What is the current situation in the Middle East?

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Does anybody know an internet site, or something with information about the Christians in the Middle East? Are there Catholic missions there? how many Catholics/Christians are still living there? etc.
 
What is happening to Christians in the middle esat is disgraceful. They are being subjected to being second class citizens. catholic and christian churchs are descicrated. There has been a number of attacks against Christians by muslims. The US press dosn’t report on this but the attacks against Christians in the last few years has been steadly increasing.
 
Many new martyrs, and afew new hieromartyrs.

Reverend Father Ragheed, Pray for Us!
 
This is a very open quesion. The Middle East comprises between 15 and 27 totally independent countries (depending on which are classed as being truly “Middle East”) - it is very different from asking “What is the current situation in the United States of America?”

Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Yemem, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Bharain and Qatar are on all ‘lists’; others include: Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia and Cyprus - in various combinations.

While I’m not denying that disgraceful things are happening in some of these countries, the things Larylec mentions are not happening in every one of these countries.

You might find this website interesting: catholic-church.org/kuwait/mideast.htm . I have been living and working in the United Arab Emirates for a little over two years; there are Catholic (Latin rite, and there’s either Byzantine or Orthodox as well) churches in all the main cities here; there are Anglican churches and non-denominational churches. Certainly we are not allowed to proselitize, but we are able to worship openly and freely, our churches are not desecrated, we are no more second-class citizens than any of the other ex-patriaties working here. RCIA is offered at the Catholic churches. The Catholic schools are also attended by children from Muslim families. The Catholic churches are so well attended that you need to get there at least 20 minutes before the Mass starts if you want to have a seat - we have people standing two deep in the aisles of a church that can seat 1,300 people, at at least 5 of the 12 English Masses offered from Friday to Sunday (all of which are classed as “Sunday Mass” here).

It is very easy to paint with a broad brush and say that Christians are being persecuted by Muslims in the Middle East, but that is not so in all the countries that make up the Middle East. (And, yes, I do know that Muslims are most definately ‘discouraged’ from converting, but that is a whole different issue.)
 
VivienneJ said:
This is a very open quesion. The Middle East comprises between 15 and 27 totally independent countries (depending on which are classed as being truly “Middle East”) - it is very different from asking “What is the current situation in the United States of America?”

Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Yemem, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Bharain and Qatar are on all ‘lists’; others include: Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia and Cyprus - in various combinations.
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Personally, I have never seen any listing that considers the “stans” (with the exception of Kurdistan) to be part of the Middle East. Egypt and the rest of North Africa (all the way to the Maghreb aka Morocco) on the other hand, generally are. Ethiopia and Eritrea, along with Djubouti and Somalia) are not either. Cyprus is normally considered part of Europe these days, as are Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan.
VivienneJ said:
While I’m not denying that disgraceful things are happening in some of these countries, the things Larylec mentions are not happening in every one of these countries. …

It is very easy to paint with a broad brush and say that Christians are being persecuted by Muslims in the Middle East, but that is not so in all the countries that make up the Middle East. (And, yes, I do know that Muslims are most definately ‘discouraged’ from converting, but that is a whole different issue.)
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Perhaps not in all, but certainly in most. No, not in Armenia or Georgia, nor in the Republic of Cyprus, Ethiopia, or Eritrea, all of which have Christian majorities. But where the majority is otherwise, it generally seems to happen way Larylec suggests.

The various Gulf States have no native Christians to speak of (what few there may be are relatively recent converts), so whatever tolerance there may be toward the Church in those places is essentially a tolerance of foreigners. Saudi Arabia has no native Christians either, and there is certainly no toleration of Christianity there at all (except in places like Dhahran which are foreign enclaves anyway).

Syria is a bit of an exception, at least insofar as the highly secular government is concerned. As long as the native Christians keep mum, things are fine. No problem in Israel, nor, (officially at least), in Jordan. Lebanon, of course, is quite unique but even there Christians have been marginalized and are most definitely not in the same situation as they were prior to 1975.

Egypt and Turkey are officially secular, yet the lot of native Christians in both is less than optimal. Iraq is very sad: until Saddam was forcibly removed from power, it was quite similar to Syria. Now, of course, with the partial exception of the Kurdish region, things are very different, and not in a good way.
 
Are there Catholic missionaries in any of these countries? I know there are a number of protestants going in.
 
It is a large area and each nation/culture reacts and treats Christians in different ways . . . and while not a bad as it might be - - - the situation is hardly fair and pluralistic - or encouraging for the survival of Christianity in the area.

Even in Isreal the status of Christians is hardly what might be expected in the West. One only needs to follow the ongoing difficulties of Archbishop Chacour and the arrest of a Melkite bishop for trying to deliver aid to the Palestinians.

Of course the situation in Iraq is dreadful.

The Melkite Patriarch issued a report on the Church in Syria that gives a balanced report as to the general situation.

melkite.org/Patriarch/PA18-ChurchinSyria.htm
 
Cormaria said:
Are there Catholic missionaries in any of these countries? I know there are a number of protestants going in.
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Again, I think you need to specify which countries you are thinking of and what type of missionary activity. All the Catholic priests in the Vicariate of Arabia are regarded as missionary priests, but they are bound by restrictions placed on proselytizing as such and are ministering to ex-patriate Catholics.

The nature of missionary activity here (in the Vicariate of Arabia) is that of providing spiritual assstance and pastoral care to the Catholics living in the area.

Protestant missionaries coming into the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Yemen would be operating under the same restrictions as the Catholic missionaries.
 
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