Gaza Christians protest alleged kidnapping of young man over conversion; Hamas police deny claim

The small Christian community in the Gaza Strip has protested what it describes as the kidnapping of a young man in an effort to force him to convert to Islam. The head of the church in Gaza said that the young Christian man was taken on a Saturday after being heavily pressured to convert, and that he was being prevented from meeting his family.

According to the church leader, the young man’s parents went to the police to file a complaint, but the police did nothing after they realized that the leader of the group allegedly responsible was a senior Muslim cleric affiliated with the Hamas movement. The church’s account centers on the family’s appeal for protection, a concern for the vulnerable (Psalm 82:3).

Members of the Christian community then held an unusual demonstration in the Gaza Strip to protest the situation. They rang the church bells and chanted “In spirit and blood we will sacrifice ourselves for you – Jesus.” A similar solidarity demonstration was held in Bethlehem in front of the Church of the Nativity.

Hamas police spokesman Ayman Bataniji strongly rejected the church’s claims. He said that the young man had already converted to Islam, and that when he arrived at his family’s home a fight broke out that led to police intervention. He stressed that the young man was not kidnapped, and said he was under the supervision of the same cleric out of fear that family members would harm him.

The Christian community in the Gaza Strip has declined in recent years. A few years ago, about 3,500 Christians lived in the Gaza Strip; today, according to the report, their number stands at only 1,500. Community members fear that this rapid decline could lead to the community disappearing, whether through emigration or through members’ decisions to convert to Islam.

“If things continue in this way, there will be no Christians left in the Gaza Strip,” said the mother of the young man who converted to Islam. “Today it is him, who will be next?”

Source: Read the original report (translated from Hebrew)