Father Orthoduck is an Antiochian priest. That means that he has many friends who are either Arab immigrant or descended from Arabs. This is part of the reason why he questions strongly some of the all-too-common American attitudes towards “Arabs.” Father Orthoduck would wish to remind readers that until the Islamic conquests the largest part of Christianity was found in the East, not the West. The Sinai was dotted with monasteries. Evangelism took Middle Eastern Christians outwards, even towards India. And, let’s face it, the Holy Land Christians were/are Middle Eastern. That is why some of the American attitudes towards “Arabs” are so troubling. And, Father Orthoduck would wish to point out that, no it is not an anti-Muslim attitude; it is an anti-Arab attitude. Recently the newsletter of the Australian Prayer Network published the following statistics:
MOST OF ISRAEL’S CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY IS ARAB
Christians constitute roughly 2 percent of the Israel’s citizens, or 153,000 people out of the 7.5 million population, according to figures released by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). According to the figures, 80.4% of the Christians in Israel are Arabs and the rest are immigrants who arrived under the Law of Return, since they had Jewish relatives. The majority of those in the second category of Christians arrived during the large waves of aliya from the former Soviet Union.
Nazareth has the largest Christian community with some 22,000 people; Haifa follows with 14,000, Jerusalem 11,000 and Shfaram has 9,200 Christian residents. Most Arab Christians in Israel belong to branches of the Eastern Orthodox Churches. The statistics also reveal that the average Christian family has two children, slightly fewer than the 2.2 for Jewish families and the 3 for Muslim citizens. Christians Israelis are 29.1 years old on average when they marry, compared with 27 in the Druse community and 26 for Muslims.
Of the 2,514 babies born to Christian woman in 2009, 80% were Arabs. Out of those not from the Arab community, 7% were born to Israeli-born Christian woman; 39% to women born in the former Soviet Union; 14% to Ethiopian woman; 10% to Romanian woman; and 7% in the Filipino community. Some 57.8% of the Christian population is employed – 66.2% of the men and 49.7% of the women. Most men (22%) work in industry and 17% in construction. Of the women, 21% work in education and 20% in the health or welfare services.
Source: Intercessors Network
Father Orthoduck hopes that Christians in America will begin to think seriously about supporting their fellow Christians in the Middle East, in both Israel and the other countries of the Middle East. Father Orthoduck would also like to point out that what has happened in Tunisia and is happening in Egypt should point out to readers that the idea of uniform “Muslim” populations who simply want to impose Sharia law is quite false. The demonstrators in both countries are not calling for Sharia, but rather for a more Western style democracy.
Perhaps it is time for your stereotypes to fail.
Great posting. As I have become more familiar with and attracted to Orthodoxy, I have also grown more uncomfortable with the narrow view of so many Christians in this country to the mideast. Indeed may these stereotypes crumble.
…the narrow view of so many Christians in this country to the mideast.
As in “Just more pieces to move about on the End Time Prophecy gameboard?”
(With Arabs replacing Communists as the Dark Lord’s Orc Horde.)