Christianity in the Middle East - Assignment Example

Christianity in the Middle East The topic, ‘Christianity in the Middle East’ is very important to all and sundry as it comes to highlight a social problem that affects masses. It is based on a reported video named ‘Christians Worry about the Arab Spring Oppression: Middle East Is the Cradle of Christianity.’ This topic is important because it highlights some very important social issues and differences in the region. Much as the Arab spring is a purely political issue, it has also become a social issue because there is a direct discrimination of the Christians from the Muslims. For instance, as can be seen from the video, the East is the cradle of Christianity. Therefore, persecution of Christians in the same region tends to demean the very foundation of Christian faith. Secondly, from the interview with the leader of Christian Peoples Alliance highlights two issues of importance. The first is that Christian girls are being hijacked in Egypt and forced to marry Muslim men so that they can be converted to Islam. In Syria and Jordan, Christians are being treated to incredible persecution because they are not supporting the uprising in the Arab world. These two issues are of great importance to any Christian, not just in the Middle East but also in the rest of the world as cases of kidnapping may happen anywhere in the world. To a large extend, this is reducing the number of Christians in the Middle East. Thirdly, the whole video is information to the entire world as the reported cases of migration to other parts of the world is not a case of light importance. This calls for caution on all the Christians wherever they are and contribution to these people who are suffering. Background Information The persecution of Christians in the east is not a direct issue. As stated earlier, there is a desire by the Muslims to be supported in the spring. However, there is a feeling that the Christians are not doing anything to support them. They feel that the country belongs to all of them yet the fight for freedom is being done by the Muslims only. Therefore, to force Christians to join the Muslims, there is a direct attack especially to the girls who are being kidnapped and forcefully converted to Islam. This is strong because from a basic perspective, it can be seen that the number of Christians will continue dwindling. Starting as political issue in northern Africa in a bid to topple the ruling regimes, the revolution turned in a bloody war that has claimed the lives of so many people all over the region. The Middle East regions of Syria and Jordan have witnessed a high level of hijackings to foreigners especially from the western nations who have been on the ground to offer humanitarian services. The other background reason is the social strife between the Muslim world and the western world. That is why there is a high level anxiety in London that the spring would later turn into a Christian winter. This is because they are likely to be most affected by that given their position on neighbouring Israel that has also been a source of hatred from the Muslims. Lessons from the Video There are several lessons that can be learnt from the Arab spring in the east. One of the lessons is that there is persecution of Christians and this persecution is intentional. There is a high possibility that there is a plot to wipe out the Christian faithful from the east. This is seen by the statement given by the leader of the Christian peoples’ alliance in which he states that Christian girls are being hijacked and forced to marry Muslim men in a bid to convert them to Islam. To this effect, there is need for action to be taken to avoid this trend. The same lesson is supported by the fact that all the Christians are forced to live an unstable life in which they are forced to migrate to other relatively peaceful places all over the world. The forced migration is an indication of the strength of the persecution and lack of peace that is exhibited in the region. The second lesson as can be discerned from the video is that the Christians are one of the targets of the spring. As stated, there was relative endurance of the presence of Christians in the region before that uprising. After that, there is massive persecution meaning that one of the agenda of the spring is to create a very strange environment for the Christians. The third lesson is that of Christian unity. It is seen in the video that much as there is persecution, the Christians in other places are dipping their hands in the pocket to contribute to the welfare of the people in the Middle East. As stated in the bible, “the body of Christ is one” so are the Christians. There is a high level of contributions from as far as Britain and other Christian nations all over the world to help in the welfare of all these being persecuted. This level of generosity is paramount in sending out a clear message to the Muslims in the east that those Christians do not stand alone even in the tough times of persecution. Much as there is a high level contribution from the Christians in the other places, there is also a high level of altercation between the different agencies that are supposed to intervene. For instance, the commentator stipulates that such issues are mentioned in the parliament in Britain but they do not get to a clear focus of the media. The beginning of the video shows concern by ‘Open Doors’, a Christian charity group that highlights these persecutions. However, t5here is no political; will as it is stated. Lack of political pressure has caused the suffering to continue. This could as well be contributed by a large number of secular members of parliament (MPs). The MPs who mention the same in the House of Commons do not make it known to the government. This is a lesson learnt that those who have the power are not doing enough to alleviate the situation (Olloloide). References Christians worry about Arab Spring oppression: Middle East is the Cradle of Christianity. Dir. Celestine Olloloide. 2013. Read More