FEATURES
The Persecuted Church Religious and Ethnic Minorities
In The Middle East
by William S. LaCasse
"Christianity is an eastern religion." So says Professor
Mordechai Nisan of Hebrew University in Jerusalem, as he addresses
an audience of about five hundred people at Florida Atlantic University
(FAU) in Boca Raton. The event was a panel discussion on religious
and ethnic minorities in the Middle East and their relation to
Israel (Professor Nisan is referring to the origins of the Christian
faith prior to propagating westward). His address was to highlight
the occurrence of religious and ethnic persecution mounted by
Islamic forces in the Middle East.
Dr. Nisan described Christians as once the predominant religious
people in the Middle East nearly two thousand years ago. At that
time, Christian influence was said to dominate all facets of modern
culture, including politics and the economy. Nevertheless, during
the eighth century A.D., the newly born Islamic Muslim faith arose
and quickly became an imperial force in the middle east who eventually
conquered all Christian populated territories. As a result of
the Muslim expansion, Christians, as well as Jews, remain minority
targets for Islamic terror.
Dr. Walid Pheres, Assistant Professor of Political Science at
FAU offers insight to how many Christians are particularly affected
by Islamic persecution. Copts are native Egyptian Christians with
a population estimated at 12 million people. Assyrians are native
Christians of Iraq with a population of about 1 million people.
Southern Sudan has a population of approximately 300,000 black
African Christians. Maronites are native Christians of Lebanon
with an approximate population of 1.5 million. Dr. Pheres himself
is a Maronite Christian and says there are about 6.7 million Maronites
world wide, 1.5 million estimated in the U.S. and approximately
20,000 in South Florida. Islam's ongoing Holy War (Jihad) mandates
these populations either be converted or purged from Arab soil.
The concept of territory is self-perpetuating as Islam seeks to
propagate itself globally.
The very nature of a Jihad would suggest the need for a closer
cooperation between Christians and Jews. Yet, Professor Nisan
says such collaboration is little to none, and for more or less,
very practical reasons. Briefly put, some Arab minorities, Christians
or otherwise, share language similarities that prevent close ties
with non Arab-non Muslims. In the case of Israel and Arab Christians,
history itself becomes the hindering factor. According to Dr.
Nisan, the state of Israel tends to remain aloof with neighboring
Arab Christians because Christians were once considered forceful
adversaries, citing the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition as
examples (aside from the obvious religious and philosophical differences
that remain). Deep reconciliation between Christian and Jew has
yet to be realized. While friction between the two still exist,
Israel has afforded some support to Christian minorities, albeit
minimal.
Professor Nisan paints a dismal picture for both Christians and
Jews, insisting that a deeper level of co-commitment between the
two major world religions is essential. Also of fundamental importance
is the need to awaken the awareness of the world community and
create a public outcry to end Islamic terror. Dr. Nisan warns
of a growing collaboration between the Palestinian terrorist,
Hammas, and the Islamic terrorist state of Sudan, stating that
"conditions for Christians in Palestinian territory is not
favorable at all." And though PLO Chief, Yassar Arafat has
never been portrayed as particularly anti-Christian, he is, nonetheless,
so committed to Islam that Christian minorities in his territory
cannot expect any consideration.
It is an interesting correlation that the vast majority of anti-Christian
terror is perpetrated within a geographical plane known as the
10-40 Window (from 10 degrees to 40 degrees north of the equator).
This expansive area encompasses populations of Islamic Muslim,
Hindu and Buddhist religions. It is an area considered largely
unreached by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and, therefore, an important
target of missionary operations. Islamic territories were previously
saturated with the Gospel. But Muslim conquest has produced generations
of people who have little or no exposure to the Gospel. Islamis
said to have outlawed Christianity, criminalizing every act of
faith. Conversion, in particular, is often reported to be punishable
by death.
A member of the panel discussion asked, "How can the United
States and Europe keep the delicate balance between acting to
stop widespread Islamic terror against Christians and Jews and
trying to maintain their relationships with oil-producing nations
on whom we depend?" Dr. Nisan said very pointedly that the
powers of the west, namely the U.S. and Europe, cannot be expected
to truly act on behalf of persecuted Christians or anyone else
at odds with oil-producing Arab nations because of a mutually
dependent relationship that exist between them. Nisan went on
to explain that Western powers will continue to falsely depend
on Arab oil as long as Islamic Arabs must depend on U.S. and European
weapon manufacturers to fill their arsenals. Herein lies the outrage
of religious and ethnic minorities in the Middle East.
Professor Mordechai Nisan left the auditorium with only two questions
remaining. Will Christians and Jews ever reconcile to become strong
against their common terror? Will the world really sit back and
let another holocaust possibly see history to an end without having
said a word? Remember, over 100 million Christians are dead this
century alone, simply because they were Christians. Says Dr. Nisan,
"To be a Christian in the Middle East is certainly a liability."
In a bold move by the city of New York, city council members have
announced they will seek to divest any financial interest currently
held in countries who participate in anti-Christian terror. Members
reported they will also create a resolution petitioning the Congress
and the President to act on behalf of persecuted Christians. Peter
Valone, speaker for the New York City Council, expressed shock
and outrage over the level of persecution facing Christians today.
The First International Day of Prayer For The Persecuted Church went virtually unnoticed in the fall of 1996.The time to act has come. Let's keep the issue to forefront and parade the second International Day of Prayer for the world to see. If you would like to be involved in bringing the light to bear on religious persecution, please contact me at (305)670-9673. Momentum is gaining and the time is right for South Florida to let our concerns and outrage be known. Help The Trumpeter participate in the upcoming Second International Day of Prayer For The Persecuted Church.
ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB
The Islamic Quran, or Koran can be viewed in its entirety for specific anti-Semitic /anti-Christian defamation. Its web page address is: http://www.unn.ac.uk/societies/islamic/Quran/aeindex.htm
ALSO: To see what work missionaries are doing in the "10-40" window, please see http://www.ad2000.org
Important: Although this article highlights religious persecution by Islamic Muslim nations, it is crucial to note that not all Muslims participate in or even sympathize with the commission of such atrocities. However, it is widely acknowledged that orders of such acts come directly from the Islamic State. It is further noteworthy to point out that communist remnant countries, such as China, Cuba and North Korea are reported among the most severe violators of Christian Human Rights.