Syrians have overtaken Afghans as the largest refugee population aside from Palestinians, fleeing to more than 100 countries to escape war in their homeland, the United Nations said on Wednesday.

At more than 3 million as of mid-2014, Syrians accounted for nearly one in four of the 13 million refugees worldwide being assisted by the UN refugee agency, the highest figure since 1996, it said in a report. Some 5 million Palestinians refugees are cared for by a separate agency, UNRWA.

“As long as the international community continues to fail to find political solutions to existing conflicts and to prevent new ones from starting, we will continue to have to deal with the dramatic humanitarian consequences,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said in a statement.

At least 200,000 people have died and half the Syrian population has been displaced since the conflict began in March 2011 with protests that spiralled into civil war.

Worldwide, an estimated 5.5 million people were forcibly uprooted during the first six months of last year, 1.4 million of them fleeing abroad, the UNHCR said.

The Middle East and North Africa has become the main region of origin of refugees, overtaking the Asia and Pacific region that held the top spot for more than a decade.

Afghan refugees, the biggest group for three decades, have fallen to second place, with 2.6 million hosted by Pakistan and Iran at mid-year, it said. Somalis ranked as the third largest refugee group at 1.1 million.

Syria’s neighbours — Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and Turkey — continue to bear the brunt of the crisis.

“With 257 refugees per 1,000 inhabitants, Lebanon remains the country with the highest refugee density at mid-2014,” UNHCR said, noting that Jordan ranked second.

Sweden, with 12 refugees per 1,000 inhabitants, is the only industrialised country among major hosts, ranking 10th, it said.

Syrians also formed the largest group of asylum-seekers worldwide during the first half of 2014, lodging 59,600 applications, it said. Germany and Sweden together received 40 percent of these claims, it added.

Iraqis fleeing conflict were the second largest group of asylum-seekers during the period, at 28,900, the report said.

Last year nearly 3,500 migrants perished while trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe, the UNHCR says.
Source: Christian Today

Christianity in the Middle East is facing extinction, according to Open Doors – but other countries are seeing increases in persecution as well.

The charity has today issued annual World Watch list focusing on persecution around the world.

It reveals that persecution of Christians increased in 2014 in more countries and with more intensity than ever before.

The Middle East has been hit particularly hard and Christianity is in danger of disappearing from the region altogether as refugees continue to flee in vast numbers.

There are now only 300,000 Christians left in the Middle East, compared with 1.2 million in 1990. The World Watch List says that more than 700,000 Christians have left Syria since the conflict broke out in 2011, with 200,000 fleeing in 2014 alone. One of the key trends contributing to this rise is the increase in Islamist extremism, which is noted as a major factor in persecution against Christians in 18 out of the top 20 countries in the World Watch List.
However, persecution is far more widespread than the Middle East and in some countries is even more severe. According to Open Doors, one of the biggest trends is the rise in persecution in countries where it has not historically been an issue – in parts of Asia, Latin America, and especially sub-Saharan Africa. Even Christian-majority states are experiencing unprecedented levels of exclusion, discrimination and violence: Nigeria has moved up from number 14 to number 10.

For the 13th consecutive year, North Korea has topped the list of the 50 countries where it is hardest to be a Christian. However, Somalia is at risk of becoming as bad as North Korea as the country is ranked a surprisingly close second.

Lisa Pearce, Open Doors’ chief executive, said: “This report portrays a devastating picture of what is happening to the Church around the globe – the worst ever since this detailed research began. The rate of increase in persecution of Christians in the last year is shocking, and what will happens in the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa in the next three to five years will define the future shape of the Church.

“Urgent action is now required by both the Church and state in the UK and Ireland. We cannot afford to sleep through it.”
Source: Christian Today

A Bosnian Imam has been attacked seven times in the past year for urging Muslims not to join Islamic jihadists in Iraq and Syria.

The attacks, three of which have taken place in the past month, have been attributed to Muslim extremists. On one occasion, the Imam – Selvedin Beganovic – was stabbed in the chest three times in the grounds of his mosque.

Despite the attacks, Beganovic has pledged to continue to speak out against the ongoing violence in the Middle East. He has accused groups such as Islamic State of perpetuating a “perverted version of Islam”.

“When did (the Prophet) Muhammad ever behead anyone?” he asked in an interview with the Associated Press. “When did he take a knife and slaughter an innocent journalist?”

Beganovic added that Allah is known as “The Exceedingly Merciful” and “The Exceedingly Gracious”. “That is what we teach our children here,” he said.

Estimates suggest that around 150 Bosnians from a single conservative Muslim community have joined Islamic militant groups in Syria and Iraq. A man thought to be the leader of the community was charged with recruiting people to join the jihadist movement last month.

“This is not our war,” Beganovic insisted. “Our jihad in Bosnia is the fight against unemployment. The care for our parents who have small pensions. The care for the socially jeopardized.”
Bosnia is predominantly a Sunni Muslim country, and its most senior Muslim leader, Husein Kavazovic, has repeatedly spoken out against Islamic State.

In August, he released a statement urging IS to release British humanitarian worked David Haines, who had been held captive in Syria since Mach 2013 and was later murdered by the jihadi group.

“Islam teaches us that human life is sacred,” Kavazovic said. “Having suffered grave injustices and death themselves, Muslims of Bosnia and Herzegovina feel that it is their moral and religious obligation to express their serious concerns when innocent people are being killed or tortured.

“For this reason, and in the peaceful spirit of Islam, I appeal for the release of the detained British aid worker as the killing of an innocent person equals the killing of the whole humankind.”

“Our job is to keep repeating, to keep warning that this is evil and cannot be justified,” he told AP.
Source: Christain Today