Easter Sunday Attack in Sri Lanka

wing2000

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A sad day in Sri Lanka....attacks on people of all faiths around the world is heartbreaking.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — A series of coordinated explosions struck three churches and four hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, killing more than 200 people and injuring 450.

...
There has been no claim of responsibility for the bombings, the deadliest violence in Sri Lanka since the end of its civil war in 2009. Sri Lanka is a predominantly Buddhist nation but is also home to significant Hindu, Muslim and Christian communities.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...bc984dc9eec_story.html?utm_term=.8ffc99fdaa91
 

JosephZ

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I wonder if Omar will condemn it.
Have the authorities provided information on who the perpetrators are yet? I haven't read anything that says they have.

While these attacks may very well be the work of Islamist extremists, prior to the destabilization of the Middle East, the world’s leading suicide terrorist organisation was The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (A secular/Hindu terrorist group). They were responsible for a suicide attack in the one of the same cities that was attacked today in 1996, Colombo, that killed more than 90 people and injured as many as 1,400. Between 1987 and 2009 they carried out attacks that killed over 1,500 people and injured thousands more.

It's a bit premature to jump to conclusions at this point, and regardless of who the perpetrators are, I'm sure Congresswoman Ilhan Omar along with many other leaders from various faiths around the world will condemn these acts of evil.
 
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Dan1988

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A sad day in Sri Lanka....attacks on people of all faiths around the world is heartbreaking.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — A series of coordinated explosions struck three churches and four hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, killing more than 200 people and injuring 450.

...
There has been no claim of responsibility for the bombings, the deadliest violence in Sri Lanka since the end of its civil war in 2009. Sri Lanka is a predominantly Buddhist nation but is also home to significant Hindu, Muslim and Christian communities.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...bc984dc9eec_story.html?utm_term=.8ffc99fdaa91
These attacks were much worse than the NZ massacre, but the world hasn't shown much sympathy to the Sri Lankan Christians.

Christ told His followers that they would be hated by the world. He was absolutely right, Christians are the most hated people in the world.
 
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JosephZ

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These attacks were much worse than the NZ massacre, but the world hasn't shown much sympathy to the Sri Lankan Christians.
While these attacks targeted churches, it also targeted hotels. The victims include Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims among others. I'm not sure where you've been since news of these attacks first broke, but there has been wall to wall coverage since it occurred, and words of condemnation for the attackers, and words of solidarity and sympathy for the victims from world leaders, religious leaders, and people of all faiths coming in. Just go to Twitter and type in the hash tag (#SriLanka) and you will see this. You can also scroll through this live feed of updates provided by The Guardian and see even more examples. Sri Lanka attacks: several arrested after 207 killed at hotels and churches on Easter Sunday – live
 
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Dan1988

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While these attacks targeted churches, it also targeted hotels. The victims include Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims among others. I'm not sure where you've been since news of these attacks first broke, but there has been wall to wall coverage since it occurred, and words of condemnation for the attackers, and words of solidarity and sympathy for the victims from world leaders, religious leaders, and people of all faiths coming in. Just go to Twitter and type in the hash tag (#SriLanka) and you will see this. You can also scroll through this live feed of updates provided by The Guardian and see even more examples. Sri Lanka attacks: several arrested after 207 killed at hotels and churches on Easter Sunday – live
I was comparing the way the world responded to the NZ attack on Muslims compared to the Sri Lankan attack on Christians.

We all know the world hates Christians, and loves all the enemies of God. Christ told us to rejoice when the world hates us, because our reward will be great in heaven.
 
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anna ~ grace

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Christ, have mercy! This is awful.... and on Easter..... Christ have mercy on all killed, and injured.

Jesus, King of Love, I trust in Your Merciful Goodness....

s-l1000.jpg
 
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TheBear

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While these attacks targeted churches, it also targeted hotels. The victims include Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims among others. I'm not sure where you've been since news of these attacks first broke, but there has been wall to wall coverage since it occurred, and words of condemnation for the attackers, and words of solidarity and sympathy for the victims from world leaders, religious leaders, and people of all faiths coming in. Just go to Twitter and type in the hash tag (#SriLanka) and you will see this. You can also scroll through this live feed of updates provided by The Guardian and see even more examples. Sri Lanka attacks: several arrested after 207 killed at hotels and churches on Easter Sunday – live
They were targeting Christians, both in churches, and in the hotels where large numbers of Christians were gathered for breakfast after Easter services. Any others killed or injured during the attacks were collateral damage.

Accept it or not, the fact is, an Islamic terrorist group specifically targeted and attacked Christians on a high holy day. Stop trying to cover for them.
 
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All Englands Skies

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This attack puts pay to the well-trodden myth that Islamic terrorists are always "retaliating" in some way when they often single out Christians as their chosen hated group.

Sri Lanka is a mainly Buddhist Country, the largest minority is then Hindus. Most of the anti-muslim sentiment and "Islamophobia" comes from hard line Buddhists in Sri-lanka.

Yet the Islamists target Churches and Christians, when Christians are a minority group themselves in Sri-Lanka, why aren't they targeting the Buddhist temples, as in Sri lanka, Buddhists are the main group to hassle Muslims, so its just pure-hatred against Christians.

Funny, the Muslim lobbyists and also so called "left wingers" and their constant twitter feeds and social media both hype up the rhetoric that Christians are the enemies of Muslims and imply their bigots, yet what they say has no bearing on such violence against Christians, its the extremists only who are to blame. However when a far-right nutcase attacks Muslims, anybody who said any criticism against Islam is responsible, any Christian with a theological dispute against Islam or anybody who highlights the rife supremacy in Islamic society and the common trend of Supremacy in Islamic belief systems, etc, not just the extremists are responsible.

Its inconsistent to not hold all Muslim-lobbyist and Left Wing and SJW rhetoric on the internet responsible for such attacks against Christians, if people then hold anyone who is right leaning, Conservative, or any Christians who challenges Islam is held responsible for atrocities against Muslims.

I tried to make this point in the NZ shooting thread, but decided after my initial posts, it was not the place and didn't want to push the issue further when Muslims lay dead, but now, on this thread, when Christians have been targeted, I will say what I think.
 
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grasping the after wind

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I did not know Christian was a race.

It is no more a race than Islam is. It would be nice if people would use terms like racism properly but they often do not. If someone hates Christians or Muslims that would not properly be called racism because Islam and Christianity are not races but religions. If one hates adherents to a religion, though one might also be a racist or not , hating adherents to a religion is not in and of itself racism. We tend to incorrectly throw labels around a lot more today than was the practice in the past and in so doing we cheapen the effect when the label is properly applied. The boy crying wolf effect. If the term racist is used as a political weapon against those that are not actually racists then people will tend to be skeptical whenever the term is used even when it is used properly to point out real racists engaging in real racism.
 
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wing2000

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Sri Lanka's violence historically has been between political groups. This attack appears to have been aimed at provoking sectarian tension....in an effort to turn people against each other.

As with all terrorists attacks, we have a choice: You can either ignore their efforts and love all people (as Christ instructed) or give into the terrorist by turning on people based on their differences - in this case - religion.
 
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GoldenBoy89

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If Judaism is, then so is Christian. If Christian is not, then Judaism is not. Pick one. But not going to have it both ways.
Fair enough. Is it important to you that Christianity be thought of as a race like Judaism generally is?
 
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grasping the after wind

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If Judaism is, then so is Christian. If Christian is not, then Judaism is not. Pick one. But not going to have it both ways.

Actually Judaism may be a religion but being a Jew is not only about being included in the religion of Judaism but also about a being a part of an ethnic group. One can be a Jew, and not be an adherent to the religion of Judaism and be an adherent of Judaism and not be ethnically Jewish. Both Christianity and being a Christian are solely about the religion. One cannot be a Christian and not be and adherent to the religion of Christianity or be an adherent to the Christian religion and not be a Christian. Anti Semitism is not about the religion of Judaism but about the ethnicity of the Jews.
 
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grasping the after wind

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Fair enough. Is it important to you that Christianity be thought of as a race like Judaism generally is?

Judaism is not a race either and should not be thought of as such.
 
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GoldenBoy89

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essentialsaltes

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Sri Lanka is a mainly Buddhist Country, the largest minority is then Hindus. Most of the anti-muslim sentiment and "Islamophobia" comes from hard line Buddhists in Sri-lanka.

Yet the Islamists target Churches and Christians, when Christians are a minority group themselves in Sri-Lanka, why aren't they targeting the Buddhist temples, as in Sri lanka, Buddhists are the main group to hassle Muslims, so its just pure-hatred against Christians.

That's why the authorities suspect the local terrorists received help and aid from international Islamist terrorist organizations. Not just because of the scope and coordination of the attacks, but their targets.

Sri Lanka on Monday accused a local Islamist extremist group, the National Thowheed Jamaath, of being behind a string of Easter bombings against churches and hotels that killed at least 290 people.

Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said the group, whose name roughly translates as National Monotheism Organization, perpetrated the attack using suicide bombers against three churches and three hotels. He added that a foreign network was probably involved.

“We do not believe these attacks were carried out by a group of people who were confined to this country,” Senaratne said. “There was an international network without which these attacks could not have succeeded.”

Sri Lanka is a predominantly Buddhist nation, but it is also home to significant Hindu, Muslim and Christian communities. While there has been intermittent conflict between religious groups — including threats to Christians — nothing remotely like Sunday’s attacks had occurred.

The SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks extremist activity online, reported Sunday that Islamic State [i.e. ISIS] supporters were portraying the attacks as revenge for strikes on mosques and Muslims.
 
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jayem

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It is no more a race than Islam is. It would be nice if people would use terms like racism properly but they often do not. If someone hates Christians or Muslims that would not properly be called racism because Islam and Christianity are not races but religions. If one hates adherents to a religion, though one might also be a racist or not , hating adherents to a religion is not in and of itself racism. We tend to incorrectly throw labels around a lot more today than was the practice in the past and in so doing we cheapen the effect when the label is properly applied. The boy crying wolf effect. If the term racist is used as a political weapon against those that are not actually racists then people will tend to be skeptical whenever the term is used even when it is used properly to point out real racists engaging in real racism.


Let’s just say bigotry. That covers it all.
 
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JosephZ

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They were targeting Christians, both in churches, and in the hotels where large numbers of Christians were gathered for breakfast after Easter services. Any others killed or injured during the attacks were collateral damage.

Accept it or not, the fact is, an Islamic terrorist group specifically targeted and attacked Christians on a high holy day. Stop trying to cover for them.
I don't cover for terrorists, so don't ever accuse me of doing that.

Yes, part of the attack was aimed at churches during Easter services which obviously shows us that Christians in Sri Lanka were deliberately targeted, but the attacks on the hotels had nothing to do with the religious make up of the people staying in them.

The hotels would be filled with tourists, business people, and wealthy locals. While these guests would be followers of a variety of religions, most would be Buddhists based on the demographics of the country. The hotels were chosen so the attack would garner high amount of international media coverage since the victims would represent multiple nationalities. Intentionally hurting Sri Lanka's tourism industry would be a secondary reason for targeting hotels. It certainly wouldn't have been because the terrorists suspected there would be a large number of Christians staying at the hotels they targeted.
 
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