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Why the Eastern Christians Are Fleeing the Middle East?

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International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 4, No. 10(1); August 2014 Why the Eastern Christians are fleeing the Middle East? Shak Bernard Hanish, PhD Associate Professor Lead faculty for Political Science National University 11255 North Torrey Pines Road La Jolla, CA 92037 USA Abstract Christians in the Middle East are facing critical conditions due to several factors. Large numbers of them are fleeing the area in search for safety and stability. Although they belong to different sects, they are simply called Eastern Christians. The paper discusses the current situation of the Eastern Christians in the Middle East, due to the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and extremism in the region, especially with the phenomenon of “the Arab Spring” and the events the followed the U.S. invasion of Iraq. In my paper, I will discuss the phenomenon of Christians fleeing the region especially in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Egypt where a large number of them are forced to leave their land of origin. They are becoming a target of extremism and they fear Islamists taking over some governments in the region. I will discuss the reasons behind such exile, who force them to leave, who facilitate their migration, and what are the implications of such an escape on Christianity in the East and the culture that survived nearly two thousand years. I will present possible solutions to the problem to keep Christians of the East in the region to save their culture and pluralism. Keywords: The Middle East, Eastern Christians, Islamic Fundamentalism, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt Introduction Christians in the Middle East are facing critical circumstances due to several factors. Their numbers are reducing, especially following “the Arab Spring” and the aftermath of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. Large numbers of them are fleeing the area in search for safety and stability in Europe, the United States, Australia, and elsewhere. Because of their global location in the Middle East, they are called the Eastern Christians, where Christianity originally originated and spread to Europe and elsewhere in the globe. Although they belong to different sects, such as the Orthodox, the Catholic, the Coptic Orthodox, the Protestants, and so on, they are simply called Eastern Christians. If the phenomenon of fleeing the region continues, there is a possibility that the Middle East will be evacuated from its indigenous Christians, just as it happened to many Jews in the Arab and Islamic worlds. In my paper, I will discuss the current situation of the Eastern Christians in the Middle East, due to the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and extremism in the region and possibility of them taking over some governments in the region. I will discuss this phenomenon for Christians in four Middle Eastern countries with relatively large Christian population, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt, where a large number of them are strained to leave their land of origin. In my paper, I will also discuss the reasons for such exile, who force them to leave, who facilitate emigration, and what are the implications of such an escape on Christianity in the East and the culture that survived nearly two thousand years. At the end, I will present some possible solutions to this problem to keep Christians of the East in the region, their culture, and pluralism. There are about 15 million Christians in the Middle East. The largest Christian group in the Middle East is in Egypt. They are called the Copts, who constitute about 10% of Egyptians, with about 10 million Christians (CIA: the World Factbook, 2012). Lebanese Christians are about 1.5 million, the largest Christian percentage of any Middle Eastern country with about 40% of the population, majority of them are called Christian Maronite. In Syria, there are about 1.8 million Christians who constitute 10 percent of the population (CIA: the World Factbook, 2014). They mostly speak Arabic, but a large number of them speak Syriac (dialect of Aramaic), and some of them speak Armenians. 62 © Center for Promoting Ideas, USA www.ijhssnet.com The Armenian Christians are about half a million, half of them in Lebanon and the rest in Syria, Jordan, and Iraq. In Iraq, Christians’ number is less than half of what it was before the American invasion of Iraq. They are less than a half million today. Great majority of them are Chaldo-Assyrians who speak Aramaic language, the language spoken by Jesus at the time. There are also Christians in Jordan, Israel including the Palestinian occupied land, Sudan, and elsewhere in the region. There is no doubt that the number of Christians in the East in modern time is in its largest drop. For example, Turkey that had millions of Christians at the turn of the 20th century became now almost empty of Christians, and similar is in Palestine, the birthplace of Christ (1). After the America's invasion of Iraq in 2003, Christians decreased by two thirds. Lebanon also saw a significant decline in the number of Christians after the mid-1970s civil war. Christianity in the Middle East has existed since its inception, due to the fact that the Middle East is the cradle of Christianity. It was the main religion in the region from the fourth century until the Islamic conquests in the seventh century. Today, Christians in the Near East account for less than 5% of the population compared to 20% in the early twentieth century (Willey,2010). After more than three years of the beginning of “the Arab Spring” in the Arab world, it has become clear that the Middle East is strengthening the role of Islamists’ movements as it happened in Egypt before military takeover, Tunisia, Syria, Libya, and Iraq. Radical political Islamists continue to grow in the Middle East, which is a disturbing phenomenon for Christians and other minorities. Radical Islamists reject modernity and globalization and consider them the exporters of the “Christian” West. They reject secular, multicultural society, and other modern values, and follow the strategy of establishing an Islamic sectarian state. Their opposition to democracy in Iraq, Egypt, Libya, or Lebanon, is supported by arms, men, and funding from different sources and countries, disturbing the interests of Middle Eastern public and governments. Current Situation in 4 Countries Iraq The early indigenous people of Mesopotamia to convert to Christianity dates back to the time between the first and the third century. Iraq was the cradle of Eastern rites (the Church of the East) and a missionary expansion that extended Christianity as far as India, Central Asia, and China. Until the 14th century, Christians made up the majority of the population in Iraq. Christians in Iraq played an important role and participated in the Islamic civilization and exceled in science, astronomy, medicine, and have distinguished themselves in the Abbasid Empire where they were involved in medicine, science, mathematics, and physics. Today, Christianity is the second religion in Iraq in term of the numbers following Islam, as recognized by the Constitution. Christians in Iraq speaks mostly Arabic language but majority speak Syriac, the modern Armenian language. The percentage of Christians in Iraq in the 1947 census was 3.1% (2) (Batatu, 2000). Christians in Iraq used to exist in almost all provinces, but they were concentrated mainly in the capital Baghdad. The largest populations of them are in the Nineveh plain near Mosul city in northern Iraq. They still exist in the Dohuk, Irbil, Mosul, Basra, and Kirkuk. In the 1980s, there were an estimated 1-1.6 million Christians in Iraq. This percentage has declined due to migration during the 1990s because of the economic and political consequences of Gulf War. The migration accelerated after the occupation of Iraq in 2003 and the sectarian violence that plagued Iraq and led to the displacement of a large number of Christians in outside Iraq or to the Kurdistan region of Iraq that is relatively safe. Iraqi Christians suffer mainly from lack of security, which resulted in their population reduction to less than a half million today (CIA: The World Factbook, 2014) Since 2003, more than 1,000Christians were killed in Iraq, and others were kidnapped, tortured, or released for ransom at the hands of terrorists and lawless armed gangs, where religion is used to justify such criminal acts. Extremist fundamentalists have also attacked62churches and monasteries. Thus, the number of Christians is decreasing day by day. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees recently reported that850,000IraqiChristianshave left the country since 2003 (Patriarch Saco, 2013). The attacks on the Christians and Yazidis religious minority in December 2011 in the Kurdistan region (3) by Kurdish extremists disappointed Christians who thought that the region is a safe haven for them. Thinking of migration from home, although it is a bitter choice, remains the best alternative to most compared to threat of terrorism and the loss of life. 63 International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 4, No. 10(1); August 2014 The worse attack against Christians in Baghdad occurred on October 31,2010in the Lady of Deliverance Church by the Organization of the Islamic State of Iraq, al-Qaeda affiliated organization, when gunmen stormed it during the performance of the mass ceremony, blowing themselves killing and wounding hundreds of people. It should be noted that Christians in Iraq are occasionally identified with the American invasion and occupation of Iraq by extreme Islamists. It should be noted that the Iraqi Christians before 2003 were not living in peace and prosperity. The successive regimes since the modern state of Iraq was created in 1932 carried out various chauvinistic policies against Christians and other minorities. Christian Assyrians were the first groups subjected to killing after the founding of the modern Iraq.
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