Middle Eastern Christians

Iraqi Christians in the Nineveh Plains require assistance, which can only be achieved by a coalition of states seeking the indigenous population’s best interest. President Trump and numerous European governments have made assisting displaced and persecuted Christians a top priority. These leaders have followed words with actions, but more must be done.

On December 22, 2017, the Dutch government published a letter recognizing that in all likelihood Daesh (ISIS) perpetrates genocide against religious groups in Syria and Iraq.

In October of last year, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by the United States, liberated the city of Raqqa from the Islamic State, who had proclaimed it to be the capital of its caliphate. Four months later, NATO member Turkey has opened a military campaign in the Syrian region Afrin against the same Kurds who led the fight against ISIS.

Christian leaders in the Holy Land were offered a remarkable opportunity this week when Vice President Mike Pence visited. But instead of seizing this occasion and making full use of it to save their brothers and sisters, Middle East Christian leaders chose to prioritize their opposition to Israel.

Discriminatory policies and negligence within the United Nations are aggravating a crisis among Christians in the Middle East.

We as Christians are called to remember that “if one member suffers, all suffer together,” so we cannot forget these Iraqi Christian refugees.

In the first part of 2014, Daesh (also referred to as Islamic State or ISIS) began to establish the so-called…

Christian persecution is as real today as it’s ever been. Our brothers and sisters suffering it need protection and rescue. They also need prayer. The International Day of Prayer is meant to give that to them.

While the Daesh genocide perpetrated against Christians, Yazidis, and other religious minorities is an extreme example of religious persecution, it sheds light on the perils religious minorities have been encountering more generally in the Middle East.