By Dan Calabrese ——Bio and Archives--April 21, 2015
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As Renzi was questioned about the incident, Obama was mute on the killings. He failed to interject any sense of outrage or even tepid concern for the targeting of Christians for their faith. If a Christian mob on a ship bound for Italy threw 12 Muslims to their death for praying to Allah, does anyone think the president would have been so disinterested? When three North Carolina Muslims were gunned down by a virulent atheist, Obama rightly spoke out against the horrifying killings. But he just can't seem to find any passion for the mass persecution of Middle Eastern Christians or the eradication of Christianity from its birthplace. Religious persecution of Christians is rampant worldwide, as Pew has noted, but nowhere is it more prevalent than in the Middle East and Northern Africa, where followers of Jesus are the targets of religious cleansing. Pope Francis has repeatedly decried the persecution and begged the world for help, but it has had little impact. Western leaders — including Obama — will be remembered for their near silence as this human rights tragedy unfolded. The president's mumblings about the atrocities visited upon Christians (usually extracted after public outcry over his silence) are few and far between. And it will be hard to forget his lecturing of Christians at the National Prayer Breakfast about the centuries-old Crusades while Middle Eastern Christians were at that moment being harassed, driven from their homes, tortured and murdered for their faith. A week and a half after Obama's National Prayer Breakfast speech, 21 Coptic Christians were beheaded for being "people of the cross." Seven of the victims were former students of my friend and hero "Mama" Maggie Gobran, known as the "Mother Theresa of Cairo" for her work with the poorest of the poor. She told me these dear men grew up in rural Upper Egypt and had gone to Libya seeking work to support their families. They died with dignity as they called out to their God, while the cowardly murderers masked their faces. Rather than hectoring Christians about their ancestors' misdeeds, Obama should honor these men and the countless Middle Eastern Christians persecuted before them.Two cheers for Kirsten Powers for having the temerity to say this. I'm sure she realizes she's further ostracizing herself from left-wing readers, and that's probably going to cost her because she gives no indication that she is about to become a conservative. But let's be honest about why Obama won't speak out about this in the context of Christians being targeted. He sees no political benefit to himself in doing so. His left-wing base does not believe there is any persecution of Christians going on in the world, and probably wouldn't care about it if they did. They think the Christians are the persecutors. Obama isn't going to win himself any applause from his most ardent supporters if he says such a thing. And if we're going to be really candid here, let's just say this: Obama doesn't really care either. He doesn't identify with Christians. I know he claims to be one, but every action he takes and every position he embraces suggests he sympathizes with the secular left domestically and with Islamists on the global scene. Obama might object to the fact that these people were thrown overboard, but he doesn't care at all that the action was motivated by their Christian faith. How do I know? Because he would say so if he did. The problem for Kirsten Powers is that the ideology she largely still embraces sees it the same way, which makes her an outlier. I have a good friend who is quite liberal and also very devoted to Jesus, and I asked once if it feels uncomfortable to be so committed to Christ in a party so hostile to Him. The response: A lot of conservatives sure act like they need to get right with Jesus too. I can't disagree. But I don't find the systemic hostility toward Jesus on the right that you find on the left, and that's a problem for the friend I'm referring to, as well as for Kirsten Powers. I'm praying for them both. They really, really need it.
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Dan Calabrese’s column is distributed by HermanCain.com, which can be found at HermanCain
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