Monday

25th Sep 2023

Analysis

Europe is actually encouraging sectarianism in Middle East

  • The Pope holding a service in Iraq last week. It is mainly Christians from the Middle East who receive asylum. This makes their numbers in the region continue to decline dramatically. That is then used again as proof that they are being persecuted (Photo: Papal instagram)

Shortly after the Pope Francis' visit to Iraq ten days ago, the Iraqi prime minister issued a call for national dialogue, in the "papal spirit of love and tolerance".

This was welcomed by various groups, including - a few days ago - by the right-wing nationalist Shia leader Moqtada al-Sadr.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

A strange reaction to the Pope's words in a 'land where Christians are persecuted', right?

'Iraq, or the Middle East - where Christians are persecuted' is a phrase that we often hear in Europe, including in the news. But is that really so?

I remember a vigil in the European Parliament in Strasbourg in 2013, organised by the European People's Party (EPP), in which it declared solidarity with the persecuted Christians in Syria.

After all, they reasoned, the rebellion in Syria was Sunni, against president Bashar al-Assad's Alawites - and the Christians he protected.

A few days later I was in Syria. I had tea there with two generals who had defected to the rebels. I asked them about the situation of the Christians.

"One of us is a Christian," said one. "Can you see who?" Of course I couldn't. They told me they were actually protecting Christian villages from attacks by Assad, who took advantage of the lack of knowledge in the West to accuse the rebels of sectarian war.

The young Syrian Christians who went to protest against Assad in 2011 were also imprisoned, tortured and killed by the regime - just like their fellow countrymen of other religions.

In Iraq, not a single church was attacked in the 20th century.

That changed after the invasion by the US and the "coalition of the willing" in 2003. Iraq sank into chaos and became the epicentre of extremist groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq.

Numerous mosques were blown up. And dozens of churches too. Indeed, Christians fell victim to sectarian violence, just like everyone else in Iraq. Despite that, 'secular Europe' only seems to read the reports of Christian victims.

Saving Christians from ISIS?

It was this sectarian view that made the then Belgian deputy minister for migration and asylum, Theo Francken, decide to grant hundreds of Christians from Aleppo humanitarian visas to come to Belgium in 2017.

Although the operation appeared to be drenched in fraud, it was defended because it 'saved Christians from the claws of ISIS'. While not just the Christians, but especially the Yezidis, were targeted by ISIS.

As a result of this view, it is mainly Christians from the Middle East who receive asylum. This makes that their numbers in the region continue to decline dramatically. That is then used again as proof that they are being prosecuted.

European politics has even more cynical consequences. One is that it is fuelling sectarianism in the Middle East rather than fighting it. By calling attention only to Christians, Europe is creating resentment in other religious groups.

In other words, Europe's behaviour is sectarian and feeds sectarianism, even in places where it actually didn't exist. By only wanting to protect Christians, Europe makes the lives of Christians in the region more difficult.

Learning lessons from history

The history of Christians in the Middle East only makes the story even more cynical.

The majority of Eastern Christians were expelled from the Church by various councils in the fourth and fifth centuries and persecuted thereafter. While the Egyptian Coptic Church split off, many other 'heretics' had no choice but to flee to more tolerant Persia.

The Muslim conquests in the seventh century were seen by many Eastern Christians as a liberation from the Byzantine yoke. Under Islamic rule, Christians and Jews had to pay an extra tax, but at least they were free in their faith.

While wars of religion and heresy ravaged Europe, Eastern Christians lived in relative peace. That could hardly be otherwise given their number.

Until the beginning of the 19th century, half of the inhabitants of the Ottoman Empire were Christians.

The Ottoman rulers were therefore surprised when the French came to them in the same 19th century to tell them that they should treat the Christians better and that they, the French, would protect the Christians.

It is also Europe that invented religious representation in the region. France and Great Britain didn't just divide the Middle East between the two of them during World War I. Both countries have also introduced systems where administrators were elected according to their religion.

The consequences we see most clearly today in Lebanon, where everything is fixed according to religion, and decision-making has become impossible.

Of course, we do not have to answer today for what our ancestors did wrong. But it isn't too much to ask to learn from those mistakes, is it?

Pope Francis has already understood that. He acknowledged that in Iraq people of all religions were and still are victims of terror. That is also the reason why he is listened to there.

In this respect, we Europeans can perhaps learn something from this Argentinian.

Opinion

Syria is still an EU problem

As the war in Syria comes gradually to its painful conclusion, the country's destiny is under the influence of ever more regional and international powers. Europe, however, is not one of them.

EU’s €500m gender violence plan falls short, say auditors

The 'Spotlight Initiative' was launched in 2017 with a budget of €500 million to end all forms of violence or harmful practices against women and girls in partner countries, but so far it has had "little impact", say EU auditors.

Latest News

  1. Europe's energy strategy: A tale of competing priorities
  2. Why Greek state workers are protesting new labour law
  3. Gloves off, as Polish ruling party fights for power
  4. Here's the headline of every op-ed imploring something to stop
  5. Report: Tax richest 0.5%, raise €213bn for EU coffers
  6. EU aid for Africa risks violating spending rules, Oxfam says
  7. Activists push €40bn fossil subsidies into Dutch-election spotlight
  8. Europe must Trump-proof its Ukraine arms supplies

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators, industry & healthcare experts at the 24th IMDRF session, September 25-26, Berlin. Register by 20 Sept to join in person or online.
  2. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  3. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  4. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators & industry experts at the 24th IMDRF session- Berlin September 25-26. Register early for discounted hotel rates
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  6. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  2. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  3. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
  6. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us