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Persecution of Christians ignored because there is no word for it, says Coptic Archbishop

November 10, 2018

The Archbishop “argued that because there is no Christian equivalent for words such as anti-Semitism and Islamophobia the problem was ‘not seen as the phenomenon which we know it is.’…The Archbishop argued that because there was no certain expression or concept of Christian persecution, it was simply ‘left to happen.'”

The Archbishop is correct. The persecution of Christians has not been recognized as an ongoing phenomenon, worthy of a distinct classification among other classification of human rights abuses. Occasions of the persecution of Christians are seen as discrete incidents, unrelated to any larger or ongoing matter of concern. This must change, or else, as the Archbishop rightly notes, this persecution will continue to be “left to happen.”

“Persecution of Christians ignored because there is no word for it, says Archbishop,” by Alexandra Ward, Telegraph, November 9, 2018:

The persecution of Christians is being ignored because there is no definitive word to describe it, an Archbishop has said.

Anba Angaelos, Coptic Orthodox Archbishop of London, argued that because there is no Christian equivalent for words such as anti-Semitism and Islamophobia the problem was “not seen as the phenomenon which we know it is”.

His comments come after the announcement that the Government is to spend £12 million on a programme to champion freedom of religion around the world.

The Archbishop argued that because there was no certain expression or concept of Christian persecution, it was simply “left to happen”.

He said: “We know it’s a phenomenon in many countries, just as deplorable…

Photo by Foreign and Commonwealth Office – Flickr, OGL, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32117829