Remember that Lebanon was called the Mediterranean Switzerland not very long ago... Ahmadinejad’s Deadly Triumph in Lebanon | FrontPage Magazine

Efraim Inbar, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies in Tel Aviv, summed up the significance of Ahmadinejad’s visit:

The important issue is that we see another step in the ‘Hezbollah-ization’ of Lebanon…Lebanon is further losing its independence and Hezbollah is taking over, with Ahmadinejad encouraging these forces and signaling to the whole Middle East that Lebanon is becoming an Iranian protectorate.

Buttressing the idea that Lebanon has become a virtual client state of Iran were remarks made by Ahmadinejad during the frenetic rally held in southern Lebanon in Bint Jbeil. Hezbollah has made that little town a “symbol of the resistance,” promoting the legend of Hezbollah’s victory during the 2006 war with Israel.

During his speech, Ahmadinejad jumped feet first into the crisis currently roiling politics in Lebanon; the so-called “false witnesses” issue relating to the UN’s Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL). In a nutshell, the UN has been investigating the assassination in 2005 of Rafiq Hariri, former prime minister and father of current PM Said Hariri. The first report on the investigation issued in 2005 by then-prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, implicated high-level Syrian officials in the murders, including President Assad’s brother in law.

But over the years, some witnesses have recanted (they were clearly intimidated), others murdered, and the UN walked back from its initial findings of Syrian involvement. Also, four prominent Lebanese generals who had been jailed until last year, were released because of questionable eyewitness testimony. It is impossible to say at this point how much pressure was placed on key witnesses to change their testimony and whether there really were “false witnesses” in the case.

Mgr Louis Sako, archbishop of Kirkuk speaks on Christians in the region:

"There is a danger of the extinction of the Christian community in Iraq and other countries". For these families, the war has been a disaster. Americans are not only responsible for that tragedy, but they are responsible of a stable and peaceful future. They should not leave them behind   and pulling their troops out of Iraq without caring.

In addition, the international assembly is responsible to keep religious and ethnic minorities in their land to continue their presence and uphold their heritage and witness. The lack of planning to stop the mortal exodus that afflicts our community is worrying.

The future of Christians in Iraq, but also in M.E. has one of two ends: Emigration, or to accept to live as a second-class citizen with many difficulties and fears.

The question that requires an urgent and decisive response is, "How can Iraqi Christians be helped?"  We need a strong support from all, with a clear "political" vision and precise plans not only for protecting and encouraging Christians to stay home and to hope, but also for fostering reconciliation among Iraqis, to promote human rights in that area and asking the governments to respect the rules.  Christians have been, and can continue to be today, an instrument of dialogue, peaceful coexistence, and collaboration with our Muslim brothers who are appreciating their qualifications, therefore the migration of Christians from Middle East is a big loss for both.

The international community must take its responsibility and come up with the local authorities to a common agreement to respect the dignity of the human person and its rights based on equality and full citizenship, with partnership commitments and protection. Therefore, it is necessary to make real modification on the Constitutions in order to guarantee the rights of all citizens equally.

The strength of a state should be based on credibility in applying laws equally to all citizens, without discrimination between Muslims and non-Muslims, majority and minority. This is a shame. In The west Muslims community are enjoying full equality and they are not considered a minority or a second-class citizens. In ME were are indigenous and not refugees!

Background:
UN: Islamic countries push (again...) for "Islamophobia" monitoring mechanism.
Iraq: Christians continue fleeing to neighbouring countries.
Egypt: Al-Azhar's "Statement to the Nation" reduces Copts to Dhimmi status.
Libya: Two South Koreans, accused of Christian proselitism, released.
Pakistan: Christian lawyer and his entire family killed by Islamic extremists.
Kuwait: policeman converts to Christianity, asks the Govt to change his papers.
"Blasphemy UN Resolution": US NGO "Open Doors" campain on Freedom of Believe.
Ethiopia: Christian accused of desecrating the Qu'ran.
Saudi Arabia: Twelve Philippinos and a Catholic priest released on bail, after being arrested for attending Mass.
Hector Aleem's update.
Iran: Christian pastor sentenced to death for "thought crime".
Sudan: Sudanese bishops' conference concerned about persecution if South supports independence.
Arab Christians face political Islam threat, Bishop Naguib says.
Catholic Synod: Rabbi cautions against hostility towards Israel.

Arab Christians face political Islam threat-official says | World | Reuters:

Mainly Jordan and Syria, despite the possible crackdown on Christianity (specially evangelical Christianity), feared by Syrian Christians:

A quiet but steady hemorrhaging of Iraq’s ancient Christian presence is underway and little is being doWritten threats, kidnappings, bombings and murder by Muslim extremists are driving thousands of Iraq’s minority Christian population out of their ancestral homeland, fleeing for safety to neighboring Jordan and Syria.ne to stem the flow.

“The Christians are experiencing an absence of leadership,” explained Hala Hikmat, a recent arrival from Baghdad who has joined thousands of her countrymen in Syria. “We have no leaders who are communicating our urgent needs to the authorities, so consequently each person has to take care of themselves.” Their urgent needs, as expressed by Hikmat, are for protection and for a stand to be taken on Christians’ behalf.

A string of church bombings in August and September sent anywhere from 30,000 to 40,000 Christians fleeing the country, according to estimates by Iraqi government and church officials. And they admit that hundreds more families out of Iraq’s 750,000 Christians are leaving each week.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) disputes these figures, saying they are too high. But UNHCR offices in Amman and Damascus admit that it is hard to know exactly how many Iraqi Christians are currently in Jordan and Syria.

Of the 4,000 Iraqi families officially registered as refugees with the agency in Damascus, more than half are Christians. It is believed that there are larger numbers of Iraqis in Syria because it is cheaper to live there than in Jordan. Iraqi Christians also said they have stronger cultural and spiritual ties to Syria. Syrian authorities estimate there are about 300,000 Iraqis in the country.

Flag: Wikipedia.

Found at NewsRealBlog, thanks to Twitter.

This is the Government we are supporting. No Al-Shabab, no Al-Qaeda here:

the Islamic scholars jointly issued a 12 point communiqué that highlights the current scenarios facing Somalia, and condemning many un-Islamic practices used to fuel the escalating conflict and also warning the people.

They called on the Muslims to strictly follow the Islamic way of life and adhere to the ways in which Prophet Muhammad (...) used in reaching out to the population.

Authorities in Somalia were urged to implement the Islamic Shari'ah Law in the areas they control.

The Islamic clerics warned of legitimizing shedding Muslim blood in the "disguise of fighting for Islam" and also tagging a Muslim person as an infidel without taking the due process.

Hey, with the "due process" you can tag a Muslim person as infidel. So imagine someone who is not a Muslim...

"Somalis are Muslims and they need to be calmly corrected in terms of their faith, culture and behavior. So, it is not acceptable for these groups fighting in Somalia to judge each other and other people as apostate," reads the communiqué issued at the conclusion of the Islamic conference in Garowe.

The clerics also agreed that the war that is going on in Somalia is an "incitement"rather than a holy war (jihad), as claimed by the Islamist insurgent factions like Al Shabaab.

The communiqué condemned the presence of foreign troops in the country, saying they are not welcomed by the Somali people. Mogadishu is home to about 5,300 soldiers from Uganda and Burundi who are serving under an African Union peacekeeping mandate.

The presence of foreign troops inside the war-torn country is "dangerous to the religion and socio-political well being of the population," it adds. (Oh, wait, their Muslim "purity" could be contaminated by non-Muslim forigners... Bunch of racists Islamic supremacists...)

Acts of piracy along the Somalia's coastline was also condemned in the communiqué, terming it "dangerous and shameful to Islam" and also degrading the people's way of life.

The Somali Islamic scholars proposed a large reconciliation conference to be held inside Somalia, which would bring together all the Islamic scholars to discuss the way forward in the bid to find a lasting solution for the swelling problems that face Somalia at the moment.

Who would they be reconciled with? Al Shabab?

Has African Union something to say about it? [I think Lybia is now chairing it, so, ... no] Has Ban "I make trips to condemn Israelis but never when it's a Muslim country" Ki-Moon sais something about this "peaceful" communiqué?