Refugees in Europe
October 27, 2015 11:27 am | by glom | Posted in
Uncategorised
Taking refugees from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and the rest part of the Arab world is a magnanimous and commendable gesture from the EU, and God will no doubt bless the nations and families that open their doors to the traumatised people who desperately need help. What is only worrying though is how the European government can distinguish between genuine refugees from IS infiltrating Europe with sinister agendas to cause mayhem on the streets of London, Paris, Berlin, Madrid or Copenhagen etc..
What is also worth observing and disconcerting is the fact that some Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia have refused to receive their fellow Muslims who are in distress and great need. Is it sheer wickedness, negligence or a ploy to populate the west with Muslims? It is reported that Saudi Arabian King Salman offered to build 200 mosques in Germany for migrants. Some politicians have heavily criticised this move by Saudi saying the offer is ‘cynical’ because of the nation’s foreign policy.They argue that Saudi Arabia should help by taking in some migrants. In addition, they are of the opinion that Saudi are creating refugees with military campaign in Yemen.
I hope Germany will not fall for this bait from the Saudi authorities. It makes more logical sense for Saudi authorities to spend the amount they wish to donate to Germany to settle the refugees in their land, as there are more than enough mosques in Saudi for the Muslim refugees.
Apart from rhetorical statements and criticisms, could the European powers not use their long term relationships with the Saudi government to compel them to take certain number of refugees? If understandably or not Saudi is an ally in combating terror and extremism why can’t America and Britain flex their political and economic muscles to force Saudi to take refugees?
One may also wonder if the western world will open theirs doors to Christians who are victims of persecution in Pakistan, Iraq and northern Nigeria.
The recent involving of Russia in bombing rebels and IS in Syria will no doubt exacerbate the crisis in the Middle east and potentially create more fundamentalists and refugees. The fact that Russian foreign policy in Syria differs significantly from American and other European powers is a clear indication that the crisis is far from being resolved. One wonders why all the powers involved in Syria would not agree a common strategy: unite in a fight to crush IS first rather than fight IS on one hand and embolden Syrian rebels with a view to toppling Assad regime simultaneously. I believe that this strategy is flawed and could potentially lead to the total disintegration of Syria with the consequent destabilisation of the volatile region.
As for the body of Christ, we have a duty to watch and pray for these are clear signs for the end of age. I also hope that we will use this opportunity to share the gospel with Muslims fleeing terror. In addition, we owe our governments a duty to pray for wisdom to take the right steps by making the right policies regarding refugees flooding Europe. We also must watch over our cities to prevent terror attack as IS will no doubt infiltrate the refugees camps.
Your comments are welcome.
Dr Joseph Kyari
Senior Pastor
