When the Arab Spring first started spreading across
the predominantly Muslim world, it was assumed that the revolutionaries would
thrive in the new, democratic nations. Yet, the situation has not improved for
everyone; countries like Syria, Egypt and Libya keep putting new leaders in
place, only to take them down not too much later. This causes a constant
struggle for multiple militias to fight for control. Because of an
unestablished government, the militias have been able to carry out atrocities
against their foes, and more importantly, minorities in the region. Christians continue to be targets of brutal
harassment and violence, including executions, and these actions would not be
as prominent as they are now if there was an established and organized system
of governance acting in the Arab Spring nations. “Emerging democracies in
the 'Arab Spring' may have claimed an innocent casualty: Christian minorities”
(abc.net.au).
Every year, people of some faith are martyred for
their faith. In recent years, over 100,000 Christians were martyred each year;
this estimate says that there is one Christian being killed for their faith
each hour. Acts against Christians are
happening world -wide, but they are most prevalent in parts of the Arab world
that are undergoing internal turmoil of some kind. “If you want to know where
whole Christian communities are at greatest risk right now, I would say Syria
and Egypt” (Columbia, March 2014)
states Boston Globe reporter John L. Allen Jr. in an interview with Columbia magazine.
When we think
about religious persecution, we tend to not think about it happening to
Christians. This is because the image of what a Christian is like is usually generalized
by the image of a western Christian; wealth, social privilege, overall living
an easy life free of much trouble. Here in the United States, we are protected
by laws to freely practice our chosen faiths without fear of persecution. Yet Christians living in the Middle East are
facing daily persecution due to their faith, and it has been on a steady increase
over the past few years, coincidentally these acts of persecution are strongest
in countries that have recently undergone revolutions during the Arab Spring. “Wherever
they are, the Christians of the East are not only threatened, but hunted down
and liquidated” (csi-usa.org).
Since the Arab Spring and the fall of countless
regimes in the Arab world, the region has been extremely unstable. Many rouge Islamic militant groups are
constantly fighting for power in these now leaderless states. Prince Charles
stated in a meeting with leaders of multiple faith, "“It seems to me that
we cannot ignore the fact that Christians in the Middle East are increasingly
being deliberately targeted by fundamentalist Islamist militants”(huffingtonpost.com)
John Allen in Columbia magazine boldly
pointed out that “probably the world’s leading manufacturer of anti-Christian
hatred is radical Islam” (Columbia,
March 2014). While the former dictatorships in these Arab countries were brutal
and leaving their people in poverty, they were strong; they had control in their
countries. While Christians living in nations like Egypt, Libya, and Syria were
not treated as equals in these Muslim-dominated nations, at least they were not
being persecuted. With rampaging Islamic militias ruling the streets, things
are a little different. “The choice is
not between a police state and a thriving democracy. The choice is between a
police state and annihilation” (Columbia).
The dangers Christians face are not only
discrimination and vandalism of their churches, but also murder at the hands of
Islamist rebels. During the revolution in Egypt, Christians stood alongside their
Muslim brethren to help topple Mubarak’s regime despite Christians making up only
10% and being historically oppressed by the Sunni majority. “Since the overthrow of Egypt’s President
Hosni Mubarak in February 2011, attacks on Copts from state and non-state
actors have escalated significantly. Over 100 Copts have been killed in
sectarian attacks since the overthrow of Mubarak – more than in the entire
previous decade. CSI has received reports of at least 14 attacks on Coptic
churches in the same time period, including St. Mark’s Cathedral in Cairo, the
seat of the Coptic Orthodox Church, and 10 pogrom-style attacks on Christian
communities” (csi-usa.org). Since the revolution, over 100,000 Christians who
had the means of fleeing the violence have done so and been granted asylum in
the United States. However, Christians still living in Egypt are made
vulnerable to genocide by a lack of representation in Egypt’s political,
military and security establishments (csi-usa.org).
In Syria, the violent and Islamist rebel
forces are target all religious minorities, not just the Christians living
there. Entire Christian neighborhoods have had their populations of over 80,000
in some, expelled or killed. Christian churches and businesses have become the
targets of car and suicide bombings. “An ultimatum allegedly from a jihadist
group has demanded that Syrian Christians live as “dhimmis,” low-status
subjects who must pay protection money and obey strict restrictions on their
religious practice. Christians who reject conversion to Islam or the restrictive
conditions “are subject to being legitimate targets, and nothing will remain
between them and ISIS other than the sword,” said the online statement
reputedly from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), the BBC reports”
(ewtnnews.com). these new rulings will ban Christian weddings and funerals,
along with the sale of alcohol, which is key in the Christian Mass. On March 3rd,
the US State Department declared the regulations imposed upon Syrian Christians
by the jihadists as a violation of human rights; according to Syrian Christian
refugees taking asylum in the US, these rules are a very harsh reality. These
are the rebel forces that the US government wanted to give military support to
earlier this year to aid the toppling on Assad’s regime.
"
Despite the political and economic hardships suffered by many, Christians in the Middle East were safer during the dictator regimes that were recently overthrown. The lack of a strong government in many of the Arab Spring countries has allowed Islamic militants to enforce their own policies and persecute all non-Muslims in the region while fighting each other.
1 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joop-koopman/are-christians-persecuted_b_5085636.html
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