Religion Here and There

In light of Passover, I was looking for news about Israel and how it was dealing with the inevitable influx of tourists. As I was browsing, however, I came across this article from the AP discussing Libya’s Christians.

While I’m sure if you asked most people, they would of course know that there are Christian populations around the Middle East, the number of Muslims, Jews, and local religions, and, in particular, the strife among and within these groups, seems to overwhelm news about the Christians, barring the occasional article about a bombing at an Afghani church or a clash between Egyptian Coptic Christians and Muslims.

The AP article stated that, while Libya does not fully support Christianity, and bans missions, the government has allowed followers to practice; however, with the recent fighting, both membership and the churches’ ability to function have been hit hard. Conversely, Muslims have come up to local priests and requested that they contact the pope to halt airstrikes.

Photo Courtesy of rahuldlucca

Catholic Church at Dhara in Tripoli, Libya

Analysts whom I have read are predicting a decline in Christian communities in the area. In particular, Gerald Butt of The Guardian lamented that Christians and Muslims revolted together, yet the Islamic factions (be them Sunnis, Shi’ites or the Islamic Brotherhood), are the ones who are organizing politically. Granted, this may be lack of activity on the part of the Christians, but do they have the numbers and the clout to make their voices heard independently?

It is a touchy subject, and it is hard to write about religion in the area because it is so contentious. The Muslims have certainly been persecuted; I cannot even begin to count the number of times in Egypt when someone came up to a group of us and pleaded that we tell everyone we know in America that they were not all terrorists. There is a very real, and very problematic tension between the Sunnis and the Shi’ites. (There is a great op-ed in The Los Angeles Times showing the complexity of the tensions using Bahrain as an example), and there is a huge and deadly problem between the Jews and the Muslims in Israel and Palestine. 

Photo Courtesy of Jacobs - Creative Bees

Al Fateh Grand Mosque in Bahrain

When looking at all the religions in the area, worrying about Christianity seems irrelevant and selfish: How can I worry about a religion dominant throughout much of the West, when all the others are experiencing such strife? Still, I cannot help but feel that Muslims of all sects have a consistent presence in the Middle East and are active in politics; Christians, Jews (outside of Israel), and minority religions are forced to work harder. 

Yet, that does not mean that Christians are the only ones who demand attention. The difference lies both in that I am not well-versed enough in Islam to wax eloquent about the intricacies between the sects, and in that while I am very, very aware that persecution against Islam and especially against individual groups exists in the Middle East, I see it most here in the United States.

While we need to work for understanding between groups in the Middle East, it is much more feasible that we work for it here. We need to stop burning Qurans. Other countries (France) need to accept Muslim customs. We need to accept mosques and their presence, especially at Ground Zero. We need to combat what Al-Jazeera marks as rising discrimination against Muslims in America. If we want tolerance for all groups in the Middle East, we need to set the example.

Whether we like it or not, and whether or not America holds strongly to separation of church and state, religion is a political force. Be it Libyan Christians attempting to maintain their faith, or American Muslims asking for simple tolerance, all sides deserve respect.