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."

'Christians, they will pay for this,' says e3 Partners

A protester reacts as the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi is seen in f
lames during a protest by an armed group said to have been protesting
a film being produced in the United States September 11, 2012.
 (REUTERS/Esam Al-Fetori)

International (MNN) ― The world is on alert in the aftermath of the attack on two United States embassies. First, protesters scaled the walls of the embassy in Cairo, tearing down the U.S. flag and replacing it with an Islamic one. 

Then, Islamist extremists attacked the embassy in Benghazi, Libya killing Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other diplomats.

The attacks reignite an already volatile situation in the region. Tie that together with civil war in Syria and the region is unstable at best.

Vice President of e3 Partners Tom Doyle is puzzled about how quiet Egypt's president has been in all this. "As far as I've seen, there hasn't been an official statement for Mohammad Morsi."

On the other hand, Doyle says, "The Libyan government issued a statement of regret and sorrow about the things that happened. It is definitely gang warfare in Libya."

With Libya up for grabs politically, Christians in Egypt are concerned. "They were very concerned that this brotherhood sweep in Egypt would just flow over into Libya and take that over. If that happens, virtually the land space -- that's half of North Africa being led by the radicals."

This recent violence against the United States could be just a glimpse of things to come. "It seems to be in the Middle East a contest of who can outdo each other in their radical allegiance to the Quran and Mohammad."

What about Christians in this region? "There's always the tie from Muslims to believers in their country to the west -- to America, the great Satan. When you see these things, most people don't think about what that means for the Christians. They will pay a price for this."

While the tension is ratcheted up since the attacks, Doyle says many Muslims are sick of the violence. "They've been seeing Muslims kill Muslims. And many young people have had enough of that. You won't see that on the news."

Doyle says, "Isn't it amazing that today the countries of conflict--look at Iran--boast the fastest-growing church per capita in the world right now, according to Operation World. The hotspots in the world is where the church is thriving and flourishing and growing faster than in those countries than it probably ever has in 2,000 years."

With the commemoration of the 9/11 attacks and these recent attacks, Muslims in the west are being marginalized. 

Doyle says Christians should "reach out to them. Start a conversation about Jesus. You will be shocked at how open they are to receive your friendship and just your greeting. Jesus could use this to really reach out to a Muslim."

So goes Egypt, so goes North Africa

Egypt (MNN) ― For months leading up to the elections, Tom Doyle with e3 Partnerspredicted a Muslim Brotherhood win in Egypt's presidential elections. Now that Mohammed Morsi has indeed won the presidency, Doyle says Sharia law is around the corner--and not just for Egypt.

Doyle is a Middle East expert and the Vice President for Church and Ministry Partners for e3 Partners. All along, he's said that if the Muslim Brotherhood took over, Sharia law would follow. Despite Morsi's many promises to Westerners that he will support women's rights, protect Christians and uphold human rights, Doyle's opinion hasn't changed.

"Now they have Mohammed Morsi, who has said one thing to the Western press, and another thing to the Middle East press," Doyle explains. "As he speaks to the Brotherhood and other Muslim groups who would be called hardline, he has definitely said that he would like to see Sharia law instituted, and he'd like to rip up the peace treaty with Israel, and on and on. And all of a sudden, the Middle East becomes very unstable if any of these things are acted on."

The Muslim Brotherhood, which has until now been fairly suppressed in Egypt, has been waiting for a government opportunity for decades. Now that they have the chance to rule, Doyle doesn't think it'll take long for things to change in Egypt.

The bigger problem is: Sharia law might begin in Egypt, but it won't end there.

"The plan all along from hardline Muslims is to take northern Africa and move on down," says Doyle. "I would expect for them not only to get very strong in Egypt, but to make a play to influence all of North Africa. Once they have that, then they're in a much stronger position to influence the whole continent of Africa."

This is a particular threat for vulnerable North African nations in the midst of transition. Post-revolution Libya, for instance, would be an easy target for a group like the Brotherhood's influence, says Doyle. Hardline Islamists cover much of Sudan and Tunisia as well.

The result of this strong influence by the Muslim Brotherhood could be extremely severe. As a quick history lesson, Doyle points out, "They have been the umbrella group for radical Islamic terrorist groups. We've got Hamas, Islamic Jihad--you don't have to go far from Egypt, just over the border into Gaza, to see all kinds of groups cheering when Morsi wins the presidency."

The situation is looking grave politically. But interestingly, this increase of pressure could be a good thing from a Gospel perspective in the traditionally hard-to-reach North.

Doyle explains, "Here's kind of the formula in the Muslim world: the more radical it becomes, there is a fear among the people--there's no question they accomplished that agenda. Then it seems like the church grows."

Often, the more hardline a nation is when it comes to Islam, the more that traditional Muslims seek out alternatives. For instance, Iran may be governed by Sharia, but the church is bursting at the seams. Already, e3 Partners has seen a swell of conversions in Egypt. Doyle says we should expect that to grow in Egypt and the rest of North Africa as hardliners come in.

That doesn't make the situation remotely easy, though. Pray for believers in Egypt especially as they face a new reality under the Muslim Brotherhood regime. Pray that the Lord would be preparing the church all over to stand firm, remain faithful and spread the News that North Africa's been waiting for. 

Man declared insane, sent to mental hospital for faith in Christ

Mission Network News: "Middle East/North Africa (MNN) ― The Pioneers and Arab World Ministries Web site, Maarifa.org, was created to present the Good News of the Gospel to young Arab Muslims, answering seekers' questions about Jesus and faith in Him, discipling new believers in their own environment, and encouraging them to find fellowship with others.

It's a wonderful way for people in the Arab world to explore Christ and do it safely. But those who come to the Lord as a result are not guaranteed smooth sailing."

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Christian Solidarity International issues Genocide warning for Christians in the Middle East

Burning of mostly Christian-owned
 shops in Zakho, Northern Iraq.
 (Photo courtesy Compass Direct News)

Middle East (MNN) ―Christian Solidarity International (CSI) issued a Genocide Warning last week for endangered religious minorities in the Islamic Middle East.

Todd Nettleton is a spokesman for Voice of the Martyrs USA. He agrees that persecution is high for one religious minority: Christians. Nettleton explains, "When you look at elections in Egypt where sixty some-odd percent of the vote went to the Islamic parties, including, in one case, the Islamic party that has been a party of attacking churches and attacking Christians, there is fear among the church about what this means."

However, he wonders at the use of "genocide" to describe what is happening. "I think it is a very strong word. I have not heard that word used by our staff who works in the Middle East region. I haven't heard it used by the Christians who are there. To say there is a threat against them I think is very real, but to say it's 'genocide' goes a bit beyond what we've identified at this point."

That's not to say believers are blind to the hostilities aimed at them. Open Doors USA uses the term "religicide" to describe what's happening in Iraq. Violence against believers has already created a remnant church there. Last weekend, new reports surfaced about Islamic rioters attacking Christian shops in northern Iraq. Compass Direct News also revealed an Al Qaeda plot to bomb churches in Turkey and multiple attacks against Christians in Pakistan and Syria.

The greatest concern is what the future might hold with an Islamist government in charge. Nettleton says Christians worry that "'if we have no way of earning representation at the ballot box because we're such a small minority in the country, what does this mean for us? What will our government do to protect us?' That fear is very real."

CSI is asking President Obama to call on the United Nations Secretary-General to issue a genocide warning, to stop funding institutions in the Middle East that promote religious discrimination, and to commit at least 15% of the funding the U.S. has set aside for promoting democracy in the region towards "combating Islamic supremacism."

However, considering the length of time it took for the Obama administration to fill the International Ambassador for Religious Freedom, Nettleton says, "It will be interesting to see if there is a response from the State Department to see what they do to protect religious freedom in the Middle East, and particularly, the countries that are in the transition process."

Given the pattern in Iraq, could the Middle East be experiencing another exodus? For persecuted Christians, that's not out of the realm of possibility. Nettleton says, "Because these issues are across the region, you can't necessarily go next door to find better treatment and to find protection and to find freedom. For many Christians, they feel like they have to get completely out of the Middle East region in order to have their religious freedom protected and honored."

Nettleton hastens to add that there remains a remnant church in the most difficult areas. Those Christians continue to live out the Gospel and share their hope with others when given the opportunity, sometimes from inside a prison cell. Keep praying.