Syria

That Jesus Christ’s two advents are set against the backdrop of a region rarely associated with good news is ironic, but this year that irony is less obvious. Good things are happening in the Near East if you know where to look.

The Autonomous Administration for North and East Syria (AANES) is seeking international recognition as a legitimate government, but currently it is campaigning the US to lift sanctions on its territory.

Force-short-of-war raises many moral questions, and jus ad vim has been an attempt to provide answers.

Steven Howard, advocacy director at In Defense of Christians (IDC), speaks with Mark Melton about the 2021 annual report from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

In this week’s episode, the editors discuss Richard Jordan’s “Where Are the Playful Realists?” Mark Tooley’s “Global Backstop for Democracy,” and Brian Stewart’s “The Syrian Revolution Turns 10.”

Ten years on, the rulers in Damascus sleep easily once again. Without incurring any great punishment from the outside world for their ghastly crimes, the crisis has left Assad and his henchmen emboldened.

Syriac support for Armenia is no recent phenomenon, as they are both enduring symbols of Christianity’s native presence in the Middle East. Unfortunately, Turkey targets both groups today.

Extremists are slowly extinguishing of some of the world’s oldest Christian communities, while the world remains largely silent.

The story of Kurdish Christians and all other religious minorities in the Middle East is one of great suffering, but it is also a story of survival and great resilience. Fortunately, there is time to save northeast Syria as a refuge for these communities, but only if the international community offers immediate support.