Christians in the Middle East have been begging western countries to take action against the persecution they face, but according to Jim Davis at GetReligion.org, not only are Christians often persecuted in the Middle East, their plight is often ignored by journalists.
Davis takes issue with an article in the New York Times which looks at the Syrian civil war. He accuses the Times piece of addressing the war without mentioning the severe persecution of Christians and other minorities that is a major part of that conflict.
The Times article discusses the war over Aleppo, Syria and talks about al-Qaeda’s and Hezbollah’s involvement in it. The article also discusses President Bashar al-Assad’s army as well as Russian airstrikes.
Davis, however, questions how the author can completely neglect to mention the half million Christians who have been affected by the conflict. There have been reports of Christians and other minorities being crucified, mutilated, burned, and tortured and killed in other brutal ways. Why doesn’t the Times article address this?
In fact, says Davis, the Times article is silent on the religious motivations of the conflict in general.
“But what of their religious affiliations? Do they feel their faith communities are under attack, as their physical communities are? When it comes to religion, who is who?” writes Davis.
While Davis does not discount the importance of looking into the tactical aspect of the war in Syria, he laments the silence on the issue of Christian persecution.
Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com
Publication date: August 18, 2016
