Christians in the Middle East are facing persecution because of British and American foreign policy, the Archbishop of Canterbury will claim today. Dr Rowan Williams will say that many Christians have been forced to flee their homes in the Holy Land because of 'appalling pressure' from extremist Islamic groups.And he will warn that historic communities risk becoming mere 'museum pieces' in the 'theme park' Middle East because of the military policies of the West.
During an appearance in London yesterday, he said there was a risk that the region could become a "monochrome" area dominated by an "unfriendly" form of Islam. Indigenous Christian groups were increasingly being seen as a 'foreign and aggressive' presence, he added.
The Archbishop will make the comments in a speech at Westminster Cathedral later today. He will say that historically Christians have played a leading role in social, cultural and intellectual change in the Middle East.
But historic communities now risked becoming mere 'museum pieces' in a 'theme park' region as a result of persecution. In part this was due to an extremist form of Islam filling the void left following the peak of Arab nationalism, the head of the Church of England will claim.
But he also blames the role of Western governments.
| Couldn't possibly be the fault of the Moose-limb loonies, of course, it's gotta be us ... |
He cites a recent visit to Syria in which he met some of the half million refugees who had fled Iraq since 2003.
Dr Williams added: 'The military policies of the West in the last few years have firmly cemented in a great deal of the Middle East the notion that Christianity is a foreign, aggressive and Western presence. I regret it is a real tragedy that this ongoing crisis has yet to be the focus of policy declarations, or indeed recognised by some of our Western governments.'
He also calls on Christians around the world to focus on the crisis and said Government needed to pay attention to the worsening situation. Speaking yesterday, he said: “There is an urgent need for people in the UK to wake up to the fact that Christians in the Middle East are living through a time of change more dramatic and more costly than anything that has been seen for a thousand years and more.'
He went on to highlight the 'tragic situation' of Christian refugees from Iraq and the 'quiet but numerically huge exodus of Christians' - particularly educated Christians - out of the entire Middle East region. 'The remaining Christian communities are left exposed to violence or extremism in many countries, and the societies they live in are deprived of some of their most creative and resourceful citizens,' he added.