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How should believers think about the recent conflicts engulfing Arab nations?
In December 2010, Tunisian protestors filled the streets, sparking a revolution that resulted in the overthrow of their long-standing dictator, President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. What happened in Tunisia set off a chain reaction—now referred to as the “Arab Spring”—around the Middle East, one that caught pundits and policy makers off-guard.
Soon after, Egyptian youth followed the Tunisians’ lead, demanding that their president, Hosni Mubarak—who had ruled for 30 years—step down from power. The citizens of the island nation of Bahrain attempted a non-violent revolution, but the government squelched it by using force.
Libya was next. The president, Col. Moammar Gadhafi, retaliated against protesters with violent attacks, leading to an armed conflict that currently has Gadhafi on the run and the rebels in a tenuous control of Libya. And, as of press time, protesters in Yemen and Syria are both still facing off against their leaders.
Perhaps the most dramatic of the successful protests took place in Egypt. And it was all sectors of Egyptian society that participated. Amid the chaos in the capital of Cairo, brave Egyptian Christians formed a human shield around their Muslim countrymen as they prayed during the protests. In a beautiful display of shared humanity, Muslims returned the favor in front of churches across Egypt.
Describing what he witnessed in Egypt during and after the revolution, Paul Gordon Chandler writes in the Episcopal News Service: “Time and time again, thousands of young Egyptian Muslims and Christians have taken to the streets together, first to protest the repressive system, and then to celebrate their victory. The scenes are moving, as Egyptians wave flags and carry banners depicting the cross and crescent embracing, with slogans such as: ‘The crescent and the cross are one. We are all Egyptians, Muslim and Christian.’”
Christians and Muslims have voted with their lives for a better land that will provide what Americans consider basic values. The question is: How should international Christians respond?
A lot of evangelicals have reacted with fear or skepticism. During the Tahrir Square stand-off in Egypt, Christian blogs and airwaves were buzzing with speculation that the proposed revolution would give rise to an Islamic state, led by the Muslim Brotherhood, that would immediately start killing off Egypt’s Christians (roughly 10 percent of the population) upon seizing power.
Others bought into conspiracy theories that cast the protestors as unsuspecting puppets for communist-backed global Islamists out to destroy America. A few viewed the uprisings as a heroic struggle for freedom and human rights by disenfranchised youth. Still others took a wait-and-see approach, balancing optimism with a healthy dose of caution.
"Can Christians really trust an Arab movement?"
While there are no easy answers, one thing is clear: The Arab Spring has put American Christians in a dilemma. Many are wondering, “Can we really support a movement fronted by Arabs—and more specifically, by Muslims?”
The fact that Arabs would desire many of the same freedoms Americans enjoy, and they would choose to express these desires non-violently, goes against every stereotype many American Christians have been taught to believe.
Many have been raised under a certain end-times theology, groomed to harbor deep suspicion of all things Arab. For Christians who follow this way of thinking, the formation of Israel in 1948—and the subsequent 750,000 Arabs who either left their homes or were expelled—was a result of divine prophecy, a rebooting of the prophetic time clock, triggering a series of events that will culminate in the return of Christ.
In this particular theology, Arabs are often cast in the role of the violent “sons of Ishmael” who always have, and always will, persecute Jews (and their stepchildren, Christians) until Jesus comes back. So is it any wonder millions of American Christians schooled in this theology are suspicious of masses of Arabs demonstrating on the streets? “What exactly are they aspiring to?” asks this Christian. “Is it the destruction of Israel, or the annihilation of Christians?”
Further complicating matters is that many American Christians’ primary source of information about Arabs, the Middle East and Muslims in general is what they read in newsletters highlighting the suffering of persecuted Christians. They see radical fundamentalists burning down churches, and Christians being ostracized, beaten, imprisoned or killed for their faith—and often these atrocities are taking place in predominantly Muslim countries. This leads one to conclude Muslims have an innate hatred toward Jesus and His followers.
The reality is a bit more complex.
What do Muslims really believe about Christians?
Contrary to popular belief, the Quran does not call for the indiscriminate killing of Christians, so fears that a group like the Muslim Brotherhood would automatically start killing Christians upon seizing power is overstated. Jews and Christians are called “People of the Book” in the Quran, not infidels.
Jesus is also highly revered in the Quran, though not given the same divine status as in the New Testament. The Quran specifically commands Muslims to protect Jewish and Christian houses of worship (churches, synagogues, holy sites). It’s true that in some cases. Christians have to pay a tax under Islamic law, and that open proselytizing is forbidden, but Muslims see these laws as protecting, not subjugating, Christians.
I’ve befriended and interacted with thousands of Muslims over the years, and one of the questions I often get is, “Why do so many American Christians accuse us of persecuting Christians?” They think it’s strange because, from their perspective, Christians in their countries have freedom to worship as they please. A lot of my Muslim friends, especially the ones in the Middle East, are even proud of the fact that the Christian minorities in their countries date back to the first century, and have held on to their traditions. They would argue that—right or wrong—Christians in their countries have been treated far better than minorities in Christian lands (think: the Crusades and the Inquisition).
While most Muslim countries today do not allow for open proselytizing as is common in the West, and it is true that Muslims who convert to Christianity are often persecuted, it’s not true that Christians have always treated Muslims better than Muslims have treated Christians. When you look at the long view of history, even up to recent history, the reality is a bit more nuanced.
