Anglicans’ Middle East Witness

Jeff Walton
October 15, 2009

Why are some Anglicans attacking Israel but apologizing for radical Islam?

The Episcopal Church is as involved in the Middle East as any foreign religious body – three American dioceses have partner relationships with the Diocese of Jerusalem, which at only 7,000 members receives a disproportionate share of Episcopal financial largesse.

The IRD also devotes a special attention to the Middle East, where we fear for local Christians facing pressure from an increasingly hostile Muslim majority. We closely monitor ecumenical groups like Churches for Middle East Peace and Sabeel, which supposedly speak on behalf of Palestinian Christians, but often criticize Israel while remaining silent on Islamic fundamentalism.

This past week I attended the Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) Conference in Washington, D.C. FOSNA was started by former Episcopal Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning. Click here to read the first part of my coverage of this radical pro-Palestinian event, you can read part two here. Part three of my Sabeel coverage will be available later this week. During the conference I was able to ask Sabeel’s leader, Anglican Priest Naim Ateek, about the export of militant Wahabbi Islam from Saudi Arabia and its impact upon the Holy Land. In the 1990s, private Saudi money was lavished upon the families of suicide bombers and the oil-rich nation has exported hard-line clerics to influence mosques around the world.

“We are not affected by Wahhabi Muslims,” Ateek said. Palestinian Christian Gaby Habib, a co-panelist alongside Ateek, did note that Saudi Arabia was trying to play a political role and have the Arab countries ruled by Sunni conservatives. Habib said that some progress had been made in Egypt among Muslim intellectuals at refuting this ultra-conservative form of Islam, but that it had found an audience with extremist Muslims.

Ateek’s quick dismissal of militant Islam surprised me. Just this week, IRD Religious Liberty Director Faith McDonnell and I heard from Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, the brave and outspoken Church of England cleric who is focusing on the persecution of the church in Muslim-majority lands. Bishop Nazir-Ali’s take on militant Islam was more detailed than Ateek’s dismissal, as he described a disturbing generational change away from moderate forms of Islam and towards extremist interpretations of both the Koran and Islamic tradition.

When supporting Middle East peace, Anglicans need to insure that our support is going to those that stand up for the suffering church, rather than those who are used as a proxy to attack Israel. Thankfully, the House of Bishops meeting at the recent Episcopal General Convention voted down a one-sided anti-Israel resolution passed by the House of Deputies. The bishops understood that there are two sides to every story, and blaming Israel as the only aggressor was not the proper way forward. Anglican Action will continue to monitor how the church speaks to this issue as an important part of our witness in the public square.