by Michael Hawley | The plight of Christians in the Middle East.
Even as the United States now wages war on radical Islam, another struggle is taking place within the worldwide Muslim community itself. Those who see their religion as a true religion of peace and those who see it as a useful tool for domination and oppression are fighting for the soul of Islam. While the implications of this conflict for American foreign policy have occupied many reports, articles, and books, the effects it has on the small community of Christians in the Middle East rarely make the news. Indeed the very survival of Christianity in that region could well depend on the outcome of this struggle.
During the seventh century, as Muslim armies swept out of the Arabian Peninsula into the Holy Land, many Christian cities threw open their doors to the invaders. So great was the religious tolerance of early Islam, that many communities of Christians preferred to live under the rule of Muslims than their fellow Christians. Today, in some Islamic countries, Christians still benefit from that practice of religious tolerance preached in the Qur’an. In others, Christians suffer harassment and even persecution through governmental and unofficial policies of abuse.
Turkey, an Islamic country with almost one hundred years of secular government, has long been held up as a positive example for other Middle Eastern nations. A strictly secular constitution ensures religious freedom, and Christians and Jews receive protected minority status. Though the Turkish government still refuses to acknowledge the country’s guilt in the genocide of Armenian Christians, this is but one dark spot on Turkey’s otherwise excellent record of religious toleration. Indeed, Turkey disproves the claim that Islam is incompatible with free democratic institutions.
On the other side of the spectrum, Iran remains one of the least religiously tolerant countries of the Islamic world. Though its constitution officially protects religious freedom, Sharia dominates Iranian law. Christian women can face serious punishment if found “improperly” attired. Several prominent Christian leaders have been imprisoned, and their followers have been regularly harassed by the government. Christians in Iran are estimated to range from about one to three hundred thousand, but such are the conditions in the country that the UN estimates that approximately thirty thousand emigrate each year.
Though many had hoped that the installation of democratic governments in Iraq and Afghanistan would finally end the long era of religious oppression in those countries, progress for Christians has lagged behind reconstruction. While the new Afghan constitution explicitly protects freedom of religion, this new policy has not been entirely successful. In 2006, Abdul Rahman was indicted by the Afghan government for the crime of converting from Islam to Christianity. Though American pressure eventually forced the Afghan government to drop the case, the fact that charges were even filed seems troubling. On a positive note, Catholic missionaries working in schools and doing charity have reported that the Afghan populace has been generally very respectful of their work. Christians in Iraq have not found themselves harassed by the Iraqi government. However, insurgents consider them collaborators with the US, and target prominent Christians for special persecution. As a result, the UN estimates that more than a quarter of all Iraqi Christians have fled the country in a mass exodus since the liberation in 2003.
The most popular destination for Iraqi Christian refugees is, ironically, Syria. A country noted for making religious dissidents “disappear,” Syria would hardly be an ideal locale for those escaping religious oppression. However, the secular government of the country in fact oppresses most of its people equally, and usually does not discriminate on the basis of religion. Christians there are hardly worse off than anyone else, and face government harassment more than persecution. Recently, more reforms have been passed in Syria, lessening restrictions on free speech. While far from the ideal liberal democracy, Syria is making progress.
Many governments throughout the Middle East walk a narrow tightrope, trying to hold a middle ground between Islamists pushing for stricter enforcement of Islamic law, and forces of liberalism demanding human rights. Though in many cases, hard-line clerics are largely to blame for religious oppression, moderate clerics may be the best hope to challenge the status quo. 138 Muslim scholars recently addressed an open letter to the Pope and other Christian leaders calling for an end to strife between the two great faiths. They stated categorically, “as Muslims we are not against [Christians], and that Islam is not against them.” These leaders must then take to heart their own message and pressure both Islamic governments and people finally to accord Middle Eastern Christians their basic human rights. If they prove successful, America could find itself a powerful alliance with Christians and moderate Muslims throughout the Middle East, which might pave the way to ultimate victory in the war against Islamic fanaticism.
Mr. Hawley is a freshman who has not yet declared a major.
Comments