The Christian communities of the Middle East, descendants of the first Christians, persevere in their faith in Christ. They live in an era with a constant threat of violence, unrest and persecution.
The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, recently wrote of the plight of Christians in the Middle East, stating: “Many have left. Hundreds of thousands have been forced from their homes.” He warned that “across the region Christian communities that were the foundation of the universal Church now face the threat of imminent extinction.”
Many do not think he is overstaing the problem. There is serious unrest in the Middle East, and many are worried it will only get worse for the Christians that remain.
“In the last few years, they have been slaughtered by so-called Islamic State, and in many countries they find themselves squeezed between the upper and lower millstones of pressure on them within society and of conflicts that afflict the region.”
“Many have been killed, enslaved and persecuted or forcibly converted. Even those who remain ask the question, ‘Why stay?’ The Christian population of Iraq, for instance, is less than half what it was in 2003 and their churches, houses and businesses have been damaged or destroyed. The Syrian Christian population has halved since 2010.”
Even in countries like Israel, where Christianity is more secure, the tension “makes life difficult for them,” he added.
Despite the success of U.S.-led coalition forces against the Islamic State, Christians in the Middle East still run the risk of being persecuted.
“The Christian population in Iraq has gone from 1.5 million in 2003 to just about 200,000 today, and the numbers in Syria are comparable, although more difficult to know exactly as a result of confusion in the context of war,” said Tricia Miller, a senior research analyst and Christian expert for CAMERA stated.
Amid their struggles, Middle East Christians and other religious minorities received a boost in recent weeks with the signing into law by U.S. President Donald Trump of the Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act, which provides humanitarian relief to genocide victims in Iraq and Syria, and holds accountable Islamic State perpetrators of genocide.
“My sincere hope is that through this bill, American assistance will aid those religious groups that suffered so horrendously under the Islamic State, and American and foreign authorities will go after those responsible for the horrors committed by the Islamic State,” Pastor John Hagee, founder and chairman of Christians United for Israel, said.
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