Have Christians a future in the Middle East?

Apr 16, 2014

VATICAN: Christianity has its roots in the Middle East. In Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt, Christians were the majority well before Islam arrived.

They were well organised and contributed to the construction of the Arab-Islamic civilisation alongside their Muslim brothers, which is why their presence in the Arab and Muslim world is essential, if for no other reason than their different religion, openness and skills.

Until 50 years ago, the Christians of the Middle East represented about 20 per cent of the total population. Today they are estimated to be just 3 per cent.

When colonial powers set up these nations, they disregarded historical, geographical or ethnic factors. There was no uniformity nor any real project based on citizenship that would include everyone.

Decisions were made as a function of the interests of the great powers, and this opened the way for the religious and ethnic conflicts that we are still dealing with today.

There is no peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Lebanon has been shattered and is always threatened by civil war. Syria is on the verge of collapse, with nine million people having fled their homes. Iraq has been devastated. Egypt is blowing up. Millions of Eastern Christians have become refugees, fleeing from one region to another.

At present, there is increasingly talk of a plan to create a new Middle East. For us, it is a source of concern and fear. 1,400 years of Islam have not been able to take us, Chrisitans, away from our lands and our churches; now Western policy has dispersed us to the four corners of the earth.

More and more Christians are being victimised, and their exodus from the Middle East appears unstoppable.

At present, they are estimated to be between 10 and 12 million out of a total population of 550 million, or around 3 per cent. And the pressures exerted on Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East have increased over the past few decades, sometimes in a subtle way, in other times, openly.

Discrimination, injustice, kidnapping, isolation, and intimidation have given the impression that in many parts of the Arab-Islamic world they are doomed to extinction.

All this stems from the instability of most of these countries and the growth of radical Islam, under the guise of “political Islam”. As for the “Arab Spring”, it lost out to extremism. “Political” Islam wants to revive the Caliphate as much in Damascus as in Iraq! Their way of thinking and doing war is a return to the Middle Ages with Christians allowed to stay as second-class citizens!

Taking property away from Christians, who are deemed without rights because they are not Muslim, threatening letters sent to Christians, as well as members of other non-Muslim minorities, are making Christians feel like second-class citizens.

Therefore, the question is, ‘Are the men and women who have a great and illustrious past behind them destined to disappear from Mesopotamia and the land of their ancestors?’

In Syria, Christians are exposed to attacks by Islamist insurgents. The latter have wiped out Maaloula, a historic Christian town whose inhabitants spoke Aramaic, the language of Jesus. Two bishops, many priests, 12 nuns have been kidnapped and recently released. Some 1,200 Christians have been killed, 30 per cent of churches have been destroyed and 600,000 Christians have fled the country. Those who are left live in fear and dread!

Riad Jarjour, a Presbyterian minister and the former president of the Council of Churches of the Middle East, said, “If the situation continues like this, there will come a time when there will be no more Christians in Syria.”

However, the responsibility for the current plight of Middle-Eastern Christians falls partly on the West, due to its unbalanced policy in the region.

At the same time, it is sad to note that most Western Christians have no real awareness of the painful situation of Christians in the Middle East, even though they could actually highlight their real condition and raise awareness among politicians.

Takfirists who consider democracy contrary to Syariah systematically attack Christians. There is no doubt that these groups are a real threat against moderate Islam as well! Nevertheless, a nation’s constitution must be based on social coexistence and individual and public liberty to establish true citizenship and a state for everyone.

Tunisia’s new constitution is a sign of hope, as is the Palestinian Authority’s decision to remove religion from identity cards and passports. This is positive change.

Governments should ensure security and protect religious freedom and ethnic diversity for all across their territory and at levels of their administration

In his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (The joy of the Gospel), Pope Francis outlines his teachings, and addresses the issue of religious rights.

In it, he “ask[s] and I humbly entreat[s]” Muslim “countries to grant Christians freedom to worship and to practise their faith, in light of the freedom which followers of Islam enjoy in Western countries!”

Indeed, outside of the Muslim world, Muslims have ever-greater access to their traditions and to religious freedom whilst Christians in the East see theirs shrink more and more. This is one thing that could lead to their end in the Middle East! -- Asianews