Officials ranging from U.S. Catholic leaders to a former president of Lebanon are expressing concern about the increasing persecution of Christians throughout the Middle East.
Archbishop Francis Chullikatt, the permanent observer of the Vatican to the United Nations recently testified before a House subcommittee on Capitol Hill.
“No Christian is exempt, whether or not he or she is Arab,” Chullikatt said.
Fox News reports members of Congress have heard testimony concerning reports of kidnappings, Christian communities forced out of their homes by militants and the murder of Christians who refuse to convert to Islam.
Archbishop Chullikatt has worked in Iraq. He is calling on the Obama administration to put more pressure on the United Nations to increase its goal of protecting international religious freedom.
The Archbishop says he is very concerned about psychological damage being done to children living through persecution.
“They’ve had to live in fear,” he said. “They’ve committed no crime. They are children. When they go to their schools, they are not even sure if they will come back safe and sound or even alive.”
Elliott Abrams, the U.S. Commissioner on International Religious Freedom has also testified before Congress.
He says publicly speaking out concerning religious prisoners can bring about action. He also says lawmakers should consider sanctions against violators.
A former president of Lebanon expressed the same concerns to a Christian Solidarity International (CSI) conference in Geneva Switzerland.
Amine Gemayel served as the president of Lebanon from 1982 to 1988. He feels the Arab world is experiencing a crisis of religious pluralism” driven by “the rise of religious extremists,” which threatens “any community which does not constitute the majority.”
Gemayel says the Obama administration and European leaders should create a Task Force to protect religious minorities in the Middle East.
Gemayel is a member of the Maronite Catholic community. He says his group any many other religious minorities who live in areas controlled by Shiite militias are facing so much persecution they have to flee the region, or face possible death.
Gemayel gave evidence to the CSI conference in Zurich of “church burnings, physical assaults and killings” in Egypt, “an onslaught of murder in Iraq, and “a bloody–minded reign of terror” from “ultra-radical Islamists in regions of Syria where they have imposed their rule.”
Gemayel says he is thankful for the U.S. State Department’s condemnation of the persecution of Syrian Christians. He says the U.S. should make up its statements with more action.
The Center for American Progress is a politically liberal public policy research and advocacy organization.
The group recently hosted a panel discussion to look at solutions to the persecution of Christians in this region and discuss possible solutions.
Marwan Kreidie is a political science professor at Villanova University. He is also a coordinator for Villanova’s Center for Arab and Islamic Studies. He has taken part in the panel discussion.
The Washington Times quotes him as saying the United States can assist the Christians by withholding foreign aid in countries where there is increasing persecution. Kreidie also says U.S. officials should ask for assistance from Arab-Americans.
He cautions though the U.S. should not become a crutch, because he says “the future of Middle East Christians should be in the Middle East.”
Kreidie also stated “missionaries and good schools are helpful in changing attitudes in countries where Christians are persecution. He says there is a problem with these countries repeatedly looking to other nations for help.
Paul Marshall, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom also took part in the recent Center for American Progress panel discussion.
He says Christians in the Middle East are being hit hardest by persecution because of migration, increasing conflicts and sectarian lifestyles.
Christians living in Israel have been showing support for efforts to help fellow Christians in nations in the region.
JNS.org reports more than 150 Israeli Christians recently gathered in front of the European Union Embassy in Israel. The group is asking that the EU step up its efforts to help Middle East Christians.
JNS.org quoted Father Gabriel Nadaf, a Greek Orthodox priest, as telling the crowd that he is thankful that Israel has been a warm home for Christians.
“We as free Israeli Christians are proud of our country and we thank Israel. We hope that Christian leaders speak loudly and without fear and say the truth about Israel. God Bless Israel, Khalloul said.
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