Conservative Christians pushed hard for G-word (genocide in Darfur)

[Minstrel Boy]

Conservative Christians pushed hard for G-word

By MICHAEL VALPY
From Friday's Globe and Mail

The U.S. administration's use of the G-word — genocide — for the violence in Sudan was lauded Thursday by the American evangelical right and interpreted by a specialist on religion and politics as a direct result of conservative Christians' influence on President George W. Bush.

Timothy Shah, a senior fellow with the Washington-based Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, said in an interview that although there were probably several factors behind the action, it was "very unlikely that the U.S. administration would put the kind of pressure it's putting on Sudan but for the evangelical Christian community.

"It certainly won't hurt President Bush, with his evangelical base," he said.

U.S. evangelical leaders have portrayed the deaths of as many as 50,000 people in the Sudanese region of Darfur at the hands of militias as a persecution of Christians by the country's Muslim leaders, although many of those killed are Muslims themselves.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040910.wxsudanside0910/BNStory/International/

[acmavm]

1. Muslims don't count. Get with the program. Sheesh.

edit: forgot the <sarcasm> indicator.

[noonwitch]

2. They're right on this one, it is genocide

It may not be at the Rwanda level yet, but it is genocide based on ethnic and religious affiliations. The arab/muslim militias are killing the native africans and targeting christians. I hope Powell is able to convince the UN and/or the Bush administration to intervene on these people's behalf, even though they don't have any oil.

[Charles19]

3. Darfur is all Muslims. It is Muslims vs. Muslims there. (nt)