Christian Presence Fading From the Middle East

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by Rodney Pelletier • ChurchMilitant.com • March 8, 2017 6 Comments
DETROIT (ChurchMilitant.com) – A new joint report from multiple, nongovernmental organizations claims, “As a consequence of intolerance, persecution and conflict not only communities but entire, ancient, cultures are about to disappear from the region.”

A report called “Ensuring Equality,” released in January, indicates that Christians, specifically Chaldean Catholics and others groups, are fading away because of persistent persecution.

Within the last few years, ISIS has made headlines for its long list of atrocities against Christians in Egypt, Syria and Iraq, including the torture and crucifixion of children. As if this weren’t enough, ISIS destroys irreplaceable historical monuments.
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Coalition forces — composed of U.S. Special Forces trained Iraqi military, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and Christian militias like the Nineveh Plains Protection Unit — have been working hard for the last two years to remove ISIS from Iraq. But Christians are slow to return to a land that seemingly has not wanted them there for years.

The report notes that, for the most part, even before ISIS took over parts of Iraq and Syria, Christians “have been the victims of oppression and persecution for decades, at the hands of both sides of the dominant Sunni/Shia divide.” It continues, “[M]any have been displaced back and forth from Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan several times, and unlike other faith groups, displaced Yazidis and Christians have nowhere safe within the Middle East where they can go.”

The reason is “the ideology which underpins their persecution is endemic and crosses all borders. … As a consequence of intolerance, persecution and conflict not only communities but entire, ancient, cultures are about to disappear from the region.”

http://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/christian-presence-fading-from-the-middle-east