In a Middle Eastern region beset by cross border and internal conflicts, and a growing sense—explored by radicals—of being in a clash of civilizations with the West, a struggling minority is showing itself to be acutely aware that its best chances for survival lie in achieving peace and political representation for all.
Christians had been living in the Middle East for several centuries before Islam made its appearance on the world stage. For close to 1,500 years, their communities learned to adapt to the circumstances in order to survive.
Over the past century, Christians have dwindled from 20 percent to about 5 percent of the population in the region. Now they risk becoming the first casualties of an ideological, religious and social war, which has left them defenseless, between a rock and a hard place, with emigration sometimes seen as the only realistic hope for survival.
Church leaders want to prevent extinction and help move the region in the direction of modernity. Thus, for two weeks in October, representatives of these ancient communities had a chance to air their grievances at a meeting of bishops, called a synod, held at the Vatican and dedicated especially to the Middle East, including some outlying regions which face similar situations and realities.
When in Rome, speak Arabic
Approximately 185 people, including patriarchs, bishops, priests and a few laypeople gathered at the invitation of Pope Benedict XVI in the first Vatican event ever to have Arabic as its working language.
Several issues were on the table, such as the need to improve inter-religious dialogue with both Jews and Muslims; how best to work towards the implementation of democracy and secular forms of government in which freedom of religion might be respected; and how to keep the best and brightest of Middle Eastern Christians from fleeing their homelands.
On the second working day, the issue of democratization had already come up, namely as a recipe for peace and a hope for keeping Christians in the land where their religion was born, and active in their societies.
In order to achieve this goal, Christians were encouraged to work with both Muslims and Jews, the main players in the field. Guest speakers represented both of these religions, and the final document stressed the need to encourage inter-religious dialogue.
Events during the synod, however, were a reminder that the road to peace is beset by difficulties. At least two bishops spoke candidly about the obstacles they face when engaging their Muslim compatriots, including the “difficult and often ineffective” dialogue with their Muslim counterparts, according to Archbishop Raboula Beylouni, a Syrian who works in Lebanon.
Just as the synod drew to a close, remarks about Israel by a Melkite bishop working in America caused a diplomatic storm, with Jewish and Israeli authorities accusing the Vatican of having let the synod be “hijacked” by pro-Palestine bishops, toeing the line of Arab propaganda.
Yet, despite these incidents the overwhelming consensus of the synod fathers was that Christians must remain in their homelands, make their voices heard, reject violence by any means and try to ensure a future for their communities.
Syrian Patriarch Gregorios III Laham of the Melkite Church, bluntly explained the consequences of continuing the status quo, which could lead to the end of a significant Christian presence in Arab lands: “It will make Arab society a mono-color society, exclusively Muslim, facing a society in Europe that’s said to be Christian. If that happens it could mean a new clash of cultures, civilizations and religions, a destructive conflict between an Arab-Muslim East and the Christian West.”
United they stand?
What Laham was implying is that Christians, despite their small number—perhaps 5 percent of the entire population—have an outsized role to play in the Middle East. Rather than hide and stay out of trouble, these communities must work actively within their societies in order not only to survive, but also to avert disaster for the land they still call home.
“Christians must not form ghettoes, because that would mean accepting a slow death. On the contrary, we want Christians and Muslims to build a society together, this is what the synod proposes,” explained father Samir Khalil Samir, a Coptic Catholic priest and one of the church’s foremost experts on Islam.
This tenacity is remarkable, especially when one takes into account the situation indigenous Christians face in many Middle Eastern countries, such as Iraq, where just a week after the synod closed, dozens of Catholics, including three priests, were killed by Al-Qaeda affiliates during a church service.
For this ambitious strategy to work, it is vital that Christians present a united front. The current situation, however, is far more complicated, and this was highlighted, ironically, by the synod itself in which only a fraction of the region’s Christians were represented.
A majority of Middle Eastern Christians are Orthodox. Not being in communion with the Catholic Church, their leaders were naturally left out of the synod, although many were represented by observers. They are, therefore, not bound by the synod’s decisions, and it is anybody’s guess whether they will go along with strategies which might arise from it. “The faithful tend to look past confessional differences. We are all part of a minority, those of us who come from larger cities tend to have been educated in the same schools. With the bishops though it is another matter; relations are more difficult,” explained Adel Sidarus, an Egyptian- Christian, and professor of Arab and Muslim studies at the University of Évora in Portugal.
Father Samir Khalil Samir ranks disunity as one of the top threats to Christians in traditionally Muslim lands, along with extremism in some countries and the wars in Iraq and the Holy Land.
Even more tellingly, however, one veteran Vatican reporter confided how plain it was that the leaders of the Catholic Churches themselves (there are six in the region, representing different ethno-linguistic groups, each with their own traditions and hierarchy) were not used to working together.
If the two weeks in Rome helped improve that situation, which seems to have been the case, then that may prove to be one of the most important fruits of the synod overall.
Filipe d’Avillez – Journalist based in Lisbon, Portugal. He covers international religious news, focusing especially on the role of religion in international relations and politics.
