---

Magdi Khalil-
The Ordeal of Arab Christians
September 18th, 2005

The recent, simultaneous bombing of six Iraqi churches reflects the
seriousness of the predicament of Arab Christians, who are trapped
between the hammer of terrorists groups and extremists, and the anvil of
fanatic governments that skillfully manipulate the issue of religious
radicalism for their own benefit, while reinforcing religious, ethnic
and sectarian discrimination among their citizens. Arab Christians live
in the bosom of a racist culture that claims superiority over
non-Muslims, fueled by a legacy mostly filled with violence and hatred
and a history centered on strife, murder and viciousness.

Obviously, the Christians of the Middle East have lost the demographic
race to the benefit of their Muslim compatriots. Their numbers continue
to dwindle not just due to natural factors, but because many of them
chose, or were compelled, to emigrate. Some fell victims to the
constant pressures that escalated to fatal attacks. And others succumbed
to the temptation to renounce their faith. The Christians of Southern
Sudan were the only ones to maintain their place in that difficult
contest, and though they paid a dear price, they discovered the means to
achieve a realistic balance of power and face off eradication designs.

A survey of the present situation of Christians living in the Middle
East demonstrates a problematic and distressing cycle: Arab Christian
populations are declining, resulting in an erosion of their political
power, which in turn causes their conditions to worsen and ultimately
drives them out of their own homeland. This pattern is repeated
throughout the region.

In Lebanon, Christians represented 50-60% of the population prior to
1975; today this percentage has declined to 25-30%. Most importantly,
their political influence has severely weakened. The Lebanese emigration
ministry estimates the number of emigrants at five million, more than
three and a half million of which are Lebanese Christians. In the past
Lebanon was known to be a safe haven for persecuted individuals who were
hunted because of their religious or intellectual beliefs. Today,
however, it is driving out its own children because of the Arab
infringement, the Palestinian foolishness and the Syrian occupation.

The Lebanese Patriarch Nasr Allah Safir talked with LBC TV station about
the Christian situation saying: "The Christians feel left out, their
presence being clearly unwanted". He commented on the injustice
committed against Lebanese Christians:

"Lebanon was in a state of war, and it was the agreement of El Taef that
put an end to this war, but only a partial and selective implementation
of the agreement was carried out."

The writer Mushee Maouz confirmed this statement in his book Middle East
Minorities Between Integration and Dissension, with the following words:

"Since 1943, and for many decades, the Maronite Christians of Lebanon,
the Shi¹a, and the elite Sunni have worked together in a diverse, legal
and democratic system that was controlled by minorities. However, the
shift in favor of Muslim communities, Radical Arab nationalism and
military Palestinian existence, as well as the Syrian and Israeli
intervention ended up alienating the Maronites and forcing them to take
a defensive stance."

Iraq witnessed an increase in Christian emigration following the defeat
of Sadam Hussein in the second Gulf War, as the political speech took
religious tones and the economic situation continued to deteriorate.
Once Baghdad fell at the hands of the Coalition troops, the fanatics
came out of their dark caves and began attacking the liquor shops owned
by Christians. As a result more than two hundred shops had to be closed.
The attacks became more serious as they then targeted Christian women
who were not veiled, Christian residences, and finally took the lives of
a number of innocent Christians citizens. The final attacks targeted
Christian churches during Sunday services and resulted in a large number
of casualties and injuries. News reports mentioned that thousands of
Iraqi Christians were forced to migrate to Syria in the aftermath of
such attacks, proof enough that the so called "resistance" is nothing
but another facet of the vicious terrorism that assaults innocents and
ultimately seeks to ruin the new Iraqi experience.

During a few decades, the percentage of Palestinian Christians has
dropped from 17% to less than 2% of the total population. The Israeli
newspaper Badiut Ahrunut reported that entire neighborhoods in Beit
Gala, Beit Lahm and Beit Sahur have been emptied of Christians because
of the overwhelming Islamic tide that has turned the Palestinian cause
into an Islamic issue, and the growing power of the fundamentalists who
are imposing their rules and views on the Palestinian community.
According to the BBC, the Christian inhabitants of Jerusalem, who, in
1920, represented 50% of the population, currently represent a mere 10%.

The Palestinian Intifada, under the leadership of Islamic organizations,
had a detrimental effect on the Christians who were required to pay a
type of tax to those organizations to support suicide missions. News
coming out of the Holy Land is disturbing. In Gaza, Christian women, in
fear of being attacked by Islamic fanatics, have donned the veil. During
the crisis in the Church of the Nativity, a reporter from Los Angeles
managed to sneak into the church and indicated that the terrorists have
raided the church, leaving nothing intact. They used the wood of the
temple as fire fuel, and the pages of Bibles as toilet paper. Another
incident that took place in Nazareth City, when the fanatics tried to
build a mosque right in front of the Church of the Annunciation, clearly
reveals the intentions of the fundamentalist organizations to establish
an Islamic state on this most sacred Christian ground.

The situation of Egypt's Copts is definitely not promising, as they are
now more marginalized then ever. The reports issued abroad refer to them
as "an isolated minority", "a minority under siege", "a persecuted
Church" and "an oppressed minority". To quote Mushee Maouz:

"The Copts' participation in political life is minimal. The peaceful
integration of the Copts into their society started in the middle of the
19th Century, but was regularly interrupted by the militant Islamic
movement that disconcerted the Copts and created tensions between
Muslims and Christians. The Copts continued to swing back and forth
between integration and rejection throughout the 20th Century, and
isolation became the common pattern under the rule of autocratic
regimes."

This dismal situation propelled a million and half Christians to
emigrate to the United States, Europe and Australia. The exact number
of the Christian minority living in Egypt remains a well guarded
government secret.

Of all the Arab regimes, the Syrian and Jordanian regimes are deemed the
best in their dealings with Christian citizens. Nevertheless, the
Islamist movement and the deteriorating economic situation have badly
affected the Christians in these two countries. Since the events of
September 11, tensions are running high in the region, and hatred
towards all that is related to the West is growing almost to the point
of triggering a collision between the East and West. To quote the
British reporter Martin Buckley:

"The Christians in Jordan feel that they are being pushed into a
difficult corner, either to belong to the Western World or to the Arab
World."

Growing suspicions surround the Christians, falsely accusing them of
being "a fifth column" or an "inside enemy" - another example of a
prevalent mindset that constantly casts doubts about the Christians'
loyalty and patriotism. It seems that Christians are sadly destined to
pay the price whenever tensions or conflicts arise between the Arab
World and the West.

Throughout the ages of Arab invasion and Ottoman occupation, Christians
of the Middle East: the Copts, Armenians, Syrians, Maronites, Assyrians,
Chaldeans, and Aramaeans have suffered from persecution along with other
minorities like the Shi¹a, Kurds and Druz. Their situation improved,
however, when the modern state was founded after the collapse of the
Ottoman rule and at the onset of Western colonization, becoming more
engaged in their societies in response to the emergent concept of
citizenship. Unfortunately, at the escalation of militant regimes and
fascist religious movements, a relapse occurred costing the minorities
most of their justly earned citizenship rights.

The bleak situation of the Christian Arabs has caught the attention of
honorable men who chose to confront the sinister tide that has overtaken
the region, and some of them paid dearly for their courage such as Dr.
Farag Fouda and Prof. Saad Eddin Ibrahim; the former who was
assassinated in 1991, and the latter who was jailed during 2000-2003.

A number of Arabic writers have recently produced candid articles and
other publications calling attention to the ordeal of Arab Christians.

Saudi Prince Talal Ben Abdelaziz wrote an article entitled "The Survival
of Christian Arabs", in El Nahar, a Lebanese newspaper, stating the
following:

"The Christian Arabs' situation is the product of an environment
overwhelmed by fanaticism and a violence level which can trigger
disasters of historical proportions, and, most of all, the product of an
environment strongly disposed to eliminate the different other. The
continued existence of the Christian Arabs in their homelands will
reinforce the foundations of the modern state, the cultural diversity
and democracy, and put an end to the continuous loss of scientific,
intellectual and cultural abilities in our region. Their emigration is a
mighty blow that will prove detrimental to our future."

Mr. Muhammad Hasanayn Haykal wrote the following words in the magazine
entitled Perspectives:

"I personally feel, as others certainly do, that if we do not address
the issue of Christian emigration, if we continue to overlook it or
neglect it on purpose, then we will face an Arab scene that will not
just be different from the current one, but one that would have
definitely lost part of its assets on a human and cultural level. It
would be such a loss if the Eastern Christians leave believing that
there is no future for them or their children here, Islam would then be
left alone in the East, with only the company of Zionist Judaism - and
most specifically that of Israel."

As for Mr. Galal Amin, he wrote the following enlightening words:

"Evidently, the issue of Muslims and Copts is not a religious issue, it
stirs up all our issues: education, freedom, rational thinking, justice,
ethics and development. If this argument is valid, then it is obvious
that if we want to see Muslims freed, we need to free the Copts first".

Mr. Tarek Heggy wrote the following comment:

"Progress and modernization are infectious! And it is up to the
minorities of the Middle East to pass on these notions into our region".

There were many other inspiring words, in addition to a significant
visit from Pope John Paul II, who wished to support and encourage the
Middle East Christians. However, no matter how important the words and
visits are, neither of them is capable of achieving significant results.
Only when the foundations of the modern state are firmly set in place,
can we dare hope that this situation will change. Democracy, liberty and
citizenship - the basics of a modern state - were the factors that
initiated the integration of Christians within their societies in the
first half of the last century; and it was the absence of these factors
during the second half of the last century that sent them back into the
dark ages of isolation and persecution, where they still abide.

From "The American thinker"
Magdy Khalil is an Egyptian writer and analyst residing in the USA.

Magdi Khalil




--
Liberal, kongetro, EU-modstander og atomkraftmodstander.
Frihed under ansvar er den eneste troværdige vej frem.
Støt Israel - køb Israelske varer!
GB