Thanks to Mr. Mshari for this wonderful and very balance opinion from an Arab journalist who sympathizes with the growing plight of Iraqi Christians who were terrorized in Baghdad in October 31, 2010 while peacefully praying in a Catholic Church. While he sympathize with Arab Christians, he also hopes for a better way of supporting and bringing the issue of Arab Christians into the consciousness of every Arab by usign the media within the Arab world. God bless you Mr. Mshari Al-Zaydi.
By Mshari Al-Zaydi
Source: aawsat.com
The bloody assault on Baghdad's Church of Our Lady of Salvation has opened the door to a bigger question about the fate of Christian citizens in Middle Eastern countries, and the future of their presence there. Furthermore, it has exposed an Arab and Islamic wound, and we must get to the source of this crisis.
It would be a shame to see the land that witnessed the birth and life of Jesus Christ, and the spreading of his teachings, became devoid of followers of the Christian faith.
Mshari Al-Zaydi
For many centuries Christians lived in the Middle East without fearing for their lives, and it is a shame that they feel under threat today and that the Christian exodus from the Middle East has become such a serious issue.
It is distressing for the people of this region to acknowledge the words of Jesuit scholar Father Samir Khalil Samir, who is an Egyptian Catholic based in Beirut who recently presented a paper to the Vatican's Synod for the Middle East. Regarding the current crisis that Christians in the Middle East are facing, Father Samir Khalil Samir said "If this phenomenon continues, Christianity in the Middle East will disappear" according to Reuters and other news agencies. He added "the emigration of Christians from Iraq since 2003 may ultimately lead to their complete disappearance from the country."
