Alarmism about Arab Christians

Now that's what I call irresponsible journalism:

Even in Islamic countries not strictly run by Sharia law, pressures mount on local Christians to leave the homes they've known for centuries. Iraq's Christian sects, among the oldest Christian communities anywhere in the world, have been directly targeted by terrorist bombs, and Christians are now high on the list of those fleeing Iraq's sectarian strife. Thirty years ago, Lebanon was 60% Christian. Since then, an estimated 3.5 million Christians have emigrated, reducing the country's Christian population percentage to barely 25%. And in the Palestinian territories, direct and indirect pressures have also led to an increasing Christian exodus. One striking result: Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus and once a predominantly Christian Arab community now has an overwhelming Muslim majority.

Few people seem prepared to connect the dots. Some American evangelical groups like the Washington-based International Christian Concern try to raise the alarm. And America's Copts, especially those based in the New York area, actively lobby against the legal and social discrimination that face their Egyptian co-religionists. Yet most mainstream church groups seem to ignore the threat.

Where do you start? Iraq's Christian sects have run into trouble recently, especially since the US invasion sparked off a civil war and Saddam Hussein is no longer around to protect them via Tariq Aziz (or, to look at it another way, at least back then they were more equally repressed.) As for the percentage of Lebanon's Christians, it's always been controversial. They've been the politically dominant group until recently (despite being a minority today) and the constitution is still siding with them by giving them the presidency. I suspect their supposed exodus from Lebanon should be blamed on the civil war (and the fact that more of them can afford to emigrate than the other sects). And I wonder what these "indirect and direct pressures" he's talking about on Palestinian Christians. The Israeli occupation perhaps?

You should read the whole thing to see how much it all stinks. Trust a warmongering tabloid like the New York Sun Daily News (edit: my mistake! The Sun is better than that.) to run this. Richard Chesnoff, you're really really crap.

Comments

[Assyrian from iraq]

Your opening statement caught my attention and continued as I read your post; then I tried to follow the link to read the original post you were addressing but unfortunately I could not find it, however;

I can tell you from my own experience, Assyrians, descendants of the Assyrio-Babylonian civilizations have lived in Iraq and the surrounding middle eastern countries mostly Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Kuwait, Jordan.

During the Abbasid Kalifate centuries, Assyrians, then called Nestorians & Chaldeans, brought science and medicine to the Arab world, as a mater of fact they were the physicians of few famous Kalifs, however since early Arab invasion of Syria, Iraq etc, the Arabs force the christian minorities to adopt Arabic names, identities and the Arabic language in an attempt to wipe their existence, this is in addition to forced islamaziation by the power of the sword.

The Turks goal has been to eliminate the christian population of Turkey as you probably have heard of the massacre of the Armenians, among which hundreds of thousands of Assyrians were massacred as well. Forced to flea into western Iran, then attacked there by the Iranian and kurd muslims, Russia came to their
rescue in 1917, used the Assyrian christian minority for their cause(Russia), threatened of being eliminated
by the muslims, they took up arms to protect themselves and their reward was more hatred and killing
being accused of siding with Russia.

Then Britain comes to the resume of this small homeless christian minority that was systematically being
eradicated by the surrounding muslim neighbors; showing some mercy toward this small christian nation,
protected them from the hands of the Turks, Iranians, Kurds into Iraq, which was under the british
occupation.

In Iraq, the british used the Assyrian christians as their police force to keep peace and control in Iraqi
cities. Built a small force of few thousands and called them the Assyrian Levies. This went on for years
through the 1950's, while this gave the Assyrians some protection, however it helped fuel Arab hate and
mistrust; where in 1933 the newly created Iraqi government organized and carried a systematic massacre
aimed at eliminating the Assyrian population who was asking for recognition as a legal minority and asking
for citizenship rights, figures of how many were massacred varies, depending on who wrote the history,
the British at the time though they claimed to be protecting Assyrians, they were looking out for future
Oil wealth of the region and were aiming to establish a strong Iraqi nation, help them draw the oil from
under the iraqi soil, to supply their needs cheaply and to get rich as well; therefore forgetting their
original claim and cause to help save the Assyrian Christians, and going back on their promise of helping
this nation gain citizenship status.

The Assyrian Case became a world concern, everyone seemed to be trying to find a location somewhere
in the world where the small remnant can be accepted. Iraq wanted them out of Iraq, Turkey and Iran did
not want them back and no one else wanted them. Today they are scattered in Iraq, Iran, Syria and few
in Turkey, Lebanon, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Russia, China, Japan, all around Europe,
South america and mexico, and certainly in the USA.

Not having a country or a government, they've been ruled by others and others have determined their
existence, re-wrote their past and decided their future; changed their names, split them into different
groups, based on their Christian faith and encouraged them to be against one another instead of
uniting regardless of church affiliations, birth place, language dialect or tribal differences.

Today among the names they are know by are mainly Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syriacs, Maronites
of Lebanon have been fully Arabized and they don't know their grand parents called themselves
Assyrians or Chaldeans or Jacobites; they've taken on Arabic names such as Faris and Firyal
and speak Arabic instead of Syriac, Aramaic, Jacobite or Chaldean (different dialects) but if you
were to enter a Maronite Church, you'd hear the sermon in Aramaic-Syrian! Why would any Arab
have church service in language other than Arabic, especially if they spoke Arabic fluently?

Today, 2010 Christians of the middle east under all different names, are being kidnapped, murdered,
assassinated, raped, plundered, forced out of their homes and belongings; and countries around
the world (including the US, UK, Europe) closed the door to the Assyrian christians of the middle
east, and with open arms accepted the Arab and Muslim population of the Middle East and the
East and adopted tolerance toward them and honored them with equality status; and look at what
they have done and how they have destroyed the world and those who opened their doors to
receive them. They only have one goal; the eradication of any non-Muslim! And they are being
very successful at achieving their goal, and the world is asleep to all this.