Rounding Christians Up: An Old Middle Eastern Bloodsport

Outrage and confusion has been the reaction of many from the recent atrocities committed against Christians at the hands of Muslims in the Middle East. Christian minorities are butchered, burned, rounded up en masse and executed in places like Sudan, Nigeria and Afghanistan. Attacked, harassed, and discriminated against in places like Egypt, Iraq and Syria. In Iran, Christians are censured and targeted as “political risk” to Tehran. French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, to my knowledge, is the only Western leader to give a satisfactory response to these trends: “Christians in the Middle East are the victims of ‘religious cleansing‘ the president said. Christians are not part of the sacred “protected group” here in the West so it isn’t surprising to see the lack of outrage or more leaders echoing Mr. Sarkozy sentiments. The reaction here at home falls considerably flat in the face of let’s, say, when a couple of overworked, underpaid guards toss aside the Koran or a harmless picture of Mohammad is circulated.

As the west stood captivated by the events unfolding out of Egypt hoping that a budding democracy was ripening there, we were quickly reminded that our two civilizations stand worlds apart. Instead of an army of Jeffersonians we got more of the same: Jihad and Islamism. If that point isn’t clear enough recall the physical and sexual attack on the attractive reporter for no other reason than being attractive and Western, and possibly a Jew. Consider the fate of Christians and the considerable risks they take when they simply meet for worship.

…Muslims set fire to a Christian church in Sol, south of Cairo, then attacked it with hammers.

When enraged Christians set up roadblocks in Cairo demanding the government rebuild the church, they were set upon by Muslims as soldiers stood by. Thirteen people, most of them Coptic Christians, were shot to death on Tuesday, and more than a hundred were wounded in the worst religious violence in years.

Then compare that to the considerable criticism that befalls individuals like Rep. Peter King here in the US for asking important questions about Islam.

The Middle East has long been a hotbed for “religious cleansing” against Christians and Jews. The Ottoman Empire had a long history of massacres and subjugation of these two major religions. Most notably was the ethnic cleansing against Armenian Christians which claimed the lives of 1.5 million men women and children. Many Western powers used these events as a pretext for incursion into the Ottoman Empire during the 18th and 19th centuries. The French were worried about Christian Maronite minorities in the areas of modern day Lebanon and Syria. In fact, the system of political representation — on the relative size of the religious community — that exist in Lebanon today was the result of European powers forcing the Ottoman government to allow Mount Lebanon operation autonomy. The reaction from a massacre that took place in mid-1800′s where 10,000 Christians in Damascus were killed by Muslim mobs. The old Russian Empire, viewed then as the Third Rome after Constantinople was conquered and renamed Istanbul, seen itself as the standard bearer of Orthodox Christianity. The Czars made it regional policy to strike at the periphery of the Ottoman Empire in defense of Greek Orthodox Christians in the Balkan region under Ottoman control.

Modern day governments in the Middle East are little better. For example, Middle Easterners — with the exception of Turkey — must go to local imams/clergymen in order to get married and ensures there are no civil marriages. This, in effect, prevents interfaith marriages in the region. Elsewhere, where religion matters can be seen — as but just one example among many — is the Syrian constitution. Article III specifies that only a Muslim can serve as president (Iran, too, has this clause). The truth is Islamism shares with the ideology of nationalism the same set of assumptions. It is exclusive and radically charged movement based off the programs of its teaching the virtues that are glorified by its many adherents. In many writings and proclamations, Islamic political activists and scholars alike, constantly refer to Islam as the true and unalterable essence of the nation which has defined their nation throughout its history. According to the “Charter of God”

Article Twenty: Social Solidarity

Islamic society is one of solidarity. The Messenger of Allah, be Allah’s prayer and peace upon him, said: What a wonderful tribe were the Ash’aris! When they were overtaxed, either in their location or during their journeys, they would collect all their possessions, and then would divide them equally among themselves. This is the Islamic spirit which ought to prevail in any Muslim society.

Is there any way for Christians and other religious minorities to survive in such a closed and hostile environment?