In this mailing: Raymond Ibrahim: "We Are Your Death": The Persecution of Christians, May 2022 Amir Taheri: Putin: From Frank Sinatra to Leonid Brezhnev "We Are Your Death": The Persecution of Christians, May 2022 by Raymond Ibrahim  •  June 26, 2022 at 5:00 am       In the video, the Christians appear on their knees, their hands tied behind their backs. A man holding a knife stands behind them. The terrorists claim that the murder of these 20 Christians is "payback" for ISIS leaders killed three months earlier in Syria by the U.S.... [A] 2015 video [Muslim terrorists slaughtering 21 Christians in Libya] received six times less media coverage than the killing of a gorilla about the same time. The video of the Nigerian Christian also barely made a peep in the Western media -- as if the ritual slaughter of Christians is now so normal, it does not merit a report. — saharareporters.com, May 12, 2022, Nigeria. The same day the video was released, a Muslim mob beat, stoned and then burned the body of Deborah Emmanuel, a Christian college student who earlier had refused the sexual advances of a Muslim man. — Ganzi Magwi, Twitter, May 12, 2022, Nigeria. "We know and have evidence of how some of these allegations of blasphemy are false and just for blackmail or settling scores with perceived enemies or well-mannered young girls who have refused sexual advances by the opposite sex from another religion. We are also aware of how fanatics have in the past raised lies in the name of blasphemy." — The Rev. Joseph John Hayab, Morning Star News, May 23, 2022, Nigeria. Anooshavan Avedian, a 60-year-old Iranian-Armenian Christian, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for teaching other Christians in his house church what Judge Imam Afshari called "educational and propaganda activities contrary to and disturbing to the holy religion of Islam." — articeeighteen.com, May 5, 2022, Iran. A married Muslim couple who converted to Christianity face a 100-lashes punishment on the bizarre charge of "adultery." — Morning Star News, May 3, 2022, Sudan. On Sunday, May 8, 2022, a Muslim man barged into the Cathedral of Metz (pictured) in France and began to scream repeatedly "Allahu akbar!" After arriving, police found a knife in his possession. (Image source: Immanuel Giel/Wikimedia Commons) The following are among the abuses Muslims inflicted on Christians throughout the month of May 2022: Murder and Mayhem in Nigeria: Continue Reading Article Putin: From Frank Sinatra to Leonid Brezhnev by Amir Taheri  •  June 26, 2022 at 4:00 am       The problem is that if Putin manages to reshape Ukraine into a downsized nation, he might be tempted to revert to the doctrines that, based on their different and yet similar mystical views of Russia's role in human history, Khomyakov and Lenin advocated. And that could mean other conflicts and even wars in Europe and, perhaps, even in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. (Photo by Alexey Nikolsky/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images) As the war in Ukraine drags on, many commentators wonder where and when Russian President Vladimir Putin might decide to call an end to his current aggressive behavior. Digging into Russian history, some may assert that even if he does stop, it would be a tactical move of the kind that Lenin described as "one step back, two steps forward." Putin's behavior has its roots in the Russian psyche. From early days of appearing as a distinct people, Russians have always feared that they may become like others while, lacking in natural defenses, their vast territory was vulnerable to foreign invasion. Continue Reading Article