Saturday, April 18, 2015

Time to establish a Christian Arabic State in the Middle East

The stories of immeasurable horror continue to pour in. Christians all across the Middle East are facing an existential threat that can no longer be ignored. They are being ethnically cleansed from Iraq and Syria and oppressed and threatened all across the Middle East. For too long, the plight of Christian Arabs has gone completely under the radar from any political discourse in this country and it begs the question as to why? I have my theory but not sure I can completely understand why Christian loving Americans don't express the same passion about protecting Christians as they do about Jews in that region? Let me back up and start with answering why the media ignores Christians in the Arab world. Then I will explore why American politicians don't express support for Christians in the Arab world. Finally, get to the question why American religious groups are not as passionate at protecting Christians as they are about protecting the Jews in Israel. I should point out, it should not be mutually exclusive. Wanting to see Israel secure and wanting to see Christians secure is not a case of one or the other. Both groups deserve to enjoy security, peace and prosperity. I have always believed that the media ignores the plight of Christians in the Arab world because it best serves the Israeli narrative. Which is in simple terms, David versus Goliath. The small tiny Jewish state facing the large "uncivilized", "backward", "non-western" Muslim hordes of the Arab world. To inject Christians into this narrative would not serve Israeli interest. Why complicate matters when it's so much easier to show the "other" as being homogeneous. This tactic is not new when it comes to having an effective propaganda campaign. During the heat of the battle, always the case, the "enemy" is viewed in the most narrowest stereotypical fashion. A few examples would be showing all Indians as "savages" or all Germans as Nazi's or all Russians as "Commies". Again, this is not new but unfortunately for the Christian Arabs they have become casualties of this propaganda war. I will continue to focus on this topic more in depth in the days and months ahead as time permits. This blog started back in 2007 and there is no doubt my views have shifted over time. I had to expand my thinking - to think beyond the norm - as unfortunately reality intruded into my way of thinking. In that, the Palestinian struggle cannot be detached from the bigger plight of other oppressed and tormented Arabs - who find their oppressors and tormentors to be other Arabs. Therefore, I now view the Palestinian/Israeli conflict through a different prism and new reality. The collapse of the remaining secular Arab states - Iraq under Saddam, Syria under Assad and Libya under Qaddafi - and the rise of Islamic extremism - and the creation of the Islamic State - forced me to rethink everything on the Palestinian issue. It is clear, Christians are the endangered species in this shifting new world order.