Catholics Living Under NATO Sponsored Jihadists

Father Hanna Jallouf, 67, and Father Luai Bsharat, 40, are the only remaining clergy in Idlib province, the last bastion of ISIS in Syria which is sponsored by Turkey and other NATO members.

The two Franciscans are serving 300 Christian families in the villages of Knayeh and Yacoubieh, close to Turkey’s border. They are under daily threat of being attacked, tortured or killed. Recently, a female teacher was raped and murdered in Yacoubieh. Father François Murad was beheaded in 2013 in this area.

Father Firas Lutfi, the Custodian of the Franciscans in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, told AcnUk.org (October 22) that the extreme persecution started a decade ago when the Jihadists took over that region [with Western help] and proclaimed an Islamic state.

They confiscated all Christian properties, enforced Shari‘a on all non-Muslims, took their rights to move freely in their own villages, and forced the women to wear the veil.

“They destroyed and prevented any Christian symbols, like crosses above the churches and graveyards.” The rest of Syria is a secular State where all parts of the population enjoy religious freedom and tolerance.