Caliph Erdogan

What does this mean for Erdogan's political future? Is this the end of the road for the Turkish president? The Turkish people have a wonderful political proverb: "When a clown moves into the palace, he doesn't become a king, the palace becomes a circus." The police are supposed to protect the people, NOT THE POWER! Türkey, Afghanistan Iran, Saudi Arabia will not exist This scream is the footsteps of a dictator's end. The dictator should know that he will be tried, he should give back to the state what he stole Mustafa Kemal's soldiers will not give up.

Vietnam was born out of the ashes of the collapse of the French Empire but was a country divided with both sides dreaming of unification but without compromise when it came to their own beliefs.

Lasting 19 years and claiming over two million lives, the Vietnam War was as much a battle of wills as it was of tactics and weapons and in this regard, the communist north and their supporters in the south – the Viet Cong – had will to spare, so much so that not even the technology of the west could blunt their drive for victory.

While South Vietnam eventually fell to the communist north, history particularly in the west, views the conflict as an American tragedy given the damage it did to American prestige, influence and even its own society. However, the United States was by no means alone when it came to defending the South Vietnamese. Far from it for they called upon a number of key allies to support them not just militarily but diplomatically.

Malaysian here, thank you for another great video. Thanks for the Commonwealth soldiers and shout out to the best local army at the times, The Sarawak Ranger. My dad served in Malaya (Green Howards attached to 6th Gurkha Rifles & Jungle Scouts) between '49 & '53.

One of their Iban trackers crafted a cased blowpipe & darts (in their own small case) as a parting gift for my dad, but the RSM caught wind of the gift and it was confiscated for use by the regiment lol. We visited the Regimental Museum back in the 70's, only to find dad's blowpipe set proudly amongst other items in their Malayan Emergency display case.

My Uncle, Brian Clayton (1936-2006) did his National Service 1957 to 1959 and served in Malaya. I wrote to him in 2005 and asked him to tell me about his time there. He wrote back with a few thousand words of his experiences in the Malayan Emergency and lots of photographs. I am willing to pass this stuff on to you if you would like. His reminisces are very evocative.

Captured Indons by 3rd RAR

The confrontayion remained an undeclared war invovling small-scale jungle clashes in the border areas. The border between East Malaysia and Indonesia saw the heaviest fighting with further action concentrated in Singapore and the Malay Peninsula.

The dispute ended after President Sukarno was deposed and Indonesia accepted the formation of Malaysia. ITN produced four reports documenting the conflict and reporting on the efforts of British and Gurkha troops who were deployed to help Malaysian forces.

Sukarno wanted to continue to rule without a democratic process (legislative oversight & elections, etc.) so he needed a diversion from the failure of his left-leaning socialist dictatorship in managing the economy and the PKI (Indonesian Communist Party) wanted to save the oppressed Malayan Communist Party.

They collaborated to create a confrontation in the name of expelling neo-colonialism in the Malayan federation. But the Indonesian military did not fully support this effort and was divided into factions, those in favor were driven by the KKO (Marine Corps) and AURI (Indonesian Air Force) which had been infiltrated by PKI agents and those against were driven by the Army and Navy who hated the PKI.

Therefore, most of the ground forces were filled with untrained volunteers who were mobilized in a hurry, not regular soldiers. Therefore, as with dictator-made conflicts, the confrontation was doomed to failure due to unreliable troops, logistical limitations due to poor economies and weak support from communist countries.

After the failure of the confrontation and under the pretext of protecting Sukarno, the PKI then carried out revenge and massacre of high-ranking Army officers in the G30S/PKI incident in 1965. The Army retaliated back against the communists and their sympathizers led by Suharto and the Army Reserve, then one of the worst genocides in the 20th century occurred which claimed the lives of 500,000 to 3,000,000 people, most of whom were not even communists including ethnic Chinese who were considered pro-Sukarno and mainland Chinese (PRC) communists.

The Waqf Board's sweeping powers today trace back to colonial-era laws, later expanded drastically by Congress, allowing it to claim properties with minimal checks.

Waqf has a long, winding history in India. Initially, back in 1894, the British came up with the Waqf Bill for the first time via a judgment. At that time, the British were grappling with its legal status. From 1894 to 1947, laws and amendments were introduced to shape the Waqf Act’s legal system. Later, after 1947, the Congress-led government eventually turned it into a system with far-reaching authority. So much so that now Waqf Boards can claim any property using several clauses, and the onus to prove the land they have claimed is not Waqf lies on the actual owner, which in many cases is the central or the state government.

Waqf was initially supposed to be about charitable endowments, which has drastically changed over time. It has grown into something much larger, often at odds with the secular framework of the country. The initial rules were indeed set by the British, but it was the Congress that took it further—and took it too far. Here is how the Waqf has changed over time.

British rule – A shaky start for Waqf

Waqf properties were dedicated under Islamic law for religious and charitable purposes. However, under British rule, Waqf faced legal hurdles. In 1894, a landmark judgment by the Privy Council in Abul Fata Mahomed Ishak vs Russomoy Dhur Chowdhury sent a shockwave through the Muslim community. According to the judgment, Waqfs which benefited the founder’s family were declared invalid. The Council cited English law’s aversion to perpetuities as the basis of the judgment.

It was not a minor ruling and challenged a tradition stretching back to the Delhi Sultanate. Notably, Sultan Muizuddin Sam Ghaor gave villages to Multan’s Jama Masjid, which continued through the Mughal era’s vast Waqf holdings. The decision by the Privy Council caused uncertainty among the Muslim community.

The case that led to the establishment of the foundation of the Waqf Act stemmed from a family feud over a Waqf property in Bengal. Two brothers, Abul Fata Mahomed Ishak and his sibling, had created a Waqf property as per Islamic law. The intention behind creating it was to provide for their descendants. The remaining benefits would eventually flow to charitable causes. Following the death of the founders, a creditor named Russomoy Dhur Chowdhury challenged the validity of the Waqf in court.

An Alawite family slaughtered

A scandal.

An “act of faith” worth 5.8 billion euros to the “new Syria”: The Donors Conference organized by the European Union certifies the change of pace in the West’s relations with Damascus after the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime and the arrival to power of Ahmad al Sharaa, known as “al Julani”. The conference raised 5.8 billion euros in loans and grants, 80 percent of which from the EU. From the Commission alone, Ursula von der Leyen announced, 2.5 billion euros are arriving in Damascus.

More of the slaughtered

Six billion a week after the worst religious pogrom in recent history?

A new regime ruled by a former jihadist who until December had a $10 million bounty on his head, who is building an Islamic dictatorship and who has just organized a religious pogrom of Alawites?

It is eye-opening. Mouth-dropping.

Once the massacres were over, the dictator welcomed in Brussels formed his new government: 21 ministers, all Sunni Muslims and of 154 government appointments, 150 are Sunni. Not bad for “diversity”.

Meanwhile, the European embassies in Damascus are reopening: today the German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock flew to Syria. Two months ago the dictator had refused to shake her hand. But evidently there is no “Sofagate” that can stop her.

Amine Ayoub of the Middle East Forum warns: “You cannot go from being an al-Qaeda affiliate to a human rights defender overnight.” He emphasized the concept of taqiyya, used to describe the deception sanctioned by the Islamic religion to consolidate power.

Are Europeans stupid? Or a mixture of cynicism and naivety? Or is it corruption? We have seen Qatargate.

Is the EU aware that it is funding a Taliban emirate in the Mediterranean?

A bloodthirsty Islamist coalition, responsible for the massacre of thousands of innocents - Christians, Alawites, Druze and other minorities - has just taken power in Damascus. The European Commission, always ready to lecture Hungary on “rule of law” and “protection of minorities” to the point of cutting off its funding, remains strangely silent in the face of jihadist massacres. And when it comes out of its silence it is to announce 2.5 billion for the Syrian Caliphate.

I see it as an absolute scandal.

IDF Alpinists at Syria-Israel border

While Alawites constitute but a small religious community in Syria, perhaps 10 per cent of the country's 15 million resident population, they suffer from a unique prominence and vulnerability.

Through a millennium, they stood out as Syria's most isolated, impoverished, despised and oppressed ethnicity. Only when generals from their community seized power in Damascus in 1966 did the power balance change.

But the ruthless domination of Syria by Alawites for the next 58 years caused the country's majority Sunni Muslim population in 2011 to rebel, leading to a full-scale civil war that ended in December 2024 when Sunnis overthrew Alawite rule and returned to power.

Solid green indicates an Alawite majority and partial green a significant Alawite minority.

Recent events point to an ominous Sunni desire for retribution. To understand its sources and implications requires a look at the past.

As is well known, Islam claims to be the final religion; accordingly, Sunnis and Shi'ites alike historically reviled Alawism, a new and distinct religion that emerged from Shia Islam in the ninth century. They looked upon Alawites as apostates. A 19th-century Sunni sheik, Ibrahim al-Maghribi, decreed that Muslims might freely take Alawite property and lives, and a British traveller records being told: "These Ansayrii, it is better to kill one than to pray a whole day."

Frequently persecuted and sometimes massacred during the past two centuries, Alawites insulated themselves geographically from the outside world by staying within their highlands. A leading Alawite sheik called his people "among the poorest of the East". Anglican missionary Samuel Lyde found the state of their society "a perfect hell upon earth".

After Syria's independence from French rule in 1946, Alawites initially resisted central government control but reconciled to Syrian citizenship by 1954 and, taking advantage of their over-representation in the army, began their political ascent.

From March 6-9 – unchecked by Ahmed al-Sharaa's professedly "moderate" interim government – his jihadist troops slaughtered an estimated 1,080 Syrians in 72 hours, apparently mostly civilian members of the minority Alawite religion.

From March 6-9 – unchecked by al-Sharaa's professedly "moderate" interim government – his jihadist troops slaughtered an estimated 1,080 Syrians in 72 hours, apparently mostly civilian members of the minority Alawite religion. The Alawite sect, which split off from Shia Islam in the ninth century, is regarded by other Shiites as heretical. To people who practice Sunni Islam -- the religion of al-Sharaa and Turkey -- all non-Sunnis are infidels. Alawites are estimated to be up to 10% of Syria's population, and the deposed Assad family belong to the sect.

Al-Sharaa, on taking power in Syria in December, originally professed to be a "moderate." The Biden administration even lifted a $10 million bounty for his arrest, for previous terrorist activity linked to Al Qaeda, presumably in the hope of moderation actually being delivered. Since that time, however, al-Sharaa and his followers have appeared more as terrorists in suits and ties.

Since December, and escalating in March, Jihadist terrorist gangs have been slaughtering Alawites in coastal Syrian towns. The atrocities this month began purportedly in response to attacks on government troops by Alawite remnants of the Assad regime's security and military forces. Some Syrian Christians were also slain, but possibly not specifically targeted by the new government.

Like the Alawites, Christians were for the most part a protected minority during the Assad years. According to many Syrians, however, Christians are resented by the Sunni Syrian majority "because they are viewed as infidels."

Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University anti-Israel activist whom the Trump administration has targeted for deportation, has become a darling of the left, as people who hate America so often do. The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) claimed Friday that Khalil’s arrest “has created a speech-chilling atmosphere of fear,” and charges that “the Trump administration’s actions represent a dangerous escalation of the president’s attempts to choke off the free speech rights of people on American soil.” And on Sunday, Khalil’s wife attempted to blow up the entire case against him, asserting that it was “ridiculous” and “disgusting” to say that Khalil supports Hamas.

This is all-important, because if Khalil is found to be a Hamas supporter, the case against him would be nearly open-and-shut. U.S. Code § 1182 states that “any alien” who is “a representative” of “a political, social, or other group that endorses or espouses terrorist activity” is “inadmissible.” U.S. Code § 1227 adds that such an alien “is deportable.” The Associated Press described Khalil two weeks ago as one of the “student leaders of Columbia University Apartheid Divest” (CUAD). The Washington Post reported last Tuesday that “No one disputes that Khalil was the face of Columbia University Apartheid Divest.”

Khalil was CUAD’s chief negotiator with Columbia administrators. Politico explained: “Khalil was a lead negotiator representing the student protesters to the Columbia administration during the school’s ‘Gaza Solidarity Encampment’ last spring. The student group behind the encampment — Columbia University Apartheid Divest, or CUAD — had two main demands: that Columbia cut all its ties to Israel, including divesting and halting plans to build a ‘global center’ in Tel Aviv, and that the protesters themselves receive amnesty for their actions.”

However, apparently aware of how damaging that fact is to his case, Khalil himself disputes this. The BBC framed Khalil’s connection to CUAD as if it were merely something his opponents claimed: “Activists supporting Israel have accused Mr Khalil of being a leader of Columbia University Apartheid Divest (Cuad), a student group that demanded, among other things, the university to divest from its financial ties to Israel and a ceasefire in Gaza. Mr Khalil has denied that he led the group, telling the Associated Press (AP) that he only served as a spokesperson for protesters and as a mediator with the university.”

It’s easy to see why Khalil would want to distance himself from CUAD. In August 2024, it posted this on Instagram, then removed it once it started getting appalled notice from saner quarters: “We are Westerners fighting for the total eradication of Western civilization.” During the anti-Israel protests at Columbia, the demonstrators screamed “Death to America.”

There is more.

In one post, he wrote, “The end of the US empire in our lifetime in sha Allah.” Months later, he celebrated receiving his student visa, writing, “Student Visa issued. We going to America baby! Alhamdulillah!” Shortly thereafter, he tweeted, “My hatred of the US empire knows no bound. Wallahi.”

“When the enemy is US imperialism, then absolutely anyone the US calls an enemy is my friend,” he posted in July. “My hatred for US imperialism and the global system it reproduces knows no bounds,” he wrote one month prior. “At this point; any movement, nation, people who are working to decrease the impact and effects of US imperialism on the world has my support.”

…The youngest victim was 14 hours old. That was Naama Abu Rashed, a Bedouin Israeli, shot while still in her mother’s womb. The bullet went through her tiny leg. She was born gravely wounded, and later died. The oldest victim was Moshe Ridler, a 92-year-old Holocaust survivor. He perished when Hamas militants fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the safe room in which he had sought refuge from the rampage. They then shot to death his Moldovan carer, Petro Boscov. Mr Ridler, as a kid in Romania, had survived the Nazi ghetto and deportation trains, but he could not survive Hamas’s sadistic crusade.

The methods of murder included shooting, burning, asphyxiation, grenade explosions and missile attacks. Many of the victims were subjected to mutilation, sexual violence and ‘other forms of deliberate brutality’, either before or after death. A woman was raped at gunpoint. Other women were raped in their bedrooms before being murdered. Rescue forces found women’s bodies ‘stripped of their underwear’ as well as ‘signs of semen’. The part of the report where I had to take a break from reading describes the discovery of a woman’s body where there had been ‘[the] insertion of a knife into the genital area’.

The violence was ferocious. Molotov cocktails were thrown to burn people alive. A father and his baby daughter suffered savage burns when Hamas militants used a butane gas cylinder to make an inferno of their home. Dad spent 58 days in an induced coma, his daughter spent eight days. Hamas entered one home screaming ‘Yahud!’, meaning Jews. And they found Jews: a father, a mother and their four kids. Dad used a piece of furniture in a desperate effort to ward off the invaders – they shot him dead. They then shot his daughter in the face. She had ‘a hole in her cheek and she was gasping her last breaths’, her mother later recounted. Mum and the three surviving kids were taken to Gaza and forced into a ‘hole’ in the ground. Why? Because they’re Yahud.

The report is full of accounts like this, of the most bestial violence, visited with extreme prejudice on men, women, children. 7 October feels like a thing from the last century, the century of war and extermination. It was as if atavistic hatreds had leapt from the history books and imprinted themselves on our complacent era. Perhaps the report’s most valuable contribution is to make it crystal clear that this was no impulsive assault. This was not the Wretched of the Earth ‘breaking out’ of their ‘prison camp’ to wreak desperate revenge on their oppressors, as Hamas-adjacent leftists would have us believe. No, this pogrom was years in the making. It was a conscious and thoroughly organised massacre of Jews….

This, then, is what the activist class has been making excuses for. This is what they referred to as ‘resistance’. This is what they called ‘a day of celebration’. The burning to death of Jews. The rape of Jewish women. The murder of Jewish children. The assassination of a Jew who had survived the greatest crime in history. We now have all the data, all the timelines and all the information about 7 October. But we still await that moment of moral clarity when our intellectual elites finally acknowledge the gravity of this crime against Jews and humanity, and devote themselves to defending the civilisation it so gravely offends.

I have nothing to add to Brendan O’Neill’s impassioned response. Now if you can stand to do it, read all of O’Neill’s article, and then read the entire 318-page report. Then you will understand why Israel must, not just for its own survival, but for everyone who is part of our advanced, Western, still salvageable civilization, destroy Hamas — destroy it utterly.

COMMENT | This young non-Muslim kid was slapped, and I read all these articles about how this is a hypocritical act considering this is a holy month of fasting.

Never mind that this act happens in a country where the religious bureaucracy and the state make it mandatory for believers to fast. Where shops are closed for the fasting month. Where school canteens operating for non-Muslim students become fodder for the political and religious class.

Not to mention this is a country where non-Muslims are banned from using certain words and demonised by religious preachers for their religious beliefs. Where the religious class and political operatives always tell non-Muslims to stay clear of religious issues even if they trespass onto their rights as citizens of this country.

When this man slapped this kid, it was not about religious hypocrisy. This is not about how someone misused religion. This is about how ideas of superiority infect the social interaction of the everyday rakyat.

This is about bully-boy tactics that are internalised and then unleashed on people who couldn’t defend themselves except to let the world know of their victimisation.

darmakochi : "The slap is a petty display of religious power but carries the same symbolic weight as the power that comes with building a mosque on the site of a demolished temple." Sir, you said it very well!

Koel : It is religious bullying by cretins nurtured in violence. But I am also not impressed by the lack of action by the eatery where this young man was assaulted.

They should have also have immediately lodged a police report, at the very least, to show their customers that they are concerned about their welfare.

Failing to protect customers under their roof speaks badly of their customer service. Just another indication that non Muslims should look for non halal eateries where violent cretins don't roam.

ScarletPanda9731 : Do not cross the RED LINE. AMICABLE SOLUTION means RESPECT ALL The kid had the RIGHT to eat food in the open . The Hindu temple at Jalan masjid INDIA was ALREADY THERE 130 YEARS AGO!PSO, WHAT OWNERSHIP are you barking about ?

City Hall did not exist 130 years ago! Umno did not exist then . What " AMICABLE SOLUTION " IS TO RE- LOCATE the temple? A win- win solution is to have BOTH MOSQUE AD TEMPLE SIDE BY SIDE Fair or not?.

Open minded 2281 : The authorities also feel that non Muslims can be bullied and there is no offence when a Muslim preacher mocks the Hindus. All this happens because the Minister of Home Affairs is ineffective and the cabinet just closes all their eyes.

KK Voter : Every religion that practices fasting emphasizes abstinence, spiritual cleansing, and self-discipline. However, here, one month every year, the message seems to be:

"I am fasting; therefore, I am above you and can abuse you in the name of righteousness," making the entire fasting ritual pointless. Those who create Islamophobia blame others for having Islamophobia.

Nowadays, during the fasting month, I change my dinner time to avoid overlapping with fasting Muslims. Where I live, even if there is no physical aggression, sitting in a restaurant and eating around 6:00–6:30 p.m. earns me plenty of dirty looks from Muslims who are sitting there waiting to break their fast.

It wasn’t like this when I was growing up in the ’70s and ’80s, studying in a "kampung" school with three classrooms, where we had an approximately 50:30:20 Malay:Chinese:Indian mix.

We were all from B40 families, sat together to eat, and during the fasting month, our Malay friends still hung out in the canteen to play with us while we ate. No one had any problems then.

OBSERVER from Space : The most accurate, truthful & courageous article on this despicable cretin's act. Certainly the dark truth on the status of Malusia.. Blessings upon you Commander Thayaparan..

MS : One of the last few truth-tellers left in a country darkened by untruth.

Just : Pure racial bullying. Gone to physical Level. This man need to be sentence to jail for his assault and his brain need to be realign or rebrainwashed to Normalcy.

The Illusion Of Choice : It has nothing to do with Islam or hypocrisy (religious or otherwise). Its about putting the pendatangs in their place This man believes in Malay Exceptionalism....that the Malays are lords of this land.

Classic Ketuanan mentality. He wanted to flex this "superiority" over a pendatang, a young boy no less, bespectacled, alone, smaller than him, looks soft, who posed no threat. Do you think he would have done the same if it was a big-sized Indian man?

Or a Chinese ah beng covered in tattoos? He saw an easy prey and he wanted to flex his Ketuananism. And when the boy answered him back, he couldnt believe it. He exercised his "authority" and it wasnt acknowledged How dare this pendatang talk back. Why didnt he cower?

Why didnt he respect his Malay "superior"? It made his blood boil. At a loss, he resorted to violence to reinforce his superiority. The rage and pure hate that these people feel against the NMs is palpable, boiling over. You see it in their words and actions. Its a very intense form of bigotry.

The causes of Islamophobia 1 and the Other.............

I then wrote: “We are being continuously fed with half-truths and misinformation, so much so that not many members of the public have any faith in the accuracy of government statements and announcements. Malaysians are prevented from making an educated, well-informed, and precise opinion.”

This was followed by a letter to the then prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin: “As you are aware, the nation is suffering from the effects of the coronavirus, but what is more contagious is a disease called the ‘truth deficiency syndrome’, which brought the BN government down almost two years ago. With the change in May 2018, it was contained, but whatever traces remain are imploding without control.”

Malaysians thought that in 2022, the incoming government, led by Anwar Ibrahim, would eradicate this disease by stopping its spread.

Sadly, little has been done to disseminate accurate information to the public. Truth deficiency syndrome has spawned a series of strains, some of which, if not treated immediately, could turn into an epidemic.

drkam : So, let’s get this straight—the temple has been standing tall for over 130 years, minding its own business, with DBKL even providing water and electricity. But somehow, in 2014, poof! The land it sits on magically ends up with Jakel Trading Sdn Bhd, and the temple wasn’t even invited to the transaction party.

If there was a legitimate sale, surely there’d be some receipts, right? Fast forward to today, and after failed negotiations to move the temple for Masjid Madani’s construction, there’s now an unofficial “let’s just relocate it” plea. But here’s the kicker—the temple was never illegal in the first place!

The whole “it’s an illegal structure” argument is just a convenient mask for, well... less-than-noble intentions. And let’s not forget MIC’s legendary lack of urgency. Saravanan’s sudden concern is great and all, but where was this energy years ago?

MIC has been in government for ages, yet somehow, they never secured the temple’s land as Rumah Ibadat Bukan Islam (RIBI). Even the late Tun Samy Vellu, despite his temple donations, didn’t make it happen. So now, Hindus and the public have every right to ask—why the delay?

If DBKL had done the fair and logical thing by gazetting the land properly, we wouldn’t be having this ridiculous debate. Instead, we’ve got a temple that stood the test of time… but now has to fight off modern-day land shenanigans.

The Illusion Of Choice : Malaysiakini Have you never heard the expression "throwing pearls before sw1ne"? Evidently, you deleted my comment because you thought I was referring to certain quarters as "sw1ne" That couldnt be further from the truth.

The phrase "throwing pearls before sw1ne" is a well-known English idiom. It means giving something that isnt needed nor appreciated. It is an old Biblical idiom, from Matthew 7:6 in the Bible The full text from Matthew 7:6 reads.... "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls before sw1ne, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces".

This is from the Bible itself. If its good enough for the Bible, surely its good enough for Malaysiakini? "Sw1ne" here does not have a literal meaning...it doesnt mean pig - the animal or the insult. "Sw1ne" means those who are not receptive to the valuable thing being offered, or who will not appreciate Comment moderation has to take into account context and established metaphorical meanings, not just the literal translations of words.

Your comment moderator needs to improve his/her English skills By the way, if someone says "Missing the forest for the trees", they are not talking about actual vegetation. The irony ....giving my comment to Malaysiakini was akin to throwing pearls before sw1ne.

As he locked his arms around the terrorist, moments before the explosion, his final words were: “I will die but I will not let you go in.” His martyrdom saved the lives of more than a thousand faithful inside the church at the time. The Vatican declared him Servant of God in February 2022, paving the way for him to become the very first saint in the Muslim-majority country’s history.

Churches in Pakistan began recruiting volunteer security guards after two suicide bombers killed 127 and injured 250 in an attack on the Anglican All Saints Church in Peshawar in September 2013. In an interview with Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Akash’s mother said that her son “kept insisting for three months that he wanted to guard the church”, adding that the young man “was ready to sacrifice his life if God gave him a chance to protect others”.

On the fateful day, Akash prevented the attacker from entering the church, forcing him to detonate his suicide vest outside. Two other people were also killed, but an even larger scale tragedy was prevented.

His mother recalled that she “was washing clothes in the house” when Akash left for church that Sunday. “He was wearing all white. Moments later I heard the firing of weapons outside. Then our street thundered with explosions… He was a simple boy who died in the path of the Lord.”

Local Christian pastor Samuel Ashan Khokhar assisted in the morgue after the bodies were transferred there. He recounted: “It was a moving moment when I saw the boy’s face. Although lifeless, I was struck by his beauty, I was deeply touched by the smile and serenity that emanated from Akash’s face. He radiated a luminous and sacred presence that recalled the first Christian martyrs.”

Within minutes of Akash’s sacrifice, a second suicide bomber targeted the nearby Protestant Christ Church. More than 10 people were killed and dozens injured in the second blast. 

The roots of Christianity in Pakistan go all the way back to the first century. St Thomas the Apostle first arrived in Kerala on the Indian subcontinent in 52 AD before visiting the present-day Punjab province where the majority of Pakistan’s Christians live to this day. He is believed to have been martyred in Chennai, India in 72 AD.

There are an estimated three million Christians in Pakistan today, comprising less than two percent of the population. They often live in extreme poverty and are routinely treated as second-class citizens, even though freedom of religion is ostensibly guaranteed by the constitution. Indeed, the country was originally envisioned as a haven for religious minorities where non-Hindus could escape India’s caste system.

The nation’s draconian blasphemy laws are also frequently misused against Christians, often as part of personal vendettas. For example, Asia Bibi, a Catholic mother of five, endured eight years on death row for blasphemy after co-workers accused her of insulting the prophet Mohammed during an argument. She was eventually acquitted in 2018.

More recently, on 16 August, 2023, the city of Jaranwala in Punjab was shaken by a wave of violence which Pakistan’s bishops described as “the worst tragedy against Christians” in the country’s history. Nearly a thousand people were forced to flee their homes after a mob torched dozens of churches and hundreds of Christian family homes. The rampage began following allegations that two Christian brothers had torn pages out of a Qur’an – a crime punishable by life imprisonment. 

Many Christian families lost all their possessions in the Jaranwala riots, and the mob also desecrated a Christian cemetery. Tragically, the police failed to respond before the situation spiralled out of control. Even though at least 5,000 people committed acts of violence that day, less than 400 have been arrested. Out of those detained, 228 were later released on bail and 77 had the charges against them dropped.

While living in fear of further violence, Pakistani Christians’ education and employment options are extremely limited. Many Christian children are forced to labour in inhumane conditions, and girls are especially vulnerable to mistreatment, including sexual assault and forced marriage.

Lord Balfour's Portrait Being Vandalized

The perpetrator targeted the painting because Balfour was a signatory of the Balfour Declaration – the British Empire’s 1917 recognition of the aim to establish a Jewish state.

The crime was filmed and posted online for all to see. The perpetrator had a distinctive hairstyle (two plaits), as well as what looked like a £1,400 Mulberry backpack – something your average criminal usually doesn’t sport. She was also very clearly part of an outfit called Palestine Action, which claimed responsibility for the attack. With just a tiny bit of police work and some political will, uncovering the identity of the perpetrator would not have been a monumental task. And yet, a year after the historic painting was destroyed, Cambridgeshire Police have ended their ‘investigation’. They said only that they hoped new information may one day come to light.

Palestine Action seems to attack anything to do with Israel – including charities, banks, arms factories and even a bust of Israel’s first president, Chaim Weizmann. The group was founded in the UK in 2020 by Huda Ammori and serial activist Richard Barnard. A recent Sunday Times investigation found that, since then, it has claimed responsibility for 356 direct actions. It has ram-raided factories with vans, broken into offices and smashed up equipment.

Palestine Action has vowed to continue its violent behaviour. Just this week, three activists occupied part of the Allianz offices in central London and covered the windows in red paint. They scaled the building to unfurl a banner demanding that Allianz ‘drop Elbit’, an Israel-based defence contractor, as an insurance customer. Police stood around for hours, apparently helpless to do anything, until the protesters were finally brought down and arrested.

Also this week, in Manchester, two Palestine Action activists were arrested after climbing on to the Aviva office in the city centre. Again, they covered the building’s windows in paint, set off flares and waved Palestinian flags. Aviva, Palestine Action claims, also has links to Elbit.

1) In 1933, Hitler used his position as the leader of the largest minority party to seize power as the Chancellor of Germany.

2) In 1967, the 6-DayWar in Israel drove Arab oil-producing countries to dramatically raise oil prices, yet Europe did not embark on a major effort to protect themselves by developing all forms of energy.

3) In 1993, the European Union (EU) was founded by six countries and grew to include 27 countries. The EU undermines the sovereignty of each member country through a poorly managed dictatorship of an elitist EU bureaucracy in Brussels.

4) In 2014, Russia invaded the Crimean Peninsula in Eastern Ukraine and annexed it. No EU member country rushed aid, weapons, or soldiers to protect Ukraine from the Russian invasion.

5) In 2015, then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel opened Germany’s borders to more than one million Muslim migrants (aka “refugees”) from Syria, Libya, Egypt, and elsewhere to enter Germany, creating a demographic, cultural, and economic time bomb against its Christian citizens.

In addition, European countries made numerous other mistakes:

1) Since World War II, European governments have provided the mass of immigrants with overly generous welfare benefits.

2) In 1984, five EU countries signed the Schengen Agreement, removing internal border controls, thus allowing free movement throughout much of Europe. This facilitated a full-scale invasion by Muslims from the Middle East and Africa, who entered Europe through the open borders of its Mediterranean countries.