For these tortured believers and other Christians around the world, it will be best to keep this holy night a silent night. For these persecuted souls, there is no room at the inn.

On Saturday, the world’s Christians joined in prayer and celebration of the birth of Jesus. For too many of them, this worshipful act will take place under the threat of imprisonment, torture or execution.

“Christians are the religious group which suffers most from persecution on account of its faith,” Pope Benedict XVI wrote in the Vatican’s annual Peace Day message. The pontiff chose not to single out the most notable perpetrators of this persecution, but previous Vatican statements and numerous human rights surveys point the finger at Muslim-majority countries.

In most of them, Islam is the official state religion and source of law. In those places, there is no appreciation for the Western practice of freedom of worship. Indeed, free exercise is the very thing that can lead to violence.

The case of Asia Bibi – a 45-year-old Pakistani Christian mother of five sentenced to death in November for allegedly blaspheming against Muhammad – has gained wide press attention. Less noticed is the case of the Rev. Wilson Augustine, a 25-year-old Pakistani Christian evangelist who was beaten with clubs and belts and set on fire for preaching the Gospel in villages near the town of Sargodha.

In Egypt, there is rising violence against members of the ancient Coptic Christian community, which existed in the country centuries before Islam was founded. In January, six Christians were killed when three Muslim gunmen opened fire on worshippers attending a Coptic Christmas Mass.

Read More: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/dec/22/crucifying-christians-on-christmas/