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In
2012 in the aftermath of the "Arab Spring," Christian Solidarity
International launched a lecture series entitled "The Future of Religious
Minorities in the Middle East."
Twenty
distinguished scholars, journalists and political practitioners gave talks on
the subject in Switzerland and the U.S. Now they have been published together
in book form.
WESTLAKE
VILLAGE, Calif., May 4, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Do religious minorities
have a future in the Middle East? "If this question had been raised in
Constantinople at the end of the seventh century AD," writes editor John
Eibner in the volume's introduction, "the Greek Orthodox sages would have
debated the prospects of survival of the region's newest religious
minority": the Muslims.
Today
the Middle East looks very different: over 90% of the population of the Middle
East is Muslim. Christians – once the majority – now comprise less than 5%, and
the Jewish communities have vanished apart from within the state of Israel.
"Sects
like the Alawites, the Yezidis, Druze, Kakais, and Mandaeans, like the
Christians, struggle for survival," writes Dr. Eibner. Eibner, a
Swiss-American historian, is also responsible for the Middle East programs
within the human rights organization Christian Solidarity International (CSI).
Genocide
warning as early as 2011
As
early as the end of 2011, CSI warned of a genocide against religious minorities
and called for action. The warning followed similarly dramatic appeals by then
president of France, Nicholas Sarkozy, and the former president of Lebanon,
Amine Gemayel. At the time the warning was scarcely heeded. However, in March
2016, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and others acknowledged that Islamic
State had carried out a "genocide" against Christians, Yazidis, and
Shi'ite Muslims.
CSI
Lecture Series 2012-2017: "The Future of Religious Minorities in the
Middle East"
Following
the "Arab Spring," which would soon be taken over by Islamists and
become an "Arab Winter" – not only, but in particular for religious
minorities – CSI launched a lecture series in 2012 on "The Future of
Religious Minorities in the Middle East," which is also the title of this
book. In the series, 20 distinguished scholars, journalists and political
practitioners presented their view on the question. The contributors come from
diverse backgrounds and have very different worldviews. Some express hope for
the future, while others view the situation more pessimistically.
"Not
many silver linings around the dark clouds"
John
Eibner has edited the collected papers for a CSI volume published in English by
Lexington Books (Rowman & Littlefield). "Readers of this volume will
not detect many silver linings around the dark clouds," writes Eibner
towards the end of his introduction. "If the institutionalized habits of
both the principal regional actors and the Great Powers cannot be broken, the
future is grim indeed."
More
information
Order the book:
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781498561976
Original
videos, media releases, media coverage, and information on the speakers
(English):
www.middle-east-minorities.com
Authors
Taner Akçam, Clark University
Cengiz Aktar, Sabancı University
Madawi Al-Rasheed, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
Fabrice Balanche, University of Lyon 2, Washington Institute for Near East
Policy (previously)
Patrick Cockburn, The Independent
Marius Deeb, Johns Hopkins University (emeritus)
John Eibner, Christian Solidarity International (editor)
Amine Gemayel, former president of Lebanon
Joshua Landis, University of Oklahoma
Habib Malik, Lebanese American University
Michael Nazir-Ali, former bishop of Rochester
Daniel Pipes, Middle East Forum
Franck Salameh, Boston College
Mariz Tadros, University of Sussex
Bassam Tibi, University of Göttingen (emeritus)
Hannibal Travis, Florida International University
Bat Ye'or, independent scholar
William Warda, Chairman of the Alliance of Iraqi Minorities
Daniel Williams, Washington Post, LA Times and others (previously)
Contact
Joel Veldkamp
joel@csi-usa.org
(202) 290 8855
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