American Middle East

As the Arab-world Christians contemplate their future, they are not unaware of the concern and fear which overshadows them and demands of this turning point of history in which they live.

There are serious difficulties faced by the Arab-world Christian communities at every moment of their daily lives and are very much a part of the life of their respective nations.

Over the past few years and aftermath 9/11, a new situation has been developing on the national and international level. Important changes have taken place, and it is not clear yet what that outcome will be. These changes are occurring constantly and have repercussions in all parts of the world. They lead states and societies to review their plans and the positions they have adopted. In the midst of all these changes, old conflicts give way to new ones.

The Arab world constitutes a characteristic geographical and culturally unique entity with the wealth of its natural resources ( principally oil).

If in the past the Christian communities as a minority in the Arab world/ Middle East have turned in on themselves because of the constraints of their historical conditions, today they are called upon to free themselves from the after-effects of the past, and they are capable of transforming that condition as their presence is intimately connected to the quality of their faith, to its depth and intensity.

The interaction of the Middle East Christians with different civilizations has never ceased and have maintained an ever-renewed vitality throughout the succeeding generations and periods of history in their region. They have made the effort to express themselves in accordance with the new cultural conditions since the Islamic conquest. The Arabic language has gradually entered the different areas of liturgical, intellectual and daily life.

Christians in the Middle East do not limit themselves to using the Arabic language as a means of expression for their rites, their particular culture, and daily relations . They have gone beyond this to concern themselves with the future of the whole of culture and civilization. Christians have not been mere spectators in the progressive modernization of Arabic/ Islamic civilization.

The Arab Christians were the first to translate into Arabic a lot of books of philosophy, geography, medicine and history from Aramaic-Syriac, Greek and Latin. They have played an

active part by the work of translation and the production of original works. They have thus created an outstanding means of cooperation between Muslims, Jews and Christians and can rightly be proud of this cooperation as a model and privileged means of coexistence.

The Middle East Christians, Muslims, and Jews have a common history that they have to carry from generation to generation and for centuries to come, as their forefathers have done. This should help build trust, harmony, and cooperation on the land that belonged to our common prophets.

As some Arabs suffer economic, social, or political hardship, this has led to an emergence of religious intolerance, nationalism, fanaticism, fundamentalism, bigotry, and social hatred toward other religious minorities and ethnic communities.

Christians of the Arab world were and are always good and sincere citizens, and never betrayed the Arab brethren despite some periods of persecution during Arab and Muslim rule, and as a minority they do expect from their Arab Muslims majority to be recognized as equals in all fields of life and they do not need any protectorate.

In the present day the conditions in which the Christians of the Middle East live, with all their challenges, are by no means easy. Our ancient eastern heritage is authentic, but needs to be renewed and recreated to respond to the new demands posed by present day conditions. Also, let us not forget the impact of non-Arab Christians on Arab mind and behavior though the Christian Arabs had a unique and a positive factor in the make of Arabic society as a whole.

The fact is that the Middle East is not entirely Arab nor entirely Muslim, and the common image of the Middle East Christians is that its limited to a few groups or individuals. The fact is that the Arab-world Christian communities are spread throughout the Arabian peninsula, Asia Minor, and northern Africa. There are more than ten to twelve million in Egypt, 1.5 million in Lebanon, approximately one million in Syria, one million in Iraq, seven million in Sudan, half a million in Iran, and other sizable communities in Palestine, Jordan, and other parts of the Arab world as Arab Christians, Antiochian Orthodox, Armenians, Assyrians, Catholics, Chaldeans, Coptics, Maronites, Melkites, Protestants, Syriacs, and others.

Several analysts predict that twenty-five years from now there will be no Christians living in the Holy Land, and their numbers will be negligible in the rest of the Middle East. What is the Holy Land without Christians? What is the Middle East without Christians?

The United States and many European countries have separation of church and state. These countries, far from being Christian-like in their behavior at times, have only interest in their own

wealth and the rights of their own people. They do not look at the Middle East Christians equally as Arabs and do not help the Arab-world Christians.

According to the September 22^nd, 2001 Issue of The Economist magazine, page 31; the Arab American Institute; and others, the majority of Arab-Americans are Christians.

The majority of the Middle East Christians were present since the dawn of Christianity in the Middle Eastern countries are racially, historically, and ethnically different from their fellow citizens in their respective countries.

There are over six million American Middle East Christians across the United State, and over half a million in the state of Michigan. They have tended to gather in big cities, not only Detroit but also Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago and Washington.

Arab-world Americans are notably different from the Arabs in the Middle East. Four in five Arab-world Americans were born in the United States. One striking difference is that the majority of the Arab-world Americans are Christians, compared to only 5-10% of Arab-world Christians in the Middle East population. A breakdown by religion of Arab Americans show that 77% are Christian and only 23% are Muslim.

Throughout the centuries, there were movements of Arabinization and Islaminization of the Arab-world Christians’ population that is continuing till today even in the United States of America, While ignoring their aspirations and identity recognition. Many times these merits are ignored by other Middle East or Arab organizations in USA.

If the new Bush doctrine of democratization of the Arab world is based on western style democracy then while he is addressing the future of the “post Saddam” Iraq, there should be political formula or recognition be made by the administration of the minorities and ethnic, such as the Assyrians, Chaldean, and Syriac Christians while the main emphasis has been on the majority Muslims i.e. Shia, Sunnis and Kurds only, similar democratization cases can be made to the rest of Arab World.

This democratization process should be promoted and not imposed in order to succeed.

The American Middle East Congress have advocated strategies to the Middle East countries and their nations based on equality, civic rights and civil liberties irrespective of their ethnicity, race, or religion, this strategy will lead to a free and democratic Middle East, in which the Muslims, Jews, and Christians will live in peace and harmony.

Dr. Ramsay F. Dass

President

American Middle East Christians Congress