Newsweek’s current cover highlights the plight of ancient Christian communities in the Arab world, zeroing in on their suffering under the Islamic State.
The article, titled The New Exodus: Christians Flee ISIS In The Middle East, tells the stories of Christians in Syria and Iraq, embattled territory where numerous forces are fighting Islamic State expansion. It also touches on the situations of Egyptian and Palestinian Christians.
Writes authors Janine Di Giovanni and Conor Gaffey:
These latest horrors build on the prejudice, discrimination and oppression that over the past few decades have steadily reduced the proportion of Christians in the Middle East from around 20 percent at the start of the 20th century to around 5 percent now. Less than 1 percent of the world’s more than 2 billion Christians live in the Middle East, and there are fears that number could dwindle even further.
The Arab Spring, a series of revolutions in 2011 which overthrew long-time leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen, presented difficulties for Christian communities who’ve typically counted on authoritarian rulers for protection.
Protests in Syria, calling for democratic reform in the spirit of the Arab Spring, were met by violent repression on the part of the Bashar al-Assad regime. As the situation has spiraled out of control, Christian communities have found themselves targeted in the multi-sided war.
More than 200 Syrian Christians were kidnapped by Islamic State militants in February, as the terrorist organization raided villages in the northeastern part of the country. (RELATE: ISIS Makes Big Move On Christian Villages)
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