Saturday, January 8, 2011

Sarkozy Deplores Attack Against Egypt Church

French President Nicolas Sarkozy delivers his New Year address to religious representatives at the Elysee Palace in Paris, 07 Jan 2011 
French President Nicolas Sarkozy delivers his New Year address to religious representatives at the Elysee Palace in Paris, 07 Jan 2011

French President Nicolas Sarkozy made his annual New Year's address to religious leaders on Friday. In it, he described recent violence against Christians as a “perverse plan of religious cleansing in the Middle East”.

He said religious and cultural diversity cannot disappear from the region.

A series of violent attacks have hit Christians living in Egypt and Iraq in recent months.

In Iraq last October dozens of people were killed during a siege of a Christian church in Baghdad - that was followed by more attacks in December.
Egyptian firemen try to put out a fire on a vehicle following a car bombing in front of a Coptic Christian church in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, 01 Jan 2011 
Egyptian firemen try to put out a fire on a vehicle following a car bombing in front of a Coptic Christian church in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, 01 Jan 2011

And in Egypt on New Year’s Day a bomb planted outside a church killed more than 20 people. It was the deadliest attack against Christians in Egypt for decades.
'Decisive shift'

Erica Hunter, a Lecturer in Eastern Christianity at Britain’s School of Oriental and African Studies,says attacks against Christians in the Middle East have taken a decisive shift in recent months.

"What is new in Iraq and in Egypt is the actual targeting of Christians in churches. Previously there had been many kidnappings, difficulties, murders but we have not seen until October the 31 where worshipers are actually attacked within the churches," Hunter said.

The aim, she says, is to destroy morale within the Christian community. Coptic Christians in Egypt mark Christmas Day on January 7 - later than most Christians around the world.

But rather than celebrating on Friday, says Hunter, Christians were mourning the loss of those killed.

Hunter says the increase in violence stems from fundamentalist groups.

"There does seem to be an escalation in activities by such groups as Al Qaeda and I'm sure they are not the only group," she said. "There does seem to have been a shifting attitude from within the fundamentalist Islamic terrorist groups. "

Religious persecution
Fiona McCallum from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, is a specialist on the political role of Christian communities in the Middle East.

She says attacks against Christians do not reflect widespread attitudes in the Middle East. She says to describe the violence, as Mr. Sarkozy has done, as a plan of “religious cleansing” suggests a broad-based persecution that does not exist.

"I think the word persecution has connotations which are perhaps wider than we would want to say at the moment," said McCallum. "Persecution suggests that it is being supported by states, which I would say is not the case in the Middle East at the moment. The acts that can be seen as providing persecution are more linked to particular groups which are not supported by the wider community."

But she says attacks are likely to force many Christians to leave their home country.
This 55-year-old Christian found refuge at a family member's home in the Kurdistan region after fleeing Baghdad following the attacks on the Church of Our Lady Of Salvation.
This 55-year-old Christian found refuge at a family member's home in the Kurdistan region after fleeing Baghdad following the attacks on the Church of Our Lady Of Salvation.
McCallum says in Iraq Christians have already been fleeing the country for many years. The Christian population which once stood at 1.5 million people is now estimated at less than 850,000. She says Christians in Egypt could go the same way.

"It's important to also note that emigration takes place from the region from both Christians and Muslims as well. However, I do think these attacks leave the Christians in the entire region feeling a lot more vulnerable that they are being targeted solely because of their religious identity," McCallum said.

Last month the United Nations said around 6,000 people had fled to Iraq’s Northern Kurdish region or to other countries in the region since the attack in Baghdad in October.

Tendulkar, Kallis share top spot

Sachin Tendulkar and Jacques Kallis - who were the respective batting stars for their teams in the recently concluded India-South Africa Tests - now jointly hold the top position in the list of Test batsmen after their superb show in the top of the table clash.

Tendulkar, who scored 146 and 14 not out in the final Test at Cape Town gained one place, while Kallis was rewarded with a jump of four places for his brilliant efforts of 161 and 109 not out. Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara dropped two places to be third in the rankings.

Tendulkar and Kallis now sit on 883 ratings points, just one ahead of Sangakkara.

Tendulkar, who won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Cricketer of the Year Award 2010 at the LG ICC Awards in Bengaluru in October last year, last claimed the number-one spot on 14 October 2010 after his magnificent 214 and 53 not out against Australia also in Bengaluru.

It is the 10th time that Tendulkar has claimed the No. 1 ranking which he first achieved in his 33rd Test in November 1994 against the West Indies in Mumbai.

Kallis last surged to the top of the batting table in October 2005 after the Sydney Test against Australia while he first topped the chart after the Newlands Test against England in January 2005. He earned 77 ratings points from the series against India in which he scored 498 runs.

Also charging up the batting table are left-handed openers Alastair Cook of England and Gautam Gambhir of India. Cook, who scored a match-winning 189 in Sydney, has vaulted eight places to fifth spot. Cook had entered the Ashes in 30th position on 628 ratings point and ended the series with a career-best rating of 803 - thanks to his series aggregate of 766 runs which earned him the man of the series award.

Gambhir has broken into the top 20 and he now sits in 15th position after his scores of 93 and 64 have helped him jump seven places in the latest rankings which were released on Friday.

The bowlers rankings continued to be led by South Africa's Dale Steyn, who had 899 points after the India series. Bowlers making upward movements included James Anderson in third (up by one place), Ishant Sharma in 15th (up by one place), S.Sreesanth in 22nd (up by four places), Ben Hilfenhaus in 24th (up by two places), Shane Watson in 32nd (up by one place) and Tim Bresnan in 36th (up by five places). Among Indians, Zaheer Khan was fifth, while Harbhajan Singh was on the 8th spot.