The number of Christians in the countries of the Middle East is decreasing, because their situation is extremely difficult. There are more than 360 million persecuted Christians in the world who are currently suffering oppression and discrimination. This means that one out of every seven believers is affected by this problem. Interview.
We talked with Tárik Meszár, the lead researcher of the Eurasian Center and the Migration Research Institute, about what the international community can do and what the consequences might be if the situation of Christians in the region does not change.
– How has the situation of Christians developed in the Middle East in recent years?
- Currently, the number of Christians is decreasing in several Arab countries, such as Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. In Lebanon, according to reports, by 2020 the number of Christians has fallen from the previous fifty to less than 34 percent. The Hezbollah militia contributed to their exodus by imposing strict dress codes, evicting Christians from their properties in rural and urban areas, and their positions in government.
The situation is not much better in Syria, where ten years after the revolution against Assad, the number of Christians has decreased by seventy percent. According to a 2019 report by the Syrian Network for Human Rights, various militias were responsible for 61 percent of attacks on Christian churches between 2011 and 2019.
As for Iraq, the number of Christians has dropped to about 141,000 from the 1.5 million recorded in the 1987 census. Many events that negatively affect minorities have occurred in the last two decades, and Christians who sell alcohol are often punished, even though the latter is their indispensable source of income. A further problem is that in the settlements inhabited by minorities - which were significantly damaged by the Islamic State - infrastructure developments have lagged behind and job opportunities are limited. In relation to Iraq, so many positive things can be mentioned that the average Muslim citizens do not harbor any resentment towards the ethnic and religious minorities, rather the militias and extremist groups commit the law violations.
In Yemen, the Iranian-backed Houthi militia has waged a campaign of killing and abducting Christians and damaging and looting church property to intimidate the Christian minority.
They were harassed and deprived of health services, the Bible was banned and encouraged to burn it. The 20s developed school curricula that incite against Christians and other religious minorities. Since then, the number of Christians in Yemen has dropped from forty thousand to just three thousand.
– How should one imagine the circumstances in which Christians live in specific life situations?
- The persecution of non-Muslim groups is mostly not carried out at the state level. It is a serious problem that the rule and influence of individual governments does not cover the entire territory of the given country, which leads to the strengthening of military organizations outside their control, i.e. militias or terrorist groups. It is enough to mention Egypt, which has the largest Christian community in the Middle East (more than ten million people), where extremist groups have carried out numerous assassinations in areas far from the central government in recent years.
Christians living in Arab countries do not lead much different lives than their Muslim fellow citizens, but the occasional attacks against them significantly reduce their quality of life.
In addition, the situation in several countries is further worsened by the fact that due to the lack of secular leadership, extreme religious thinking exerts an excessive influence on public life, which negatively affects minority groups.
"What could change their situation?" How can politics help?
- In Arab countries, it is the task of those exercising political power to solve the problem. This could be achieved by the simultaneous existence of four factors:
infrastructure development, providing job opportunities, organizing physical protection, expanding minority rights.
In addition, they must also strive to eliminate the sometimes intensifying anti-Christian propaganda. According to rights defenders, the only real improvement in the situation of Christians would be if individual groups were granted autonomy, for example in Iraq, but the chances of this are almost zero.
– What do international organizations do?
- There are more than 360 million persecuted Christians in the world who are currently suffering oppression and discrimination. This means that one out of every seven believers is affected by this problem. Some will be victims of violence and kidnapping, while others risk losing their jobs and livelihoods. Many charities work in different countries. They offer health care, education and the fulfillment of daily needs to people in need. Others work to abolish or revise unjust laws that affect the daily lives of Christians. The activities of the Hungary Helps Agency must also be highlighted. They implement projects in the Middle East in countries such as Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel and Palestine. The essence of the program is that they help the living conditions of Christians and other minorities living in the Middle East, such as the Yezidis. Among other things, they improve their social stability, renovate buildings, create schools, and create job opportunities.
– What are the consequences for Europe and the world if nothing changes in this matter?
If the described trends continue, the emigration of Christians from the region will continue. Target countries include the states of Western and Northern Europe (such as the United Kingdom and Sweden), the United States, Canada, and Australia. So Europe may primarily be under some migratory pressure, but this process has been going on for decades, which has led to the creation of huge colonies in the mentioned areas. Furthermore, it is also problematic that, according to experience, while the first-generation Christian refugees from the Middle East still keep their customs and traditions, the second- and third-generations are experiencing a decline in this regard. The fragmentation of their communities may lead to the degradation of their cultural characteristics in the long term, which may lead to the disappearance of ancient Christian groups that are thousands of years old.
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