Do Christians have a future in the Middle East?

(Images courtesy Open Doors)

Middle East (MNN) ― One of the factors in understanding the cultural dynamics of the Middle East and its upheaval is the presence of the Christian communities.

Since the "Arab Spring" began, regimes have fallen and Islamist governments have risen. The turmoil has left many of these Eastern Christians wondering what future is left for them given the corresponding increase in persecution.

President of Open Doors USA David Curry says, "Over the last several decades, we've seen the percentage of the population of Christians drop from about 20% in the Middle East to just 4%." It isn't merely reports of beatings that he finds alarming, but the dramatic shift that they're tracking. "In the next decade or two, unless we do something about it, unless we can find a way to stand up and get heard on this subject, it's possible that Christianity could be extinct in its birthplace."

The reality is that in Pakistan, Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Afghanistan, and Iraq--lands where Christians have lived for 2000 years, being identified as anything but Muslim is dangerous. Curry explains, "Some of it is low-grade discrimination. Some of it is intentional persecution of believers. In other cases, it is outright murder and attacks on believers that are driving them out of their homes. I think the population is being driven out of the Middle East."

Regardless, the current repression clearly communicates that followers of Christ are no longer welcome as full members of society. If nothing changes, that begs the question: Do Christians have a future in the Middle East?

On Sept. 27, a group of academics, politicians, and parliamentarians (all Christians) met in Amman, Jordan to try to scratch out an answer to that question. The conference was titled "Eastern Christians in Light of the Arab Spring."

The group looked at the laws of the land, shifts that subtly altered laws and practices of religious freedom, then the impact on the Christian body, and finally, expectations for the future.

Since the constitutions in many of these countries (except Lebanon) presumes that "Islam is the state religion," Sharia becomes a source of the state's legislation, laws, and regulations. Curry says, "It's basically illegal to decide for yourself what you want to believe. That has very dangerous implications for Christians who may be converting from other religions and deciding that they want to call themselves followers of Jesus.
In many of these places, that marks them immediately for death."

The "religicide" becomes systematic and protected.

Today, more than one million Christians have fled Iraq. Half a million Christians have left Syria, where there were once around 2 million. There remains a remnant church in Egypt. In Lebanon, the retreat is obvious.

Curry notes that despite Islam's obvious impact on the body of Christ, "Christianity is not at the verge of extinction in the Middle East because we've lost the battle of ideas. We are on the verge of being extinct in the Middle East because we are being persecuted, because we are being driven from those areas, and because en masse, we are being targeted for death."

What are the possible ways of dealing with what has become one of the greatest humanitarian catastrophes of our time? Curry takes that question head-on. Be aware. "First of all, I think that there is an element of these extremist groups that is, for lack of a better word, ‘imperialist.' They believe that they can force their faith on people. They'll do it in their regions, and then they're going to do it in our regions."

Be active. Realize that the Gospel is still going forward. Share the predicament of new believers with your Church body.

Also pray. "There's a scriptural premise here, for believers, certainly. It says, ‘When one part of your body hurts, then the whole body hurts.' Right now, we have members of the Christian faith that are suffering; not a few, but millions of people who have no freedom to study and to choose for themselves how they share their faith."

Invitation to pray for persecuted believers

(Photo Courtesy of Open Doors)

International (MNN) ― The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) is just around the corner. It's a day when believers worldwide will come together to pray for their brothers and sisters in Christ who suffer for their faith. 

November 11, 2012 is the day Open Doors USA has set aside for prayer for the persecuted church. 

Leading up to November 11th, Open Doors encourages believers to stand with "those who share our faith but not our freedom" through their One With Them campaign. This is an initiative designed to bring awareness to the reality of Christian persecution throughout the world.

Esther is a widowed mother of six from northern Nigeria whose husband was killed in a vicious attack by an Islamic extremist group notorious for attacks on Nigerian Christians. When asked how Christians in the West could be One With Them (persecuted Christians), she said, "Share our stories so more and more people will know about the situation in Nigeria, so they can pray for us."

As IDOP approaches, keep people like Esther in mind. Pray for the many followers of Christ who are being persecuted. 

"We encourage prayer for the souls of the oppressors, the nations that promote persecution, and those who ignore it," affirms Open Doors.  

Open Doors has also invited Christians to use their artistic ability through an online competition called "One Body-Many Gifts," a creative aspect of One With Them.

The top 10 entries have been announced. You can vote to determine the 3 winning entries! Voting ends midnight November 6.

The top three entries will be announced on November 10. The grand prize is a unique opportunity to travel and meet with persecuted Christians face-to-face. It will change you forever.

Another way you can get involved is by wearing One with Themwristbands -- a tangible reminder to pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters.

Open Doors has provided IDOP resources for you or your church. Click here to learn more. Encourage your friends to participate in this life-changing event. 

Hostility toward religion a reality; ministry launches solidarity campaign

International (MNN) ― A new study titled "Rising Restrictions on Religion" shows increased hostility toward religion between 2006 and 2009.

Released by Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion and Public Life, the study revealed that hostile action by community or government toward religious groups rose substantially for more than 2.2 billion people during the study period.

The report also noted that this data was not surprising due to the fact that many of the countries with the increase had already experience high levels of hostility or restrictions.
 
Violence considered in the report included damage or destruction of property to physical assault, false charges, detention and displacement. Also predictable was the percentage of Christians involved in the harassment. According to the report, they were the victims of mob violence in 52 separate incidents by the middle of 2009.

Christians also faced harassment in130 countries, the highest numbers among the religious groups studied. According the report, the top ten countries with the highest hostilities regarding religion included Iraq, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia, Indonesia, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Israel and Egypt.

A slightly different distinction with another top ten list involved countries with government restrictions in place: Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, China, Maldives, Malaysia, Burma, Eritrea and Indonesia.

Open Doors World Watch List (WWL) is a list of the top 50 countries where persecution of Christians is the worst. A comparison of both Pew lists finds the countries in the top 50. However, the 2011 WWL names the following as the world's worst persecutors of Christians: North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Maldives, Yemen, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and Laos.

Carl Moeller with Open Doors explains that "over 70% of the world's population lives in places where  religious liberty is restricted. Well over 100 million Christians right now, as we speak, in over 60 countries, are being actively persecuted for their faith."

Given the scenario facing believers, Open Doors launched the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church in 1996. From a core group of approximately 7,000 churches, the IDOP has grown to be the largest prayer day event of its kind in the world.

IDOP is a means of encouraging solidarity, offering a rallying point for Christians and others to stand behind the persecuted Church. Moeller says, "When I hear that the vast majority of the world lives in places where they are not free to believe, in the way that we are here, my heart goes out to them and I want to do something."

Traditionally the second Sunday in November, IDOP this year has a preparatory campaign launch called "One With Them." Moeller says, "By being part of 'One With Them' and going to onewiththem.com, I can actually show the world that I care and make a difference."

The sole functions of IDOP are prayer and awareness. One With Them serves both purposes with the help of a rubber bracelet shaped like barbed wire. "This campaign is really focused on the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church in November coming forward, where we will mobilize literally millions of Christians around the world to pray for persecuted believers."

Since most of the persecuted church feels forgotten by the rest of the world, Moeller says, "The most important thing we do will be to mobilize prayer for these Christians. That's the number one request they have. Our commitment is to provide whatever resources they need, and in order to do that, we need the support of people in the United States."

Because Open Doors is so committed to getting people to join in the solidarity movement, they're giving the bracelets away to encourage people to participate. Go to Onewiththem.com where you can request a bracelet for yourself and one for a friend. Beyond that, you can purchase extras. The prayer reminder comes packaged with a commitment to pray for the persecuted church. Also, written inside the card is the pledge: "I wear this wristband in solidarity with my brothers and sisters in Christ, who share my faith but not my freedom."

Moeller says, "It's really vital that people mobilize those that they know who have opportunity to step in the gap and provide the material resources, the Bibles, the rebuilt churches, the food, clothing and shelter for the victims of the violence in these places."