Middle East Quarterly articles from January 2001

Middle East Quarterly archives from January 2001

Editors' Introduction: Why a Special Issue?(Christians in the Middle East)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... The Middle East Quarterly begins its eighth year with its first issue devoted to a single topic--that of disappearing Christians in the Middle East. The transfer of power of Bethlehem from Israel to the Palestinian Authority just before...

Arab Christians as Symbols.
January 1, 2001... Arabic-speaking Christians have been one of the main casualties of the destabilizing events of the twentieth century, and especially of the Western-created system of modern Arab states. This religious community found itself deeply immersed in a...

Sudan--Civil War and Genocide.
January 1, 2001... The great challenge for Christianity in the Sudan, especially in the southern part of the country, is closely linked to the civil war between Sudan's North and South. This war has raged intermittently since 1955, making it possibly the longest...

Egypt--Persecution.(Coptic Christians)
January 1, 2001... A `tini hurriyati Itla `yaddaya Innani a `taytu ma abqaytu shay'an Umm Kalthum, the famed Egyptian singer, in Al-Atlal(1) Egypt's Copts are an endangered minority. Exposed to continuous and subtle pressures, their numbers are...

Wearing Jesus.(images of Christ on clothing, in Turkey)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Christodoulos yesterday strongly condemned the appearance in Turkey's markets of underwear briefs and T-shirts bearing the image of Christ on the front and of the Virgin Mary on the back. According to...

Israel and the Territories--Disappearance.(Palestinian Christians)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2001... Although some people think that the term "Palestinian" implies a person is a Muslim, Palestinian Christians also exist and their ancestry in the Holy Land goes back to the earliest days of Christianity. As in the East Mediterranean at large,...

Lebanon--Independent No More.
January 1, 2001... Ten years have passed since the end of the war in Lebanon. Although the political process has been reactivated--three parliamentary elections have been held, two presidents elected, and eight cabinets formed--and a large scale reconstruction...

Syria and Iraq--Repression.
January 1, 2001... In a few countries of the Arab Middle East, independence resulted in the creation of new states that were basically secular in their structure. Their choice of secularism expressed symbolically a wish to join the` modern world and a rupture...

Are Christian Enclaves the Solution?(Middle East)
January 1, 2001... Since the seventh century, the goals pursued by Middle East Christians have varied from era to era and from area to area, but one generalization holds: Most churches have seen their prime goal as freedom of conscience; if sites of worship are...

Christians in the American Court System.
January 1, 2001... One of the greatest challenges facing U.S.-based human fights activists today is proving the claims of Christian asylum-seekers claiming religious persecution in the Middle East. Native Christians have been terrorized in Egypt, jailed in...

Prince El-Hassan bin Talal: "Jordanian Christians Are Fully Integrated".(Interview)
January 1, 2001... His Royal Highness Prince El-Hassan bin Talal is the uncle of King Abdallah II of Jordan. Born in 1947, he counts himself a forty-second-generation descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. He attended schools in England and received degrees in...

Nobel Prize for Hizbullah.(recommendation)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Talib as-Sani', a member of the Israeli parliament, commenting on the victory of Hizbullah over the Israeli forces in Lebanon: Despite its military inferiority, Hizbullah forced peace on Israel and made her flee from Lebanese soil....

Elliott Abrams: "Religious Freedom Is More Important Today".(Chairman of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom)
January 1, 2001... Elliott Abrams is chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Born in New York City in 1948, Mr. Abrams received his B.A. degree from Harvard College in 1969, a master's degree in International Relations from the London...

Conversion to Christianity Is a Capital Offense.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... KABUL--The supreme leader of Afghanistan's ruling Taliban movement warned on Monday that any Afghan converting to Christianity or promoting other religions would be executed. In his decree, Mullah Muhammad `Umar also cautioned that any...