Christianity in the Middle East

March 08, 2017

Why does the Syrian refugee debate ignore private charity?

On Monday, President Trump signed a new executive order barring refugees from six majority-Muslim nations that have strong ties to terrorism. This executive order differs from the last one by removing Iraq from the ban and eliminating the preferential option for the area’s persecuted Christian minority. Continue Reading...

May 18, 2015

How to Help Syrian Refugees

I attended an informative — and very moving — presentation yesterday on the humanitarian relief effort underway in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. The talk was given here in Grand Rapids by Mark Ohanian, director of programs for International Orthodox Christian Charities (see my podcast with him here). Continue Reading...

April 03, 2015

Russian Bishop: Western Powers Share Blame for Middle Eastern Christian Genocide

In a March 29 discussion on Russian TV with a government official, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk decried the attacks against Christians in the Middle East and North Africa, describing these attacks as a genocidal campaign that until recently in international forums and mass media have been “hushed up as if non-existent; it was simply ignored.” Continue Reading...

July 25, 2014

Faith and the Free Market Expelled from Iraq’s Garden of Eden

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Iraq’s largest oil refinery for domestic use has been overtaken by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the radical jihadi terrorist group aiming to establish an Islamic caliphate in these two nations. Continue Reading...

June 20, 2014

Iraq To Christians: ‘Submit Or Face The Sword’

There are virtually no Jews left in Iraq. There used to be Jews there – 130,00+, but most have fled, many to Israel. And now, one Christian leader in Iraq fears Christians will suffer the same (or a worse) fate. Continue Reading...

July 08, 2013

‘The New Exodus’

Violence from Muslim extremists is causing Christians to flee the Middle East in staggering numbers. In the early nineties, there were 1.3 million Christians living in Iraq and today there are less than 200,000. Continue Reading...