LONDON (America) – Christianity has a rich cultural seam in the Middle East. On the first Pentecost, when the disciples were blessed with tongues to tell the good news, one of the languages spoken was Arabic. So successful was the spread of Christianity across a region that now includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Palestine and Egypt that by the sixth century it had 15 million followers.
The number of Christians in the Fertile Crescent is roughly the same today and comprises some 20 different churches, including Catholic, Coptic and Orthodox. But while 15 centuries ago Christians made up 95 percent of the region’s population, that figure has slumped to 5 percent. And it is dropping fast.
Five days after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, President George W. Bush warned the American people: “This crusade, this war on terrorism, is going to take a while.” His comments provoked fury in the Muslim world, calling to mind barbarous military operations by Christian knights 1,000 years ago. There was concern that by affronting moderate Arab opinion, Bush could alienate previously supportive elements of the region and instigate Osama bin Laden’s goal: a clash of civilizations.
Arab Christians marginalized
Christians were at the forefront of the revival of Arab nationalism that swept across the region in the middle of the 19th century. But today Islamist movements have obscured the identity of Christians as Arabs. Emphasizing generic Islam as their primary source of solidarity, they have pushed Christians to the periphery of Arab life.
Comparatively low birth rates, conversion to Islam and natural emigration have played a part in the departure of Christians from the Middle East during the last century. The war on terror, though, touted as a freedom-bringing campaign, has become a huge push factor.
“The United States needs to think very carefully about the impact of its foreign policy on indigenous Christian churches across the Muslim world,” said John Pontifex of Aid to the Church in Need, a charity that helps oppressed Christians across the globe.
Militant Islamic groups become inflamed by injustices perpetrated by the Christian West, argues Pontifex. When the militants seek reprisals, defenseless local Christian communities can become an easy target because of their cultural, social and religious affiliation with the perceived aggressors. “A major issue is that the West has said for far too long: ‘This is someone else’s problem.’”
Pontifex describes a situation of “insidious persecution of Christian communities” across much of the Muslim world. While this persecution may not always be state-sponsored, he says there is a psychological battle being waged on a local level, with Christians facing discrimination when seeking employment, enduring harsh taxes on church properties and suffering attacks on their homes.
Persecution of Christians at Easter
This climate was clear for all to see over Easter, as Christians across the region risked discrimination and persecution to practice their faith during the most important part of the church year.
In strict Saudi Arabia, at the start of Holy Week, an Indian priest was arrested and deported when seven Mutawwa’in (religious police) officers broke into a private house where he was celebrating Mass. Basic religious freedoms are denied to all but those who adhere to the state-sanctioned version of Sunni Islam.
The pro-Western government claims to allow non-Muslims to observe their faith in private, and there are said to be as many as one million Catholics in the country, but the punctilious work of the religious police ensures that non-Muslims face arrest, imprisonment, lashing, deportation and torture for engaging in any religious activity – including the wearing of such non-Muslim religious symbols as a cross – that attracts official attention. Last year alone, more than 70 expatriate Christians were arrested during worship in private homes in Saudi Arabia’s largest crackdown on Christians for a decade.
< P>In northern Egypt, one man was stabbed to death and 12 were wounded as men wielding knives targeted three churches within the space of an hour during religious services on April 14. Having initially said there were three attackers, police later claimed there had been only one, who was both drunk and mad. Copts in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria claim there has been a coverup and that the attacks were part of an orchestrated anti-Christian plot by extremist Muslims.
“We are persecuted everywhere, in school, in our lives,” said the sister of one victim. “But we should not be persecuted when we are praying.”
After 78-year-old Noshi Atta Girgis succumbed to his wounds in a hospital, 500 Copts gathered outside Alexandria’s Church of the Saints to voice their anger, shouting anti-government slogans and waving banners that read: “Until When?” and “Stop the Persecution Against Copts.” The attacks sparked days of clashes between Christians and Muslims that left two people dead and 50 more wounded. Police fired tear gas to separate Muslim and Christian groups attacking each other with knives, sticks and stones. More than 100 people were arrested as the violence left storefronts smashed and burnt ...
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