Ndio maana ninakataa siku zote kwamba hizi sio dini ila ni utamaduni tu wa watu kwani kama ingelikuwa ni dini basi mambo ya kipumbavu kama haya yasingekuwepo. Endelea kusoma.👇
Wakristo wa kusini-magharibi mwa Arabia, na hasa katika Aden, mji wa bandari ulioko Yemen, wana historia yenye mizizi iliyoanzia karne ya nne. Licha ya mateso kwa karne nyingi, imani ya Kikristo iliendelea kustawi na kupanuka, na kuwa dini iliyoenea zaidi Aden kabla ya ujio wa Uislamu. Lakini kutokana na kuongezeka kwa mawazo ya kidini yenye msimamo mkali, Wakristo walio wachache huko wamepitia magumu.
Badr, mwanamke Mkatoliki wa Yemen aliyezaliwa katika miaka ya 1980 na anayeishi Aden, alizungumza hivi majuzi kuhusu masaibu ya Wakristo huko na ACI Mena, mshirika wa habari wa CNA wa lugha ya Kiarabu.
Akitaka kutotajwa jina, alieleza hivi: “Sikutambua kwamba sisi, tukiwa Wakristo, tulikuwa wachache hadi nilipofika shule ya sekondari. Huko, nilipata changamoto kali zinazohusiana na imani yangu na kupoteza haki zetu.”
“Tulilazimishwa kuvaa hijabu,” aliiambia ACI Mena. “Serikali ilitukataza rasmi kuadhimisha Misa ya usiku wa manane kwenye Krismasi na usiku wa Mwaka Mpya. Wakristo walikubali hali hiyo na hawakupaza sauti zao. Wengine walihama, wengine walibadilisha dini wakihofia kupoteza nyumba zao na kazi. Wengi waliendelea kuabudu kwa siri wakati ambapo Kanisa halikuwa likiwaunga mkono vijana au kufanya kazi ya kuimarisha familia.”
Soma Pia: Messi alikataa kucheza uarabuni kwa shilingi Trilioni 4 kwa mwaka sababu ya sheria kandamizi za dola ya kiislamu zinanyanyasa na kubagua wakristo
Christians in southwestern Arabia, and specifically in Aden, a port city located in Yemen, have a deeply-rooted history dating back to the fourth century. Despite persecution over the centuries, the Christian faith continued to flourish and expand, becoming the most widespread religion in Aden before the advent of Islam. But with the rise of extremist religious thought, the Christian minority there has experienced hardship.
Badr, a Yemeni Catholic woman born in the 1980s and living in Aden, spoke recently about the plight of Christians there with ACI Mena, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner.
Wishing to remain anonymous, she explained: “I didn’t realize that we, as Christians, were a minority until I reached middle school. There, I experienced harsh challenges related to my faith and to the loss of our rights.”
She continued: “Although some small churches became nationalized in the 1970s, Christians maintained the right to education in schools and employment in government jobs before 1994. Women enjoyed the freedom to dress [as they wish], and on the religious level, we were allowed to pray inside churches that were tax-free like mosques. The state also provided visas and residency status for foreign priests. No one pressured us to change our religion.”
However, Badr said all of that changed when the Muslim Brotherhood came to power.
“We were forced to wear the hijab,” she told ACI Mena. “The government officially prohibited us from celebrating midnight Mass on Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Christians accepted the situation and did not raise their voices. Some emigrated, others changed their religion, fearing to lose their homes and jobs. Many practiced their faith behind closed doors at a time when the Church did not support young people or work on strengthening families.”
www.catholicnewsagency.com
Wakristo wa kusini-magharibi mwa Arabia, na hasa katika Aden, mji wa bandari ulioko Yemen, wana historia yenye mizizi iliyoanzia karne ya nne. Licha ya mateso kwa karne nyingi, imani ya Kikristo iliendelea kustawi na kupanuka, na kuwa dini iliyoenea zaidi Aden kabla ya ujio wa Uislamu. Lakini kutokana na kuongezeka kwa mawazo ya kidini yenye msimamo mkali, Wakristo walio wachache huko wamepitia magumu.
Badr, mwanamke Mkatoliki wa Yemen aliyezaliwa katika miaka ya 1980 na anayeishi Aden, alizungumza hivi majuzi kuhusu masaibu ya Wakristo huko na ACI Mena, mshirika wa habari wa CNA wa lugha ya Kiarabu.
Akitaka kutotajwa jina, alieleza hivi: “Sikutambua kwamba sisi, tukiwa Wakristo, tulikuwa wachache hadi nilipofika shule ya sekondari. Huko, nilipata changamoto kali zinazohusiana na imani yangu na kupoteza haki zetu.”
“Tulilazimishwa kuvaa hijabu,” aliiambia ACI Mena. “Serikali ilitukataza rasmi kuadhimisha Misa ya usiku wa manane kwenye Krismasi na usiku wa Mwaka Mpya. Wakristo walikubali hali hiyo na hawakupaza sauti zao. Wengine walihama, wengine walibadilisha dini wakihofia kupoteza nyumba zao na kazi. Wengi waliendelea kuabudu kwa siri wakati ambapo Kanisa halikuwa likiwaunga mkono vijana au kufanya kazi ya kuimarisha familia.”
Soma Pia: Messi alikataa kucheza uarabuni kwa shilingi Trilioni 4 kwa mwaka sababu ya sheria kandamizi za dola ya kiislamu zinanyanyasa na kubagua wakristo
Christians in southwestern Arabia, and specifically in Aden, a port city located in Yemen, have a deeply-rooted history dating back to the fourth century. Despite persecution over the centuries, the Christian faith continued to flourish and expand, becoming the most widespread religion in Aden before the advent of Islam. But with the rise of extremist religious thought, the Christian minority there has experienced hardship.
Badr, a Yemeni Catholic woman born in the 1980s and living in Aden, spoke recently about the plight of Christians there with ACI Mena, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner.
Wishing to remain anonymous, she explained: “I didn’t realize that we, as Christians, were a minority until I reached middle school. There, I experienced harsh challenges related to my faith and to the loss of our rights.”
She continued: “Although some small churches became nationalized in the 1970s, Christians maintained the right to education in schools and employment in government jobs before 1994. Women enjoyed the freedom to dress [as they wish], and on the religious level, we were allowed to pray inside churches that were tax-free like mosques. The state also provided visas and residency status for foreign priests. No one pressured us to change our religion.”
However, Badr said all of that changed when the Muslim Brotherhood came to power.
“We were forced to wear the hijab,” she told ACI Mena. “The government officially prohibited us from celebrating midnight Mass on Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Christians accepted the situation and did not raise their voices. Some emigrated, others changed their religion, fearing to lose their homes and jobs. Many practiced their faith behind closed doors at a time when the Church did not support young people or work on strengthening families.”
Yemeni Christians pressured to conform to Islamic law
A Yemeni Catholic woman born in the 1980s and living in Aden spoke recently about the plight of Christians in her country.
www.catholicnewsagency.com
