AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty, File
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By
Carl AndersonMay 31, 2017
Militarily,
ISIS is on the ropes. Mosul is falling, and the “caliphate’s” hold on Raqqa is
tenuous. The land under their control has been substantially
reduced and ISIS’ financial strength has likewise been severely
limited.
ISIS
may be wounded, and increasingly surrounded, but quarry is seldom more
dangerous than when it is cornered, and that is certainly proving to be the
case here as well. The terror group has shown considerable cunning, resilience
and long-term planning by now deploying a strategy to win ideologically,
regardless of what happens on the battlefield. Central to that ideological win
is driving what few Christians remain out of the Middle East.
While
the genocidal “religious cleansing” of Christians continues in Syria, ISIS has
now stepped up its efforts in Egypt. Having succeeded in decimating the
Christian populations in Iraq and Syria, the recurrent attacks on Coptic
Christians are clearly designed to do one thing: drive out one of the last
substantial Christian community in the Middle East.
The
United States, the European Parliament, and numerous other governmental bodies
have rightly declared the Islamic State’s campaign genocide. That was a good
first step in terms of defining the problem.
But
the genocide – and the Christian flight it generated – has continued. Even in
Iraq where Christians fled to the safety of Kurdistan, the conditions on the
ground mean that ISIS’ dream of a Christian-free zone in the Middle East is
being realized. There, the attrition continues at such an alarming rate that
Church leaders are warning that a “tipping point” may be reached and
Christianity there may no longer be sustainable.
In
Syria, the genocide has continued in earnest and Syriac Patriarchs have stated
that there are no simply Christians living in the rebel-controlled regions of
the country.
In
Egypt, the attacks seem designed to push Christians to flee, an attempt to end
pluralism in that country as well.
The Associated
Press reported earlier this year that “Christians in northern Sinai have
been fleeing in waves over recent years because of militant threats, and the
community that before 2011 numbered up to 5,000 people has now dwindled to
fewer than 1,000.”
Experts
have for years argued that ISIS’ claims that Christians were given special
treatment was just a “publicity stunt,” though one that some commentators and
politicians in the West were quick to swallow.
Now,
even that ruse is over. According to Fox
News, in a recent video, ISIS refers to Christians in Egypt as its
“favorite prey,” and states clearly that Christians are now “infidels” not
“dhimmis.”
Of
course, infidels are to be shown no mercy, according to ISIS. “‘God gave orders
to kill every infidel,’ one of the militants carrying an AK-47 assault rifle
says in the video,” according to the Fox report.
The
attack on Christians last week in Sinai bears this out. The Christians were
each asked to renounce their faith in Christ and then were shot when they
refused.
Faced
with an Islamic State strategy that would reshape the demographics of the
Middle East by eliminating pluralism, defeating ISIS militarily is not enough.
The ideological program of de-Christianization, and the systematic elimination
of other religious minorities must be stopped as well.
It
goes without saying that Christians have as much right to live in these
countries as anyone else. Their presence there predates the religion claimed by
their persecutors by 600 years.
And
if pluralism in the region ends, tolerance, equal rights, and equal citizenship
will likely become even more elusive. Tolerance and equality require the
presence of people different from the majority population, and if Christians –
and other minorities – are forced from the region, we may well ask who will
these countries be tolerant of – or pluralistic with – then?
It
is incumbent on Middle Eastern countries to treat their Christian communities –
and those of other minority faiths – as full and equal citizens.
While
promising that America would stand with the governments of the Middle East to
promote peace and security, the President rightly stated
in Saudi Arabia that the governments of the region must take immediate action
themselves concerning the extremists in their midst and must “drive them out.”
Last
week, the president discussed the plight of Christians in the Middle East with
the pope, while the vice president discussed the matter with three Christian
patriarchs from the region.
The
problem is clear, and the time to act is now.
The
House should immediately pass H.R.
390, which would help ensure that U.S. government aid actually gets to the
communities that suffered genocide in Iraq and Syria that have too often
received little or no direct assistance from our government or from the U.N.
It
is also incumbent on our government to use its leverage and influence to
encourage Middle Eastern governments to take action and to ensure that they
protect these minority communities. It means making it a foreign policy
priority to demand adherence by these countries to the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.
Our
government has the power to act, directly and with substantial influence.
If
it does not, and if ISIS is able to use terror to drive the few remaining
Christian populations from the region, then no matter what happens on the
battlefield, we simply will not win the war against ISIS’ warped theology and
its program of extremism, hatred, and genocide.
Carl
Anderson is the CEO of the Knights of Columbus and a New York Times bestselling
author.
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