Rand Paul stands up for Christians

Mollie Hemingway writes at the Federalist,

The Obama administration is being sued by everyone from Wheaton College to the Little Sisters of the Poor over its Health and Human Services’ dictate that they’re not religious enough to avoid providing insurance plans that cover — at no cost to the employee — contraception, abortifacients and sterilization. In fact, there are some 74 cases and over 200 plaintiffs representing hospitals, universities, businesses and schools involved in that key religious liberty battle.

But, what about the killing of Christians overseas? Who is going to stand up for the Christians being slaughtered by Islamists in Egypt, Kenya, India, Sri Lanka and Tanzania, to name just a few recent examples.

Were Christians in Iraq better off under Saddam Hussein? Lela Gilbert has noted,

Since 2003, more than half of Iraq’s Christian population of 800,000 has fled. One horrific church bombing October 31, 2010, killing 58, made the news. But there was much more…

What about Egypt and Syria? Hemingway writes,

Since late 2010, Egypt’s Coptic Christian community – 8,000,000 strong – has been under assault – tens of thousands have fled.

In recent months, the Christians have been blamed for the demise of the Muslim Brotherhood’s regime.

In the span of just three days, between August 14 and 16, 38 Churches were destroyed; 23 were vandalized. Fifty-eight Coptic homes were burned and looted. Eighty-five Copt-owned shops, 16 pharmacies and 3 hotels were demolished. Six Christians were killed; seven Copts were kidnapped…

Now hundreds of thousands of Syrian Christians have fled; others are bleeding and dying, often targeted by Al Qaeda-affiliated rebels who demand that they convert to Islam or die.

Obama and his media minions'

support for the Arab Spring has included support for new leadership that is frequently much more hostile to the Christian community. In Syria it has meant siding with Al Qaeda-linked rebels who have outright killed Christians for their faith.

Senator Rand Paul gave a speech last week in which he

pointed out that the rebels in Syria who have beheaded and shot Christians for their faith are allies of the Islamic Rebels President Obama is now arming.

In his speech Paul said,

American tax dollars should never be spent to prop up a war on Christianity. But that is what is happening right now. As Christians we should take a stand and fight against any of our tax dollars funding the persecution of Christians.

Hemingway concludes,

Ceasing to fund and arm those who persecute Christians or tolerate the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities isn’t just a fresh idea, it also fits in perfectly with Rand Paul’s non-interventionist foreign policy. After a dozen years of wars — costly in terms of the American body count, the toll on military families and the sheer cost — Americans are simply more receptive to a more Constitutionally restrained foreign policy. But Paul is showing that he knows how to talk about such restraint in a compelling and inspirational manner to audiences that have been previously swayed by a more interventionist approach.