We in the West are so blessed to be here.
If The Lord tarries, the Western Church as a whole isn't ready for the coming hard persecution. Very few Christians in the West realize what is likely coming our way, much less how to stay strong in the faith. The daily minutiae and intricacies of living in a system that is hostile in every imaginable way are hard to fathom until one sees it or experiences it. Given the short time remaining, and the speed at which sharia has historically been imposed by muslim conquerors, I suspect the learning curve will be steep. Adhering to the secular aspects of sharia is a royal pain on a good day. Legal and codified discrimination in islam make the old Jim Crow laws look fair and benign. Moral conduct is very similar to conservative Christianity, but there's no freedom for women and girls. However, the convert-or-die, no disrespecting of islam, etc., mandatory public prayer, mandatory kissing of a displayed Q'ran, no possessing a Bible or even a portion of it, etc., etc., etc. are impossible for Christians.
WARNING: Gross stuff that happens during islamic persecution of Christians follows (I tried to keep it family-friendly, but some things are still very disturbing and icky). Not all islamic countries observe sharia the same way. So varying premutations and strictness, and this can change over time or every time the government or highest local islamic cleric changes.
Imagine the following scenarios that can and do happen under sharia:
A single mother with two children is fired from her job for being Christian, or maybe just not being muslim.
She then loses her apartment, either because of inability to pay, or because non-muslims aren't allowed to live in that building or complex.
The woman isn't eligible for government assistance/programs because she's not muslim.
The woman loses virtually all of her possessions because only so much will fit in her car or the eviction is no or one-day notice.
The woman is arrested and her car towed away because women aren't allowed to drive. Her children are either disappeared into the system to be raised by muslim families, sold into slavery, sold as wives for muslim jihadis or government officials, or put in jail with her. If she's lucky, she and her children are set free after however long they're detained. Otherwise, the woman may be sold as a wife or slave and her children to any of the afore-mentioned situations. In the meantime, she's likely beaten and raped while in jail. Quite possibly in front of her children.
A Christian family (Dad, Mom, and a child). Dad is working at the menial, every low-paid job he's allowed. Mom is at home with the child. The child gets very sick and needs to go to the ER. There's no cell phone because they can't afford one, so Mom has to take the child for help without him being with her to chaperone her while out in public. She tries the neighbors, but no one will help her because she's an infidel, and no woman dares go out in public without an adult male family member. The woman makes it to the ER without getting arrested for being in public unaccompanied, but they won't see her child because they're not muslim. A nurse offers to treat the child if Mom converts to islam, give up her child for adoption by a muslim family, or sell herself and the child into slavery.
A Christian family (Dad, Mom, and one or more children) is desperately poor and hasn't eaten in a couple of days. The local halal market has abundant, cheap, good-quality produce, meat, etc. However, non-muslims aren't allowed to shop there. They must shop at the dirty, small market at the far end of town, where the food is poor-quality, very expensive, and in short supply. The hungry children are looking pleadingly at their parents. No food stamps or other assistance/programs for non-muslims. The family has a Bible, which if they turn in, will garner a monetary reward from the religious police, sufficient to feed all of them well for a month, or three months if they're very careful, plus 90 days of special privilege to shop at the halal market. Dad also knows someone else, who has a Bible. If he gives the information to the religious police, he'll get double the reward that he would get just for turning in the family Bible.
sharia has been enacted in a town or city, and everyone has been told they can convert to islam, leave, pay 10 percent jizya tax of net worth for a one-year permit to stay (dhimmitude), or die. Those remaining as dhimmis are restricted in what types of work they can do, where they can live, etc. Depending on how strict the application of sharia, dhimmis might get to keep a family business or home. If they opt to stay, they'll have to pay jizya every year on net worth. It's ruinous, and eventually, the family becomes penniless and must beg, flee, sell a daughter for a wife, or sell themselves into slavery.
muslim banks treat muslims and non-muslims differently: muslim home loans are interest-free, and others pay high interest. Schools often restrict attendance to muslims only, males only, or muslim males only. Sometimes, the restrictions only apply starting at a specific grade. High School is a common dividing point, but some places it's after 3rd grade or starting at age 10 or 12. Sometimes, girls aren't allowed during their time of the month, except some places that have separate girls' schools.
Baksheesh (bribe) can overcome some "difficulties" with various public and private authorities or grease the wheels to get bureaucracy moving to get a needed license, permit, service, etc.
Depending on the area or situation Christian homes might be marked with the arabic letter nun (my avatar) or an X or + to indicate targeted for persecution actions, which could include death, seizure of daughters as brides, forfeiture of property, burning of homes, etc. Sometimes the marking happens the day before or a few days to a week before to "encourage" infidels to leave. Sometimes, Christians and other non-muslims are told they must mark their own homes if they have girls of marriageable age (usually 10 or 12 and older). Failure to do so is "rewarded" with death, burning out, etc., and the girl(s) are often taken anyway.
There's a lot more stuff that happens. Discrimination at work, including assignments, promotions, demotions, and pay. Discrimination in housing, including prohbition of non-muslims living in some places, buying property, prices paid, etc. Some kinds of diagnosis and treatment denied to non-muslims, or no medical care at all. Shopping in some places is muslim-only. If one is in public when a call to blasphemy occurs, one must partake in the public praying or face a severe beating or death. During prayers, shops must close. Some will shelter non-muslims, others kick them out and lock the door. In some places, sharia courts govern marriage and divorce. Women have a really hard time getting a divorce and for men it's easy. Property division and custody are greatly in favor of men, and in some places, the woman leaves with only the clothes on her back. Men can have up to 4 wives, but women only one husband. In some places, women can't drive, sign contracts, travel without an adult male relative (12 and over) chaperone, hold their own passports, purchase public conveyance fare without husband present/husband's consent, etc., etc., etc. Possession of Bibles, hymnals, other non-muslim materials banned, with varying penalties, up to and including death in some places. Depending on the area, churches and synagogues closed, burned down, or not allowed to be built, repaired, or added to. Clergy targeted and killed. Churches meet in secret, and often cannot sing or speak aloud. The Priest might whisper the service and the Congregants mouth their responses. The church might meet in a different place, changing days and times. In some places where Christianity technically not illegal, no one other than clergy might be allowed to possess a Bible. Home churches, Bible studies, and home schooling strictly forbidden. In some places, only muslims can legally marry. Conversion from islam to anything else, especially Christianity is forbidden. "Honor killings" and beatings of women and girls, who "dishonor" the family, FGM, women compelled to take a photo of their marked ballot and email/text to adult male family member in places where they are "allowed" to vote, etc.
In the West, we have the luxury of picking the church or denomination that we prefer. In many places in the world, one is lucky to have one church available, and then only if one is trusted enough by someone to get an invite. Some are organized along the lines of the French Resistance during WWII, where one only has one or two contacts, so damage is limited if someone is found out and tortured or extorted/blackmailed for information.
In a non-muslim country, it's often creeping sharia, with more and more privileges for muslims (example, zoning variances for mosques), and more and more prohibitions for non-muslims (example, no disrespecting the q'ran, but no such protection for Bibles, etc.), more and more muslims getting elected to public office and working government jobs, more halal food and halal-only markets, islam taught in public schools (under the guise of tolerance, culture, or history), increasing numbers of women and girls in traditional muslim attire, etc.
Etc., etc., etc.
The same tactics are used by various totalitarian systems, political and religious, against targeted groups. Not just muslims.
www.worthynews.com
