Winter for Arab Christians?


The Middle East is an increasingly dangerous place for Christians. In October, Coptic Christians in Egypt were attacked by Muslims in clashes that were apparently encouraged and even carried out by the Egyptian military. The conflict left 24 people dead and over 300 wounded, raising the specter of the Arab Spring turning into a nightmarish winter for Christians.
An irony of Christian life amid the Arab Spring is that Christians have frequently been protected by the authoritarian regimes that are under attack. The overthrow of Hosni Mubarak's rule in Egypt earlier this year has left Christians more vulnerable to sectarian strife—not unlike what happened in Iraq, where the fall of Saddam Hussein led to violence and half the Christian population fled. In Syria, meanwhile, Christians fear that an overthrow of dictator Bashar al-Assad would remove the regime that has protected them.
To understand the complexities of Christian existence in the Middle East, says historian Christian Sahner, one needs to take the long view. In the time of the Ottoman Empire, which governed the eastern Mediterranean world from the late Middle Ages to the early 20th century, Christians often served as political and commercial middlemen, connecting Muslims to the West. That role gave Christians influence and access to education and wealth, which in turn fostered resentment on the part of Muslims.