Syria and Iran

 Gary Bauer, Contributing Author: Syria's Christians Under Sharia Law - Radical Islamists seized control of the Syrian city of Raqqa last year. Now they are forcing Christians in the area to submit to a dhimma -- a feature of Sharia law that makes them second-class citizens.

According to the terms imposed on Raqqa's Christians by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS): Christians in Raqqa must pay a tax of roughly $1,000 per person. Poor Christians will be required to pay $250. They can practice their faith in private. But, they cannot pray in public. They cannot build new churches. They cannot rebuild destroyed churches. And they cannot ring church bells. They cannot carry weapons, and they must report any threats against the Muslim establishment.

Many Christians in Raqqa signed the agreement on threat of death if they did not. Of course, Christians who do not wish to be taxed and forced to live under such conditions can always convert to Islam. Those who refused were warned that "nothing will remain between them and ISIS other than the sword."

There was nothing but silence from the power centers in Washington, D.C., namely the State Department and the White House, to this gross violation of human rights and religious liberty. I guess no one perceived a "gay" angle that could be exploited.

I had no expectations that the "progressives" and leftists running Washington, D.C., would care about some suffering Christians. But how about U.S. churches? How many pastors will inform their congregations of what is happening to their brothers and sisters in Christ?

Moral Clarity On Iran - Yesterday, a world leader spoke the truth about the Islamic Republic of Iran. It was a powerful speech freedom-loving people everywhere should hear. I want to share this excerpt with you:"Iran says it only wants a peaceful nuclear program. So why is it building a heavy water reactor, which has no purpose in a peaceful nuclear program? Iran says it has noting to hide. So why does it ban inspectors from its secret military sites? … So why does it continue to build ICBMs, intercontinental ballistic missiles, whose only purpose is to carry nuclear warheads? … And they can strike, right now or very soon, the Eastern seaboard of the United States -- Washington -- and very soon after that, everywhere else in the United States, up to L.A. …

"It's not only that Iran doesn't walk the walk. In the last few weeks, they don't even bother to talk the talk. Iran's leaders say they won't dismantle a single centrifuge, they won't discuss their ballistic missile program. And guess what tune they're singing in Tehran? It's not 'God Bless America,' it's 'death to America.' And they chant this as brazenly as ever. Some charm offensive.

"And here's my point. Iran continues to stand unabashedly on the wrong side of the moral divide. And that's why we must continue to stand unequivocally on the right side of that divide. We must oppose Iran and stand up for what is right."Unfortunately, the leader who delivered that speech wasn't President Barack Obama, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Perhaps we could negotiate a trade. One weak Obama for one strong Netanyahu.
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Gary Bauer is a conservative family values advocate and serves as president of American Values and chairman of the Campaign for Working Families

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Tags: Syrian, Radical Islamists, punishing, Christians, dhimma, excessive taxation, taxing non-Muslims, Iran, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Gary Bauer, Campaign for Working Families To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!