Why President Obama Does Not Defend Persecuted Christians - By Egyptian Christian Author

By MidEast Christian News, Sunday, January 13, 2013

Egyptian Christian women grieve during a mass funeral for victims of sectarian clashes with soldiers and riot police at a protest against an attack on a church in southern Egypt at Abassaiya Cathedral in Cairo October 10, 2011. Thousands of mourners attend a funeral ceremony for those killed in overnight clashes when troops crushed a protest over an attack on a church in the worst violence since the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak. | (Reuters/Amr Abdallah Dalsh)

Writing in the monthly conservative Townhall Magazine, Michael Youssef has asked why President Obama, a self-proclaimed Christian, has failed to defend the cause of the harassed and persecuted Christians around the world.

Dr. Michael Youssef, an Egyptian-born U.S. citizen who has authored 27 books including 'Blindsided: The Radical Islamic Conquest,' examines Obama's dealings with Egypt over the past two years.

In his article, Youssef suggests a number of factors that could explain Obama's position regarding Christians around the world. He says that on the outbreak of the January 2011 uprising, Obama urged Mubarak to step down. In fact, writes Youssef, Mubarak was a secular and capitalist dictator and his regime was corrupt for sure. However even after Mubarak's departure, the situation has not changed and corruption is still present under what Youssef calls "the Islamic dictator who replaced Mubarak."

The presidential elections (May 2012) ended by a narrow victory for Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate. Even though the presidential elections were allegedly marred by fraud and Christians reportedly prevented from voting, Youssef says that the White House and the U.S. State Department were quick to "embrace Morsi as the victor."

The reason being that Obama and his staff were of the strong opinion that an Islamist president in power in by far the most significant country in the Arab Middle East would "satisfy hard-line Islamists and neutralize would-be terrorists."

Yet, Youssef says neither of these assumptions has materialized.

Youssef writes that even when Morsi gave himself sweeping powers and declared himself to be "the supreme ruler" the White House reacted softly, saying that it was simply concerned and made a short call for Egyptians to work out their "internal" problems.

Youssef has therefore concluded that Obama has no problem in dealing with "dictatorships," as long as it's "Islamic and not capitalist."

In addition, Youssef reveals that Rashid Khalidi, a Hamas supporter and former PLO advisor, is an "old Chicago friend of Mr. Obama's."

According to Youssef, Obama had also maintained a relationship with the late Edward Said, who served as a member of the Palestine National Council and worked with late Yasser Arafat, the PLO leader.

In the writer's mind there is no doubt that such relationships have had some kind of influence on Obama's position.

Youssef also alleges that Hamas, which is a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt, have moved its headquarters from Damascus to Cairo since Morsi's rise to power.

In view of these explanations, Youssef writes that Christians should not look to Obama to defend their cause, because his support for Islamist power "drowns out the voices of the persecuted."

Another proof, he writes, is the way the White House reacted to the bloody clashes that followed Morsi's constitutional decree on Nov 22, 2012, and during which the Islamist militia killed a number of protestors and injured hundreds more.

The only comment on the event came from Jay Carney, the White House spokesperson who said, "We call for calm and for all parties to work together to resolve their differences peacefully."

For the Egyptian born writer, the Christians who are being persecuted, harassed, displaced, kidnapped, dispossessed and killed in Egypt, Syria, Pakistan or in Nigeria have no "advocate" in the White House.