The Persecution Of Christians In The Middle East

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This phrase, originally spoken by Jesus Christ while hanging on the cross, is now a phrase being whispered and shouted by numerous Christians who are being persecuted. These persecutions, once only found sporadically throughout the Middle East, can now be found virtually anywhere in the world. Also, these sporadic persecutions in the Middle East have also turned into what seems like a mass execution of the religion. The persecution of Christians in the Middle East, a persecution much like the Holocaust, has become a problem in a world today as it is exploding into an epidemic that is much like a genocide that is being blamed on the Christians themselves. Christians in the Middle East weren’t always
While this genocide is not merely as horrific as the Holocaust was, it growing closer to becoming that way with how the Christians are weeded out and picked off. Numerous Christians homes are being marked with the Arabic letter ن or the letter R to show that the people living inside were Christians and followers of Christ. After being identified and marked, the Christians are then the targets of murder and abuse by the other religions in the area (Jenkins). Many people in the world today are not comparing this to an actual genocide, however, as they feel like it is not as severe as the Holocaust was. But as a Catholic priest put it, “if the total destruction of Christian communities that have been in Iraq for nearly 2,000 years is not genocide, nothing is” (NR Interview). This genocide today is affecting a countless number of Christians who are being forced from their homes and forced to relocate somewhere else in the world (NR Interview). It is heart wrenching to know that all of this is because these people are peaceful Christians that try to get along with everyone. There are living in peace with other religions, such as the Jews, that are living in the same area as them. This must not be what some are seeing as they are killing them off, raping them, and making the Christian women sex slaves because it is what the persecutors believe to be
This hope is not entirely widespread as some believe that there is no possibility for Christianity to go back to how it was before the persecutions occurred. They do believe that there is a way to help it come back as they push strong activism, but they are still uncertain of how many churches will actually return to the Middle East (Jenkins). Although there are still problems with murder, rape, slavery, and refugees, many Christians are pushing for help from governments in the West. These Christians are hoping for an intervention from the governments but are still unsure of how exactly they will receive this help (Jenkins). This help is starting to take form as government officials in the United States recently recognized that the persecution of Christians in the Middle East is in fact a genocide. It is helping as the problem is being published and advocated more and more in the press, but many Christians around the world believe that this is not enough. These people are wanting the Christian minority and the problem they are facing in the Middle East to be prioritized and are wanting to have their countries be willing to take in the refugees of this persecution (NR Interview). Others view that a way to help the persecuted Christians is to support Israel and the other Arab countries. They want and need people in the West to