and references to non-Muslims as infidels further intimidate Christians. In Maaloula, according to fighters, the rebel attack was led by members of the Nusra Front, a group with ties to Al Qaeda in Iraq, even after local fighters affiliated with the Western-backed Free Syrian Army tried and failed to dissuade them.
Last week, as the battle began, opponents of American military action in Syria circulated a recent video of a Syrian Christian woman accosting Senator John McCain, a proponent of military action, accusing him of abandoning Christians. “I could trace my family’s name to the Bible,” she said. “We refuse to be forced to leave.”
The nuns huddled in monastery rooms tunneled under the cliffs. About 25 fighters entered, including some who appeared to be Saudi, Mother Sayaf said, and one who did not understand Arabic. But one fighter, a local worker, gave his phone number and told the nuns to call if they needed help.
A rebel video shows Mother Sayaf flinching at the crash of shells but otherwise calm — at one point answering the phone, “We’re in a meeting,” and saying all is well. That statement angered some residents who fled to Bab Touma, a Christian enclave in the old city of Damascus, said Abu Tony, a leader of a neighborhood militia there. He said three residents were taken hostage and others were told, “Convert to Islam and you’ll be safe.” ...
keep reading the NY Times article HERE-------------------------- The solution: conversion. Muslims coming to the Prince of Peace - Jesus. See my book for the reasons Killing Christ HERE
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