""One is where a minority defined by religion is under attack, either by the state or with the collusion or impotence of the state playing a part, typically involving harassment up to and including death, sometimes on a massive scale.""

I don't know whether you realise it Kevin, but that statement, with the exception of ""sometimes on a massive scale"" applies to the situation faced by Muslims in the UK, with the state being unable to do more than react after the fact.

There is a powerful argument to be made in line with Musket's comment, that these attacks are based on what the victim isn't, rather than what he is!

Minorities are, IMO, more likely to be persecuted because "They are not us"!

Because the Christian Church spread to everywhere that formed part of the Roman Empire, and beyond, the minority communities that are found throughout the Middle and Far East, tend to be Christian. This does not mean that their Christian faith is the reason for the persecution.

In countries where minorities are not Christian, persecution still occurs, and until there is concrete evidence that Christianity rather than difference is the reason, there is no justification for the title of this thread.

Don T.