Christians in The Middle East: A Persecuted and Forgotten People

A priest stands before the ruins of St. Mary’s Syriac Orthodox parish in Homs.

Between the fall of 2021 and the fall of 2022, 5,621 Christians were killed, 4,542 were arrested, and 5,259 were kidnapped around the world, according to the Christian international network Open Doors.

In addition, over 2,000 churches and church buildings were the target of violence. Almost one in seven Christians worldwide were persecuted, with those in the Middle East bearing the brunt of the hatred.

After two millennia of Christian presence, the Middle East is slowly but surely being cleansed of Christians. The bishop of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Baghdad declared that the exodus of Christians was an unprecedented event. It is striking that the Western powers, which have a majority Christian population, are not concerned at all by such a disaster. Pope Francis raised the issue in his recent meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, urging him to make greater efforts to preserve the Christian presence in the region and stop the exodus of Christians that has reached alarming levels.

In 2003, there were 1.5 million Christians in Iraq. Today there are less than 120,000 of them. Syria and Iraq are home to numerous Christian communities. In Iraq, with the rise of ISIL, at least 50,000 Christians found refuge in Lebanon, but now there are only a few hundred, as most have left the region for good and gone to North America or Australia. And many leave from the relatively safe haven provided by Jordan.

Iraq is the only Middle Eastern country that has launched a major reconstruction program to help the return of exiled Christians. Reconstruction of Christian towns and villages, homes, schools, churches, and other public facilities was undertaken with the support of the government. However, few returned. Fears of a resurgence of jihad have reduced trust in the Iraqi state, and leaving has become an acceptable solution.

– Eurasia Review