Muslims hijack Jesus' birthplace
Pastor Dale Morgan
Muslims hijack Jesus' birthplace*
Street peddlers bombard tourists, block Christian stores outside Manger
Square
Posted: December 23, 2007
News From Israel
BETHLEHEM – Muslim street peddlers here bombarded tourists with
discounted souvenirs in Manger Square – the hub of Bethlehem's holiday
activity – setting up shop in front of Christian stores some of whose
owners complained their businesses were being hijacked.
"Tourism is up this year. Christians are visiting from all over. They
come out of the Church of the Nativity and before they arrive at my
store they've already been approached by a half-dozen Muslim vendors
selling the same stuff but cheaper," said the manager of one shop
situated across from the Church of the Nativity alongside Manger Square.
"We lower the prices, but then the vendors do, too," the manager complained.
The church is the believed birthplace of Jesus. It has seen an increase
in the number of visitors since last year, according to locals. Directly
outside the church begins the Manger Square thoroughfare, site of
religious activity, Christmas decorations and mostly Christian-owned stores.
But the thoroughfare has been packed with Muslim vendors selling
souvenirs and religious items such as crosses and cedarwood carvings –
much the same objects found in the surrounding Christian stores.
Church visitors cannot exit the large structure without passing through
the swarms of vendors.
Several local Christians, speaking on condition of anonymity, charged
the Muslim vendors set up their stations without required permits after
paying what were described as "special commissions" to the Palestinian
Authority security forces that control the city.
We asked three vendors if they had obtained permits, but they refused to
respond.
Upon observing the scene for an afternoon, it was clear during that time
the Muslim vendors were raking in the majority of business. According to
local shopworkers, this has been the situation for the past two weeks.
The scene was the latest episode of Bethlehem's dwindling Christian
population, which has reportedly been the target of rampant Islamic
intimidation and persecution.
Bethlehem consisted of up to 80 percent Christians when Israel was
founded in 1948, but immediately after the Palestinian Authority took
over in 1995 in line with the U.S.-backed Oslo Accords, the Christian
population quickly declined to about 23 percent, with a large majority
of Muslims. The 23 percent Christian statistic is considered generous
since it includes the satellite towns of Beit Sahour and Beit Jala. Some
estimates place Bethlehem's actual Christian population as low as 12
percent, with hundreds of Christians emigrating every year.
Christian leaders and residents, most of whom spoke out on condition of
anonymity during recent interviews, said they face an atmosphere of
regular hostility. They said Palestinian armed groups stir tension by
holding militant demonstrations and marches in the streets. They spoke
of instances in which Christian shopkeepers' stores were ransacked and
Christian homes attacked.
They said in the past, Palestinian gunmen fired at Israelis from
Christian hilltop communities, drawing Israeli anti-terror raids to
their towns.
In 2002, dozens of terrorists holed up inside the Church of the Nativity
for 39 days while fleeing a massive Israeli anti-terror operation.
Israel surrounded the church area but refused to storm the structure.
Gunmen inside included wanted senior Hamas, Tanzim and Brigades
terrorists reportedly involved in suicide bombings and shooting attacks.
More than 200 nuns and priests were trapped in the church after Israeli
hostage negotiators failed to secure their release.
Some Christian leaders said one of the most significant problems facing
Christians in Bethlehem is the rampant confiscation of land by Muslim gangs.
"There are many cases where Christians have their land stolen by the
[Muslim] mafia," said Samir Qumsiyeh, a Bethlehem Christian leader and
owner of the Beit Sahour-based private Al-Mahd (Nativity) TV station.
"It is a regular phenomenon in Bethlehem. They go to a poor Christian
person with a forged power of attorney document, then they say we have
papers proving you're living on our land. If you confront them, many
times the Christian is beaten. You can't do anything about it. The
Christian loses and he runs away," Qumsiyeh said, speaking form his
hilltop television station during a recent interview.
Qumsiyeh himself said he was targeted by Islamic gangs. He said his home
was firebombed after he returned from a trip abroad during which he gave
public speeches outlining the plight of Bethlehem's Christian population.
One Christian Bethlehem resident said that her friend recently fled
Bethlehem after being accused by Muslims of selling property to Jews, a
crime punishable by death in some Palestinian cities. The resident said
a good deal of the intimidation comes from gunmen associated with PA
President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah organization.
A Jerusalem Post article in February cited the case of Faud and
Georgette Lama, Christian residents of Bethlehem who said their land was
stolen by local Muslims and when they tried to do something about it,
Faud was beaten by gunmen.
Qumsiyeh and other Christian leaders said if current trends in Bethlehem
continue, there may be no Christians left in the city in 15 years. He
said he appealed to U.S. Christian leaders to help initiate housing
projects and find ways to fortify and strengthen Bethlehem's Christian
population, but that little assistance was offered.
"The way things are, soon there will not be a single Christian living in
the land of Jesus," he said.