DeChristianization

In today’s Jerusalem Post , Caroline Glick ponders the strange disinteret in the rapid expulsion of Christians from the Middle East. She notes, “at the time of Lebanese independence from France in 1946 the majority of Lebanese were Christians. Today less than 30% of Lebanese are Christians. In Turkey, the Christian population has dwindled from 2 million at the end of World War I to less than 100,000 today. In Syria, at the time of independence Christians made up nearly half of the population. Today 4% of Syrians are Christian. In Jordan half a century ago 18% of the population was Christian. Today 2% of Jordanians are Christian.”

US allies in the region are among the persecutors: “Christians are prohibited from practicing Christianity in Saudi Arabia. In Pakistan, the Christian population is being systematically destroyed by regime-supported Islamic groups. Church burnings, forced conversions, rape, murder, kidnap and legal persecution of Pakistani Christians has become a daily occurrence.”

But the Obama administration cannot be bothered. “Lebanon’s Maronite Catholic Patriarch Bechara Rai caused a storm two weeks ago. During an official visit to Paris, Rai warned French PresidentNicolas Sarkozy that the fall of the Assad regime in Syria could be a disaster for Christians in Syria and throughout the region.”

During a visit to the US, Rai was supposed to meet with sernior US officials and with the President. But after his outspoken comments in Paris, “the administration cancelled all of its scheduled meetings with him. That is, rather than consider the dangers that Rai warned about and use US influence to increase the power of Christians and Kurds and other minorities in any post- Assad Syrian government, the Obama administration decided to blackball Rai for pointing out the dangers.”