Iraqi Christians ignored, says advocate

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 (UPI) — The U.S. State Department and the so-called liberal media are ignoring Iraqi Christians who face persecution from Islamic militants, advocates say.
William J. Murray with the Religious Freedom Coalition in Washington spoke with the conservative Front Page Magazine on plight of the Christian community in Iraq.

He said the majority of the Christian community in Iraq has been displaced due to violence from Islamic militants. He also suggested the non-intervention policy by U.S. officials in Iraq, who fear assistance would give credence to allegations of supporting another Crusade, was also responsible.

“Coalition forces assisting the Christians would cause them to be identified with the United States and have even more problems,” he said.

Murray, whose mother, Madalyn Murray O’Hair, filed a case in 1962 in the U.S. Supreme Court against obligatory prayer in public schools, said the Christian problem in Iraq was not receiving enough public attention in the media.

“It is just politically incorrect in left-leaning media circles to write about the persecution of Christians,” he said.

He went on to say the United States has the ultimate job to address matters of persecution in Iraq and called on the U.S. State Department to “start living up to its responsibility.”

http://www.metimes.com/Security/2008/09/25/iraqi_christians_ignored_says_advocate/901e/