Development and Civilisations
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development and civilisations www.lebret-irfed.org ry 2011 N°390 Janua Editorial Christians confronted Disturbing truths to the Arab world’s fractures he tragedy of Middle East T Christians is first of all the tragedy into which their home by Boutros Labaki* countries are too often driven. In fact, it is impossible to dissociate Societies in the Arab world in general and its Christian communities their fate from that of the rest of the in particular are threatened by the rise of a backward and extremist population in Irak, Lebanon, Syria, conception of Islam. Several tragic terrorist attacks have proven this Palestine or Egypt. The Christians recently. But, the fate of these communities cannot be dissociated who are now targeted by fanatic from the conflicts and sociopolitical fractures which are tearing up Islamism are victims no different from their brother Muslims, Shi'ites or the region, often due to the West’s blindness. Ignoring it means Sunnis, assassinated in numbers in denying history and reality. different attacks, each bloodier than the other. On top of that, blasting The term “Middle East” is a term coined of the second European expansion in oneself near a church or shooting the by Westerners to designate the region the Middle East. faithful present certainly reveals a covering Egypt, Asian Arab countries, deliberate type of religious cleansing. Turkey and Iran …In all these countries, A “Protection” Contract An Orient rid of the “unfaithful” is indigenous Christian communities exist, undoubtedly what the nebulous Al- The Christian communities, like the Qaeda desires. But, how can we not except in the countries of the Gulf and Jewish communities, were governed in relate this outbreak of anti-Christian the Arabian peninsula where the violence with the very tragedy of the resident Christian communities are their relations with those in power by a Iraqi or Palestinian people? emigrants from other Middle East contract of “protection/submission”, the countries, from Europe, Asia, Africa and Dhimma (which, in Arab, signifies “moral Extremism and terrorism always feed America. conscience”). In virtue of this contract, on chaos, on discrimination, on the Christians were free to practice their people’s repression and abuse. This is Christianity was born in Palestine and religion and therefore had their now so in Baghdad where the overthrow first spread out to countries which are churches, their schools, their convents, of the dictator Saddam Hussein (who now: Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Egypt, their religious hierarchies and their defended the Christians for a long time Turkey, then Irak, Iran and Arabia. It has ecclesiastic tribunals treating questions before courting the Islamists to therefore been long implanted in these of family law. They had to pay a specific circumvent the embargo and stay in power) opened the Pandora's box of lands. Six centuries later, Islam, in the tax, the jizya , and were exempted from settling of scores and sectarisation in course of its expansion, eliminated military service. society. It is so in Egypt where the Christianity from the Arabian peninsula, authoritarianism of an ending regime fans but coexisted with Christian communities Quite often, particularly in cities, they the worst instincts. It is the reality in which had initially welcomed it favorably, were subjected to discriminatory Palestine where the Israeli steamroller thinking that it was a new Christian sect. treatment: with distinctive clothing, and colonization tightens the worst of the forbidden to ride a horse and carry arms, nooses on Palestinian Christians. The Christian populations remained a obliged to give precedence to Muslims. majority in the Arab and Byzantine East This status varied according to the Boutros Labaki explains this very well: the up to the “Crusades” which Muslims period and was applied mostly in cities. fate of Middle East Christians cannot be called “War of the Franks”. The Muslim In the rural and especially the dissociated from the land that saw the “reconquista” of the Crusade-states had mountainous areas, the desert fringes birth and spread of Christianity. They are negative consequences on these and other regions far from the central the salt of the land, just like the other communities, whose percentage in the communities. Whoever seeks to destroy power, where many Christian them will only succeed in further total population declined from 50% at communities tended to settle, their real impoverishing their societies. The Middle the eve of the Crusades to 20-25% at status was clearly better and they East without the Christians is socially, the end of the 19th century, on the eve benefited from a relatively great culturally, economically a decapitated *Boutros Labaki is a professor of Developmental Economics at Saint Joseph University in Beirut Middle East. and Secretary-general of the Lebanese Institute for Economic and Social Development (ILDES). From 1991 to 2000, he was first vice-president of the Development and Reconstruction Council Richard Werly of Lebanon. At the Centre Lebret-Irfed, he occupies the position of Vice-president for the [email protected] Middle-East and the Arab world. Contact: [email protected] autonomy. The European colonial -The Oriental Orthodox churches movement. In all these struggles, the expansion of the 19th and 20th centuries, [monophysites 1): they include mainly Christian elite played a primary role, the wars which characterized it and the the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox who are whether it be in Syria, Palestine, rise of nationalism led to the dismantling by far the biggest Christian community Lebanon or Egypt, throughout the 20th of the multinational Ottoman Empire, to in the Middle East with nearly 7 million century. Christians co-founded the Wafd the exodus of the Anatolian Greeks believers. The other communities are: Party in Egypt (Makram Ebeid and towards European Greece and towards the Syriac Orthodox in Turkey, Syria, Salama Moussa), the Arab Socialist other continents, and to the massacre of Iraq, Lebanon and Iran, and the Renaissance Party (the Syrian Michel the Armenians and their exodus out of Armenian Orthodox in Turkey, Iran, Aflak of the Baath Party), the Movement their land. The same happened to the Syria, Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon. of Arab Nationalists (the Palestinian Assyrians. This dealt a big blow to - The Church of the East (Assyrian): George Habache), the Syrian Nationalist Christianity in the Middle East, still has followers in Iraq, Syria and party (the Lebanese Antoun Saadé) as eliminating almost all Christian presence Lebanon, but has practically well as different Communist movements in Anatolia (present Asian Turkey). disappeared in Turkey. (Fouad Chemaly and Youssef Yazbeck - The different Churches born of the in Lebanon, Antoun Maroun in Egypt, Islam against the West Reformation are present here and there Fahd in Iraq). in all countries of the region. Thirty years later, the Western-Israeli - Finally the Greek Orthodox Church Christian peasants were at the forefront reaction to the Arab movement for (Chalcedonian) has followers in Syria, of movements that revolted against the political and economic independence Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan and Egypt. notables and against abuses of the became manifest in several conflicts: Ottoman tax officials in Lebanon and the Suez war of 1956, the Israeli wars These Christian communities, situated Syria. Many Christians founded and led of 1948, 1956, 1967, 1982 and 2006 both in the rural areas and in the cities, Palestinian armed resistance movements against surrounding Arab countries, the have historically played an important against Israeli expansion (Georges invasion of Iraq in 2003. This resulted role, in the cultural and economic Habash and the Popular Front for the in an anti-West counter-reaction, spheres. During the first centuries of Liberation of Palestine – PFLP, Nayef animated by a backward, and intolerant Islam, the Syriacs transmitted the Hawatmeh of the Democratic Front for Islamist ideology (the Jihadist elements of Greek culture to the Arab the Liberation of Palestine – DFLP, Salafism), incarnated by the nebulous Umayyad and Abbasid empires, in Kamal Nasser and others in the Fatah...). Al-Qaeda, which admitted having Damascus and Baghdad respectively. instigated attacks against the churches The Christian elite played an important Elites in the service of their in Iraq since several years and in Egypt role in administration, the intellectual countries of origin since some months now. life, medicine and other sciences in these empires. These intellectual and political Christian What to think of all that? How Colonization Likewise, and as early as the elites adopted liberal, nationalist, to interpret these barbarian dealt a big blow 17th and 18th centuries, the socialist and secular ideologies coming acts? The Christian to Christianity in expansion of European from Europe, partly because these communities in the Middle religious orders in the East on modern ideologies allowed them to get the Middle East 2 East count less than 15 the wake of the Catholic out of their inferior status of dhimmi million inhabitants, that is 5% Counter-reformation could be and to contribute to the construction of of the total population in the seen through the founding of an egalitarian society based on region. And yet, in certain countries many schools. citizenship, where belonging to the Christians are more present: in Egypt nation is more important than any other they represent 7 million