Is Christianity under threat in Middle East?

By Nithin Sridhar

The rise of ISIS in Iraq that has resulted in massive migration and persecution of Christians from Middle East may eventually lead to an end of Christianity in Middle East.

A report published in The New York Times magazine says: "ISIS is looking to eradicate Christians and other minorities altogether. The group twists the early history of Christians in the region — their subjugation by the sword — to legitimize its millenarian enterprise.

Recently, ISIS posted videos delineating the second-class status of Christians in the caliphate. Those unwilling to pay the jizya tax or to convert would be destroyed, the narrator warned, as the videos culminated in the now infamous scenes of Egyptian and Ethiopian Christians in Libya being marched onto the beach and beheaded, their blood running into the surf."

The report gives a brief history of Christianity in Middle East and how Christians have faced persecution over many centuries. The Christians in Iraq trace their roots to Mesopotamian empires that ruled the lands between Tigris River and Euphrates River around 1000 years before Jesus Christ and therefore they started calling themselves by various names such as Assyrians, Syriac etc. According to traditional beliefs, Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus, sent Thaddeus to Mesopotamia to spread Christianity there.

From then on till present, Christianity has co-existed with other faiths like Judaism, Zoroastrianism and other faiths of communities like Druze, Yazidis and Mandeans. But, the Christian community is divided among themselves into Catholics, Eastern, Orthodox and Assyrian Church of the East.

When Islam arrived into Iraq around 7^th century, there was a gradual shift from Christianity into Islam. But, the Eastern Christians had to live as dimmis– those who were allowed to practice their faith but had to pay jizya tax. With the fall of Ottoman Empire and the beginning of World War I, violence and persecution of Christians erupted in Middle East. The Young Turks killed around 2 million Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks, most of whom were Christians.

In countries like Egypt, Israel, Palestine and Jordan, the Christian population has seen a continuous decline over last 100 years. The Christians once comprised 14 per cent of the population. But, today they are only 4 per cent. In Lebanon, where Christians have considerable political influence, their population share has reduced from 78 per cent to just 34 per cent. Hostile political environment, low birthrate and rise of extremist groups have all contributed to the decline of Christianity.

After the US intervention in Iraq, hundreds of thousands of Christians had to flee due to extremists attack on them. The report quotes Bashar Warda, the Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Erbil as saying: "Since 2003, we've lost priests, bishops and more than 60 churches were bombed." The Christian population in Iraq was 1.5 million in 2003. But, today it is less than 500 thousand.

Now with Arab Spring toppling dictators like Mubarak in Egypt and Qaddafi in Libya who had protected minorities, the persecution and decline of Christians and other minorities has increased. Now with the rise of ISIS, the future of Christianity in Middle East is very bleak and uncertain. The report quotes Nuri Kino, a journalist and founder of the advocacy group Demand for Action: "How much longer can we flee before we and other minorities become a story in a history book."

One of the main routes taken by those who are fleeing Iraq goes through Lebanon. Recently, when ISIS assaulted and kidnapped 230 people for ransom, thousands of Christians from villages in north-eastern Syria along the Khabur River fled and took shelter in Lebanon. The ISIS is demanding a ransom of $ 100,000 for each of the 230 captives i.e. a total of $ 23 million.

The situation is not good in Syria either. Since, 2011, when civil war broke out, around one third of the Syrian Christians had no choice but to flee the country as they were forced out by extremist groups like Nusra Front and now by ISIS. The report quotes BassamIshaya and his family who have fled Syria due to ISIS threat, as saying: "Christians will all leave. What can I do? I have four kids, I can't leave them here to die."

David Saperstein, the United States ambassador at large for religious freedom has said: "To see these communities, primarily Christians, but also the Yazidis and others, persecuted in such large numbers is deeply alarming".

But US has been criticized for not doing enough to help Christians and other refugees. The US has given an aid of $ 416 million since October 2013. The amount is not enough when compared to what is needed.

It has already admitted around 122,000 refugees from Iraq, 40 per cent of whom belong to oppressed minorities. But David Saperstein says: "There are limits to what the international community can do."

The report quotes Eshoo, the Democratic congresswoman as saying: "The average time for admittance to the United States is more than 16 months, and that's too long. Many will die." She is striving to establish priority refugee status for minorities who want to leave Iraq.

The role of Christians in Middle East is not limited to being a minority religious group. In Lebanon for example, they have played a powerful and influential role in the government and have acted as buffer between Shia and Sunni Muslim populations. But, today with Christianity weakening, the Shia and Sunni divide is widening and is threatening to result in huge bloodshed.

In Northern Iraq, the Assyrian Christians have formed five militia groups to fight against ISIS. Nineveh Plain Forces (a unit of 500 members), DwekhNawsha (100 members) and Nineveh Plains Protection Units (300 members) aim to protect their people and liberate Christian lands from ISIS.

The other two militia groups are Syriac Military Council and Babylonian Brigades. But these militias' operations are under the command of Kurdish peshmerga. The Christian militia must ask their permission even to travel 1000 yards between their base and forward posts.

The future of Christians and other minorities is not looking good even if ISIS were to be defeated and wiped out. The report quotes Nina Shea of the Hudson Institute, a conservative policy center, as saying that the situation in Iraq is so horrible that Iraqi Christians must be allowed to have full residency in Kurdistan or must be helped to leave.

Rev. Emanuel Youkhana, the head of Christian Aid Program, Northern Iraq is quoted as saying: "For the first time in 2,000 years, there are no church services in Mosul. The West comes up with one solution by granting visas to a few hundred people. What about a few hundred thousand?" He added: "Iraq is a forced marriage between Sunni, Shia, Kurds and Christians, and it failed. Even I, as a priest, favor divorce."

Amidst such demands for safe haven within Iraq for minorities, the future of Christianity and Christians looks very bleak.