For ‘Arab Christians’ Exit, Voice … Or Loyalty -By George Irani

SINCE the beginning of the civil war in Syria a lot of attention has been paid to the fate of the country’s Christian community. Years ago while I was working on my book on the role of the Vatican in the Middle East I interviewed the late professor Edmond Rabbath a prominent historian and jurist originally from Aleppo. That was in 1983. At that time Rabbath told me that the Christians in the Middle East are becoming “fossilized communities.” Pro-phetic words as Christianity was born in this part of the world.

Christians in the Middle East are faced with three options: exit, voice or loyalty. By exit I mean that Arab Christians are leaving their countries of origin and seeking refuge in Northern Europe or in North America. First we had the tragedy in Iraq many Christians there (Chaldeans, Assyrians and others) decided to leave the country. The same occurred with the Christians in Palestine. Their number today has dwindled to almost 5,000. In the early 1960s Pope Paul VI visited Holy Land. In a speech he gave in Jerusalem he expressed his concern that Jerusalem and other holy places would become “museums of stone.”

Then we had the civil war in Lebanon (1975-189). Many Christians left the country and some did return. Many Lebanese Christians opted to stay in their new adoptive countries. Lebanon still has an important Christian presence but what is lacking is leadership with all due respect to the current Maronite Patriarch. Lebanon’s Christians are divided and have lost the initial role they played in An Nahda the Arab renaissance.

In Syria the tragedy is compounded by the hordes of extremists whose major aim is to ethnically cleanse the Middle East from any Christian presence. This would be a great tragedy for the regions Christians and Muslims. As an Arab-American Christian I am glad to be in Kuwait a land that has proven its tolerance towards its Christian communities. There are currently in Kuwait more than 450,000 Christians and an array of Christian Churches found not only in Kuwait but throughout most of the countries of the GCC.

At the outset I had said that Arab Christians had three options: exit, voice or loyalty. So far Christians have opted for the first one. But to be fair Arab Christian leaders from Beirut to Cairo, Damascus and Baghdad have been outspoken regarding their plight. The same applies to the Pope in Rome. Pope John Paul II and his successors including the current Pope Francis have let it be known that Christianity will not be wiped out from its birthplace.

Last but not lease Arab Christians have been loyal citizens throughout the years. The time has come to reward them and treat them as full-fledged citizens. But wasn’t this one of the objectives of the so-called Arab Spring?