Despite Conflict, Christians Remain Rooted in the Mideast
Christians have been rooted in the Middle East since the very beginnings of the religion, but they have always been minority communities forced to co-exist with conflict.
Even after Muslim armies began sweeping across the region 14 centuries ago, Christianity remained founded in the Middle East.
But Christians are now threatened in several countries by extremist Islamists and jihadists.
Ahead of the Catholic Pope Francis' visit to Egypt on Friday, following is a breakdown by country of the main Christian presence in the Middle East.
- Egypt -
Coptic Orthodox is the largest Christian denomination in Egypt, representing some 10 percent of the country's 92-million population, and Copts are also the largest Christian group in the Middle East.
They have little representation in government and feel ostracized in general. Anti-Christian attacks have multiplied since the Islamic State group (IS) gained strength in the region.
- Iraq -
Chaldean Christians are the most numerous in Iraq. Before the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 they numbered more than one million, including more than 600,000 in Baghdad.
There are fewer than 350,000 Christians in Iraq now, with many having fled the sectarian violence that followed Saddam's ouster.
In mid-2014, Christians were pushed out as IS jihadists seized control of vast swathes of territory in northern Iraq.
Qaraqosh, which had the greatest concentration of Christians in the country, was recaptured by Iraqi forces in October 2016.
- Syria -
Catholic and Orthodox sects comprise the majority of Christians in Syria, where they represented between five and nine percent of the country's 22 million inhabitants before civil unrest erupted in 2011.
Syria's Christians mostly sought neutrality throughout the conflict, while fearing the rise of jihadist groups. Many backed President Bashar al-Assad for that reason.
Churches have been damaged or destroyed since 2011, and large numbers of Christians have been murdered or abducted.
According to the Chaldean bishop of Aleppo, Antoine Audo, half of Syria's 1.5 million Christians have fled the country.
- Lebanon -
Maronite Catholics, followed by the Greek Orthodox, predominate among Christians in Lebanon which has a Christian president under a power-sharing arrangement that calls for a Sunni Muslim premier and a Shiite parliamentary speaker.
They are the second largest group of Christians in the Middle East, after the Egyptian Copts, and represent around 40 percent of Lebanon's population of more than six million people.
- Israel -
There are around 160,000 Israeli Christians, the vast majority of them Arabs in the north, representing about two percent of the population.
- Palestinian Territories -
In the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, there are nearly 50,000 Christians of various denominations, mainly in Bethlehem and Ramallah. Although now a minority in Bethlehem, where tradition says Jesus was born, Christians play a central economic role.
In the Gaza Strip the number of Christians, mostly Greek Orthodox, is in steady decline following attacks by radical Islamist groups.
- Jordan -
Greek and Roman Orthodox Christians predominate in Jordan, where they comprise about six percent of the population of 9.5 million. There are Christian members of parliament, and members of the community occupy senior positions in both government and society.
Source: Agence France Presse
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