Similarly, Christians used to comprise one third of the Syrians; they are now less than a tenth. The number of Christians in Lebanon decreased from more than half to less than one third the Lebanese and in Egypt Christians are fleeing persecution to different adoptive nations in the West. The vast majority of Jews in the Middle East fled to Israel in 1950-1970, but Christians have to find a country to receive them.
Al-Qaida and ISIS as well as all religiously motivated extremist Islamic groups are motivated by the impression (not groundlessly) of the double standard applied by the West especially in Palestine and in other Muslim countries. In addition they bought the idea that the ultimate in jihad is to rid the world from the enemies of Allah. These include the Jews (the sons of apes) and the Christians (the sons of pigs) as well as the Muslims who believe differently from them. Also, they propagate the notion that the Christians always side with the West. Christians are routinely blamed for every act committed against any Muslim, even when they are peaceful bystanders and not directly related to the conflict. For example, in Egypt, when Muhammed Morsi (the prior President of Egypt) was ousted by the devoutly Muslim Sisi backed by 8 million Egyptians, Christians were killed, their homes destroyed, more than a hundred Churches were burnt (some to the ground), their women were traded as sex slaves and their children abused even the Patriarchate was raided whereas Christian did not fire one bullet during the uprising.
A cursory look at the region shows that Jordan and the West Bank of Palestine and probably the Emirates are genuinely secular. The Egyptian president; Abd-El-Fattah El-Sisi is trying his best in word and deed to enact equality among all Egyptians. The recent plan to reform education is an additional step in this direction. However, there is no magic wand that would enable him to change overnight the engrained attitudes of people and what they hear from their religious leaders. It is hard to explain that nearly half the Muslims living in the free West voted for the flawed religious Egyptian Constitution cooked in a hurray by the appointed cronies of the Muslim Brothers when they were in power. True, Christians learnt to play the game over the years; this was essential for their survival. They knew how to handle corrupt regimes, deal with men in power, own land, develop private enterprises and produce professionals mainly as renowned doctors, engineers and pharmacists. In the process many of them became extremely wealthy, they controlled a disproportionately large portion of the Egyptian economy and became influential. At the same time, they were more and more excluded from senior Government positions, did not dwell in politics and avoided being embroiled in the rough and tumble of making societal decisions. They lived at the mercy of governing authorities and were never asked to stem the country’s deteriorating way of life while blamed for every actual or perceived failure by the governing body. It is noteworthy that the violent animosity between Sunnis and Shiites existed since the death of the Prophet Mohamed and neither faction trusted the Christians in this conflict. Now more than ever before they are kicked out of their homeland and are fleeing for their lives in droves or are threatened to be slaughtered if they stay behind.
What the West should do in the face this escalating wave of elimination of minorities? No one is asking the West to enact reciprocity and become like ISIS. The West MUST continue to have the Jeffersonian wall that separates Church from State. However, the majority of those fleeing persecution in the Middle-East are Christians. They have demographics that the West would like to have, assimilate easily in their adoptive country, are always loyal to the country that welcomes them, never operate as double agents, will never revert to extremism and they have strong traditions and family ties. Some countries in the West have preferentially welcomed them such as Canada and Northern Europe, some are inclined to do so such as Australia and the rest of Europe, and some, like America has advertised that it welcomes more newcomers from the region, I suspect that they will include members and sympathizers of ISIS. We hear all the time that ISIS has killed more Muslims than Christians, which ignores the fact that Christians are becoming an endangered minority in the Middle East given the current environment. The West MUST intervene urgently to stem this tide of rapid decline of Christians in the land of Christ.
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Lofty Basta MD, FRCP, FRCPE, FACP, FACC, FAHA