Christians in the Middle East

Drew Christiansen writes about the experiences of Christian communities in the Middle East:

In mid-February, the Druze population of Maghar, a village in Galilee, rioted against their Christian neighbors after a disgruntled teenager circulated a rumor that a Christian youth had posted nude photos of young Druze women on the Internet. Homes, cars and stores belonging to Christians were burned. Many Christians, who make up about 30 percent of Maghar's population, were forced to flee the town and, according to their Melkite pastor, are afraid to return home.

According to Amram Mitzna, the former mayor of Haifa and a candidate for prime minister in the last Israeli elections, police refused to intervene to protect the Christian community. Writing with the frankness for which Israelis are well-known, Mitzna asked in the Feb. 16 edition of Ha'artez, the liberal daily, "Can it be that in Israel, the state of the Jews -- a people with much experience with persecution and pogroms in the name of religion -- there could be such a thing as violence committed in the name of religion? The weekend of violence in Maghar answered this question. The disgrace did not end with the violence," Mitzna, who is a member of the Knesset, added, "It continued with the apathetic reaction of the police, who failed to intervene as they should have. They did not quell the violence or protect the Christian residents."

The anti-Christian rioting in Maghar is not unique; neither is the failure of the authorities to offer protection. All over the Middle East, Christians are under pressure.

Similar anti-Christian violence will probably become a regular part of everyday life in Europe when the Muslims become the majority unless Europeans do something about their suicidal immigration policies.

In the news:

75% of Maghar's Christian students still absent from school

Druze Leaflet Threatens to 'Shoot Christians'