Blood Cries Out by Paul Marshall andrnLela Gilbert or in Nina Shea’s In thernLion’s Den.) Instead, Goodstein chosernto quote former sufferers now on the lecturerncircuit, with the implication thatrntheir spectacular accounts were overadornedrnin order to appeal to the gangsrnof ignorant yahoos she imagines fillingrnchurches across America. It takes a seriousrnprofessional journalist to achievernthat level of distorhon without actuallyrnmisstating a single fact.rnIt is regrettably possible that somernreaders disgusted by the New York Timesrnstory might be tempted to see it as a manifestaHonrnof a specifically Jewish prejudicernagainst Christianity, and a tendencyrnto minimize GhrisHan sufferings. (Comparernthe astonishing scene in Spielberg’srnemetic production of Schindler’s List, inrnwhich the horrific war-time experiencernof the Polish Catholic people is reducedrnto the one obscene moment in which arnChristian girl derides Jews en route torndeath camps.) But the Times itself hasrnhistorically led the field in raising the issuernof anti-Christian persecution, and itsrnchief warrior in this campaign has consistentlyrnbeen Jewish columnist A.M.rnRosenthal. With his deep sensitivity tornantisemitic rhetoric, Rosenthal is notrnprepared to let any similar slanders passrnwhen they happen to be directed againstrnany other group, and he is thus the first torncomplain when Muslim extremists denouncernChristians or Bahais for poisoningrnwells and subverting society. (Anrnequally exemplary role has been playedrnby another Jewish writer, the Hudson Institute’srnMichael Horowitz.) Just as thernwhole anti-persecution campaign is notrnanti-Muslim in content, neither do itsrndetractors come from any one religiousrnor political tradition.rnGoodstein’s offensive article might berndismissed as an isolated manifestation ofrnanti-religious bigotry, but it is muchrnmore significant than that. When one ofrnthe nation’s leading newspapers is preparedrnto give such prominence to suchrnan unabashed partisan tirade against anyrnmanifestation of Christian political activism,rnit suggests either a remarkable ignorancernabout the realities of that traditionrnor outright terror at the prospect ofrnthe slightest religious involvement inrnconservative politics (as opposed to liberalrnor radical campaigns). Goodstein’s articlernmay be the best argument I havernread for the view that Christianity remainsrnthe one unacceptable religiousrntradition in the otherwise limitless tolerancernof the United States. And her articlernhas affected me profoundly: If I wasrnnot concerned before about the necessityrnto organize politically to support persecutedrnChristians worldwide, I am nowrnfully converted to this view. It takes arnrare journalist to transform one’s opinionrnso completely with a single piece ofrnwriting.rnPhilip Jenkins is Distinguished Professorrnof History and Religious Studies atrnPennsylvania State University.rnRELIGIONrnThe ChristianrnChallenge inrnIslamic Africarnby Pedro C. MorenornReligious persecution in Africa is particularlyrninteresting since countriesrnthere go from one extreme to another inrnterms of religious tolerance. The growthrnof Islam is reconfiguring Africa’s religiousrnlandscape—at the cost of religiousrnliberty.rnFrontline Fellowship, an evangelicalrngroup based in South Africa which operatesrnin Sudan and other countries, providesrnthese estimates: Christians are restrictedrnand pressured (often violently) inrn17 African countries considered “officiallyrnIslamic.” Out of Africa’s 750 millionrnpeople, 260 million are Muslim (half ofrnwhom live in the sub-Saharan region).rnThe African population could thus bernroughly categorized as 50 percent Christianrnand 35 percent Mushm. Animistsrn(who overlap with the Christians andrnMuslims) make up the rest, togetherrnwith very small percentages of Hindus,rnJews, and Bahais.rnThe situation varies from country torncountr}’, but three of Africa’s largest statesrnare representative of conditions therernnow: Egypt, an example of the longstandingrnMuslim stronghold in NorthernrnAfrica; Sudan, an ethnically mixedrncountry under harsh ride from its Muslimrnmajority; and Nigeria, more representativernof black Africa, which is increasinglyrnbeing islamicized by its militaryrnregime.rnThe Arab Republic of Egypt gainedrnindependence from Great Britain inrn1922, and in 1956, it declared itself anrnIslamic state. Religious minorities includernsix million Christian Copts, constitutingrnten percent of the populationrnand forming the largest Christian minorityrnin the Middle East; five to ten thousandrnBahais; 5,000 Shiite Muslims;rnnon-Coptic Christians; a small Jewishrncommunity; plus atheists and agnostics.rnEgypt’s 1971 constitution guaranteesrnequality of opportunity to all citizens regardlessrnof race, ethnic origin, language,rnreligion, or creed. Although the governmentrnapplies Islamic law to all Muslims,rnit does not force adherents of other religionsrnto comply.rnFor Egypt’s Islamic fundamentalists,rnthis is not enough, as the government isrnwell aware. A former Egyptian ministerrnof religious affairs bluntly told me that,rnwhile he recognized there were problemsrnwith religious liberty in Egypt,rn”We are trying hard to provide for an environmentrnof religious freedom. If thernMuslim fundamentalists took over therncountry, the first one to be killed wouldrnbe me.”rnUnder such pressures, Egypt lacks thernlegal safeguards to make its constitutionalrnprovisions regarding freedom of religionrna reality. For example, the governmentrnrequires every Egyptian citizen torncarry an identity card which states thernbearer’s religion. Recent abridgments ofrnreligious liberty in Egypt fall into fivernmain categories: prohibition on conversionrnfrom Islam, torture and loss of life,rnlack of social and economic freedomrndue to religion, curtailed freedom ofrnworship, and censorship of religiousrntexts. Persecution of Coptic Christiansrnand others continues to this day, includingrnthe recent interrogations and torturernof 1,000 Christians in El-Kosheh in relationrnto the murder of two Coptic men inrnUpper Egypt, and the indictment ofrnthree Coptic clergymen relative to thernsame crime.rnSudan is an even more difficult case.rnIt is widely listed as a top violator of religiousrnfreedom. The Christian south experiencesrnregular persecution by thernMuslim-controlled government. Apostasyrnis punishable by death, and mass displacement,rngenocide, massacres, andrneven slavery are common.rnSudan became a republic in 1956 andrnthen alternated between military andrn42/CHRONICLESrnrnrn