V.2, #2, February 1998
Christian Persecution: Reality or Hype? 

Has The Banner Of Human Rights Been Abused As Part Of A Political Struggle?

The history of using reports of alleged human rights violations and atrocities as fuel for propaganda is a long one. The Romans accused the Carthaginians of sacrificing children. More recently, invading Iraqi soldiers were accused of stealing expensive incubators from Kuwaiti hospitals, killing babies in the process.

Most historians agree that the Carthaginians did sacrifice humans as part of religious ritual. A Human Rights Watch report found that the ‘baby-killing Iraqis’ story was unverifiable, if not a complete fabrication, and linked it to the activities of a public relations firm hired by the Kuwaiti government in exile. Should human rights organizations be engaged in debunking atrocity stories? Our answer is yes, especially when government policies are formulated on the basis of false reports. But we feel that such concerns should be addressed in the context of a signed article, rather than within a ‘pure’ human rights report. This second part may well prove controversial; we welcome public debate on the issues it raises.

Bullets in Beit Sahour

According to press releases by the ICEJ and the Jerusalem Post, Christian harassment takes place within a general climate of hostility to Christians. To support this claim, they cite an incident which took place last summer in the West Bank village of Beit Sahour. Israel Defense Forces Radio reported on August 15 that seven Christians had been wounded in a clash with Palestinian police in Beit Sahour after 200 angry Christian villagers had stormed a police station.

Issa Fayez Qumsieh, age 20 and a resident of Beit Sahour, told the PHRMG that the incident began when, "around 4:00 in afternoon, I received a phone call from my cousin, Nader Issa Qumsieh, age 30, who works for Force-17 [one of the security forces]. He told me on the telephone that he saw police beating up kids from the village, and when he tried to interfere, the police beat him up." Qumsieh explained that his cousin, who was not in uniform at the time, had intervened after he overheard one of the policeman say he would ‘screw Beit Sahour Christian girls because they dress so provocatively.’

Qumsieh continued, "[My cousin] said he would wait for me in the center of town. I went with my cousins to the center of town, and from there we went to the police station in Beit Sahour. We were armed with batons and iron rods. We reached the station, about 50 of us, and when we were there, more people joined us from other families in Beit Sahour because they heard that the police beat up my cousin because he was a Christian. We threw stones at the station and we broke inside. The police stood at the opening and fired in the air, and then they grabbed me, saying that I was the one who organized the attack on the police station. They hit me with batons and held me for seven hours in the station, and then I was released. I have no idea why the police were beating up the kids. They had been in the center of town throwing stones at each other, and there was a rumor that the police came to disperse them, but were only beating up the Christian kids and not the Muslim kids. However, I cannot verify this claim." Arafat appointed a committee to investigate the incident, which went unreported in the Palestinian media. According to the Jerusalem Post, the government report explained that "the PA is attempting to cover up [the incident] and has threatened anyone who dares to publicize the story." 12

Anti-Christian Atmosphere: An Evaluation

In addition to the Beit Sahour incident, some media reports have also claimed that monasteries have had phone lines cut, convents burglarized, Christians cemeteries vandalized, and that after "taking control of Bethlehem in December, 1995... the Church of the Nativity and other sites of central importance to Christianity came under Palestinian Authority control, giving Yasser Arafat leverage over the heads of the Christian communities." A recent prayer request by the Bethlehem Bible College for "freedom from oppression" and "protection for Palestinian Christians" may also belie Muslim-Christian tension.

But the claims of an anti-Christian atmosphere in Palestine are largely unsubstantiated. The example of the incident in Beit Sahour demonstrates how inaccurate information and rumors can lead to misinterpretation. The insult which began the incident was couched in religiously bigoted terms, but

burglaries were motivated by religious prejudice? The Palestine Report noted on October 31, 1997, that the Bethlehem police "have never received complaints of vandalism or burglaries from any of the area churches, except for one burglary at a convent in Bethany." The culprit in this single case was employed at the convent. Dr. Mitri Raheb, Pastor of the Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, said that several Christian cemeteries had been vandalized, "some... by Israeli settlers and some... by Muslim and Christian youth, who, as it later turned out, were on drugs."

As for the allegations that Arafat has exercised leverage over Christian leaders, it is important to place such claims in the proper context. After the end of the Israeli occupation, a new political reality began of which Christian leaders became a part. Within this new reality, perhaps Christian leaders did indeed feel pressured to adjust their rhetoric to be supportive of Arafat — but in this way, they are no different than any other group in Palestine. No specific evidence of arm-twisting by the PA against Christian leaders has been presented.

In an important way, the lot of Christians has improved under the PA, because for the first time, institutions have been set up to ensure that their voice is heard. Ecumenical forums, interfaith dialogues, and the PA Ministry for Christian Affairs all serve as places for Christian grievances to be aired. The Latin Patriarchate noted that "the Palestinian Authority chaired by Arafat is easily accessible by us, religious leaders, through many channels. It is useless to mention that many Christians are highly ranked within the Palestinian Authority structure." Prominent Christians from the Bethlehem area, including politicians and clergy, issued a statement which called the allegations "cheap and malicious publicity." At the same time, though, the Latin Patriarch, Michael Sabbah admitted to the Jerusalem Post, "There might be some isolated incidents or isolated clashes. There might also be violations on the part of low-level officials. Ultimately, however, this campaign only raised our attention, Muslims and Christians alike, to the necessity of deepening our relations."

Christians’ integral role in the Palestinian nationalist movement has ensured them of a respected place in Palestinian political culture. Bernard Sabella, a professor of sociology at Bethlehem University and well-known commentator on Palestinian Christian affairs, explains, "The Intifada, as a popular uprising, saw Christians and Muslims engaged in an effort to end the occupation and achieve independence. The Beit Sahour Tax Revolt of 1989 was but one example of Palestinian Christian grassroots participation in challenging occupation. The records of young Christians imprisoned and martyred are other indications of the attachment to, and identity with, Palestine and its cause." 19

Of course, participation in nationalist politics does not guarantee good treatment after independence is achieved. Similarly, simply reading quotes from minority leaders that ‘they are being treated well’ does not constitute proof. But in this case, the comments are illustrations of a reality in which Christians are seen as active participants in the Palestinian body politic by both their Muslim neighbors and themselves. In our judgment, they are an accurate reflection of Christian reality in Palestine.

Christian Emigration: Running Scared?

In reporting allegations of Christian persecution, some journalists have allowed themselves to be manipulated into overstating the case. Typical of misinformed media coverage has been its understanding of Christian emigration. Although Christians emigrate abroad from Palestinian Autonomous Areas at a greater rate than Muslims do, this does not imply that Christians must be fleeing from persecution. Unfortunately, many observers have made precisely this fallacious connection. For example, U.S. Representative J.C. Watts wrote that "hopeless" Christian emigrants are "driven by the steady persecution of the PA and the realization that they will face worse treatment under a possible future Palestinian state."

The higher emigration rates of Christians can be explained by social factors, and should not be construed as a response to PA oppression. As Bernard Sabella explains, a higher rate of Christians than Muslims live in cities and are in the middle-class, making them relatively more mobile; furthermore, Christians tend to be better educated, thanks to the opportunities afforded to them by Christian schools and colleges. These factors combine to make the Palestinian Christians snugly fit the definition of a likely emigrant community: "‘A community with a high educational achievement and a relatively good standard of living but with no real prospects for economic security or advancement will most probably become a migrant community.’"

Most importantly, Christians can expect to find social and religious communities more easily than Muslims in the mostly-Christian West. Mitri Rahab told the Palestine Report, "What makes it easier for Christians to emigrate is the pulling factor, with many of them already having relatives who live abroad." The deteriorating economic situation in the territories further makes emigration an attractive option for many Christians. Rahab continued, "This is why I see a parallel between Muslim fundamentalism and Christian emigration. When a Muslim loses hope, he resorts to fundamentalism, thus emigrating psychologically. When a Christian loses hope, he emigrates geographically."

The government report also notes that Bethlehem was "80% Christian in 1948 and is 80% Muslim today." This change is not the result of a recent effort to Islamicize Bethlehem, as the report seems to imply. Rather, the demographic balance shifted significantly as a result of the Arab-Israeli War of 1948. West Bank cities and refugee camps absorbed hundreds of thousands of refugees from the new Jewish state, the overwhelming majority of whom were Muslim. Obviously, this influx,

Persecution of Evangelicals: Politics or Faith?

We believe that there is not ample evidence to conclude that there is a persecution of Christianity in general in Palestine. As we noted in the first section, we also do not believe there is sufficient evidence to support claims of a systematic campaign to persecute evangelical Christians, though as a group they do suffer harassment by their communities. But if indeed there is some hostility, organized or not, by Palestinians of evangelical Christians, its motivation may well be political rather than religious.

Central to the theology of the evangelical Christianity subscribed to in communities which have suffered harassment — a theology which interprets the Bible literally — is Zionism. The land of Israel, that is the whole of the land of Israel, has been given to the Jews by God. The resettlement of this land by Jews and the establishment of Jewish sovereignty over it is interpreted as a sign of Christ’s second coming. An ICEJ brochure entitled "Christian Zionism" explains, "The Scriptures tell us about the regathering of Israel back to her own land, which God will fulfill [sic] for His own name’s sake... Judea and Samaria are essential parts of the land promised to Israel and linked with the history of Israel.... These facts should convince us that the existence of Israel and the right of the Jewish People to return home and live in peace within secure borders is worthy of our support..."

The ICEJ brochure continues, "The millennia-long Jewish bond to places like Hebron, Beit-El, and Eilon Moreh is far closer, both emotionally and rationally, than it is to Tel Aviv. They are places in the very heart of the Land of Israel, the cradle of Jewish civilization; they are the towns, villages, mountains and valleys which give the Bible its contemporaneity." This asserts a political commitment to Greater Israel, a sentiment associated with the right-wing of Israeli politics. In our conversations with Palestinian evangelical converts, the PHRMG discovered that many have privately accepted the political implications of this theology. However, evangelical missionaries in the West Bank are quick to point out that they are apolitical, and that their efforts are purely spiritual. Missionaries do not hand out Zionist literature. Nonetheless, converts generally express support for Israeli control of the West Bank and are highly critical of Arafat’s Palestinian Authority, mirroring sentiments expressed by the right-wing of Israeli politics. Paraphrasing two Palestinian converts to Christianity, David Parsons of the ICEJ says, "Many Palestinians would convert if there were no intimidation and it would deeply affect the hostile attitude toward Israel." In other words, the spread of Zionist evangelical beliefs undermines the appeal of Palestinian nationalism.

The PA is aware of the political implications of evangelical Christianity. A press release of December 23, 1997, circulated by the Palestine Ministry of Information, states that "Evangelical Christian[s]. . . believe in literal scriptures and the fulfillment of prophetic writings in the very near future, perceiving the establishment of Israel and the ingathering of Jews in Palestine as signs of the forthcoming End of Days.... The International Christian Embassy, made up mainly of Evangelists [sic], is based in West Jerusalem, and conducts an annual event that coincides with the ‘Jewish Succoth (The Feast of the Tabernacles).’ Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was welcomed by the evangelists [sic] at their latest event on ‘Succoth,’ the same Netanyahu whose policies and practices are destroying the ‘real life’ peace process signed between the PLO and the previous Labor government in Israel." This awareness by the PA of the politics associated with evangelical Christianity suggests that politics may be a source of Palestinian hostility to it -- that harassment which does exist may constitute political, rather than religious, persecution. This conjecture also offers an explanation for why three of the six evangelical converts whose stories were presented above were accused of collaboration.

All this is not to make excuses for the PA; political persecution is a human rights violation just as religious persecution is. Evangelical Christians have been arrested, sometimes without charges, sometimes on charges which make no sense, and they have been illegally detained without trial, or tried in absentia -- whether for religious or political reasons. This we condemn. However, given the context of the Palestinian legal system — in which the lack of rule of law enables individuals of all faiths to be targeted and persecuted by other individuals without recourse, and in which thousands have been illegally detained since the arrival of the PA in 1994 — there is not sufficient evidence to conclude that Christians are being persecuted specifically for their faith.

Is the PA guilty of violating human rights? Certainly, and this time some of its victims happen to be evangelical Christians. But such facts, unfortunately, are old news. Is the PA guilty of systematically persecuting Christians because they are Christians as has been alleged? We believe not. However, there is some evidence that the evangelical community has faced disproportionate harassment from their communities.

The American Connection

One year ago, America’s human rights establishment was focused on a variety of human rights causes. Beginning last summer, the issue of religious persecution, and in particular Christian persecution, came to the forefront, thanks to lobbying efforts by the politically influential Christian right. Now, a bill called the Freedom From Religious Persecution Act, sponsored by Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Representative Frank Wolf (R-VA) is working its way through the U.S. Congress. The bill would have established an office to track religious persecution and place penalties, including an end to non-humanitarian aid and loans, on countries which systematically persecute any religious group. (The bill has since undergone many changes.) According to the New York Times, the bill has divided the Republican Party: while many evangelical Christian groups support the bill, big business has opposed it, in part for the implications it would have for America’s relations with China, notorious for its persecution of Christians (as well as Muslims, Buddhists, Tibetans, and intellectuals). Established human rights organizations have also criticized the bill as placing religious persecution within a hierarchy of ‘officially sanctioned’ human rights (although smaller human rights groups, most notably Freedom House, support the bill). In addition to criticizing China, advocates of the bill focus on the Islamic world as egregiously persecuting Christians. According to the New York Times, in the Sudan, more than 700,000 Christians have died in the eight years of extremist Muslim rule. In Egypt, Christians require approval of the President before they can build or repair churches.

It is within this political context that allegations surfaced of Christian persecution in Palestine, led by the ICEJ, an organization with close ties to the Christian Coalition and other American evangelical groups. Evangelicals seeking support for the Specter-Wolf bill were quick to use these allegations for their political purpose. For instance, prominent evangelical minister and founder of the Christian Coalition Pat Robertson told viewers of his television show, "We must demand the State Department do something in relation to the Sudan, in relation to the Palestinian Authority, in relation to Iran, in relation to Saudi Arabia and these other countries that are persecuting Christians.... We can’t be silent, look what happened in the Holocaust. A whole race was close to extinction because we were silent. If it’s them now, it’ll be us next."

Only utter ignorance of Middle Eastern affairs could lead one to equate the situation of Christians in the PA with their situation in the Sudan, let alone with the Holocaust. Unfortunately, most of Robertson’s viewers are not sufficiently informed to know this. Rhetoric like Robertson’s has successfully influenced American political discourse. Despite the scanty evidence for Christian persecution in Palestine, the issue has become a rallying point for the Christian right. In the process, the subtlety to the story has been lost; honest analysis has been abandoned in favor of drum-beating. For example, U.S. Representative Watts wrote of a "precipitous rise in violent attacks against Christians living under Arafat’s authoritarian government" since the beginning of the peace process. He asserts that "this once vibrant minority group routinely has suffered violent attacks, summary arrests, and the destruction of its holy places throughout the autonomous zones."

Such fiery rhetoric has weighty political implications. Watts concludes, "Despite the disbursement of billions of dollars in aid to the Palestinian Authority from the West, including some $307 million from the United States, to promote democracy and respect for human rights in the Palestinian autonomous areas, religious persecution remains a fact of life for local Christians." The Wolf-Specter bill in Congress is the perfect rejoinder for Watts and others who believe his allegations: cut aid to punish the PA for religious persecution. Except there is no systematic religious persecution in Palestine. Human rights abuses abound; but Christians, in general, remain unmolested.

Conclusion

After investigating allegations of Christian persecution in Palestine, the PHRMG has concluded that reports of widespread persecution are utterly without foundation. The evangelical community has faced disproportionate harassment, but we do not believe that this harassment is organized from above or represents a PA policy. It appears to us to be the result of community hostility to conversions away from Islam and, possibly, the Zionism of some evangelicals. In an important way, harassment of Christians differs from the PA’s treatment of land-dealers and collaborators. Members of these latter two groups were arrested on charges of violating laws against land-dealing and collaboration. No attempt was made by the PA to hide the fact that arrests were made on these charges..

Human Rights, Islam, and Christian Persecution in the Middle East

"According to Sharia Law, applicable throughout the Muslim world, any Muslim who declares changing his religion or declares becoming an unbeliever is committing a major sin punishable by capital punishment. In practice, this has never happened in the Palestinian territories, nor is it likely to happen at all. Having said that, the PNA cannot take a different position on this matter. The norms and tradition will take care of such situations should they occur. The PNA will apply the law of the land, and will protect its citizens accordingly."

From the PA press release, "Reports in the western media, Palestine, the PNA, and religion

Reading the above statement, one is reminded that there is an apparent contradiction between human rights norms, articulated primarily by western jurists and intellectuals, and Islamic jurisprudence. Tradition frowns upon Muslims who convert to other faiths (to put it mildly), although conversions do take place. A strict, legalistic view of Islam does not place all religions as equal before the law, and as with Jewish tradition, the religious code is the law, for society as well as the individual.

Another opinion has been presented regarding the crime of apostasy. It can be defined not as the ‘crime’ of changing one’s faith from Islam to another religion, but rather attacking and vilifying one’s former religion, or engaging in active proselytizing. This interpretation was presented by noted Muslim theologian Muhammad Said al-Buti, who gave a talk on Sharja Satellite Television on 16 January 1998. Also, it should be remembered that only a small minority of Muslim states have affirmed the supremacy of the Sharia in their laws, preferring instead to make it part of the wider scope of legal heritage - particularly in matters of personal status law.

In countries such as the Sudan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, religious minorities have suffered persecution, and still do to this day. The persecutors use religion as an excuse - particularly when the persecution is widespread. This debate is part of the larger ‘Western imperialist human rights culture vs. Third World/non-Western traditional norms’ debate. Both sides can be quite cynical in defending their side: this report details one such use. A cleric who defends the persecution of Christian communities in the name is Islam is guilty as well.

The paragraph quoted above can be read as condoning the vigilante actions against Christian converts from Islam within the PA, including killing them, since that would be ‘in accordance with the Sharia.’ Within mainstream Islam there are other voices however, as the quote from al-Buti shows. Furthermore, such vigilante actions would run counter to Islam’s deep respect for the rule of law.

The PHRMG interviewed the official who wrote the press release. He stated that as a Muslim, he felt it would be unfair to hide the Muslim attitude towards conversion, which is a legitimate part of the debate over religious persecution in the Muslim world. His intention was to make it clear that no such action has ever been taken in the PA, that the PA does not condone persecution of Christians, in spite of the existence of Sharia law. At the same time, the PA can’t take a position ‘against’ Sharia law. The PHRMG asked if any particular official was behind the press release, or if there is any kind of official response the subject of Christian persecution. He replied that: "No, this is it. I wrote the press release, and I see now that the paragraph on the Sharia should have been left out. How could anyone be ‘in charge’ of this subject, when there is no persecution of Christians?" He added that others have expressed themselves on the issue from time to time.

The conclusion of this report is not that everything is well with Christians in the Holy Land. There are problems and difficulties, and some of them are connected with their status as a small and dwindling minority. The efforts of Christian organizations and churches from abroad to improve the situation of Christians in Palestine are understandable and certainly pose no threat to the PA or its Muslim majority. Their charitable projects in the West Bank notwithstanding, the efforts of such groups as the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem do not fall into this category, since their efforts ultimately are devoted to strengthening the Israeli presence in Palestine.

The Palestinian Authority’s Treatment of Christians in the Autonomous Areas

(prepared by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office)

THE TAKEOVER OF BETHLEHEM

On taking control over Bethlehem in December 1995, the Palestinian Authority changed the rules for Christians. The Church of the Nativity and other sites of central importance to Christianity came under Palestinian Authority control, giving Yasser Arafat leverage over the heads of the Christian communities. Since then, the local Christian leadership has toed the line of the Palestinian Authority.

The Latin patriarch, Greek Archbishop, Anglican bishop and Lutheran bishop are all Palestinian Arabs. They have become effective propaganda mouthpieces throughout the Christian world.

An example of Arafat’s attitude toward the Christians was his decision to unilaterally turn the Greek Orthodox monastery near the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem into his domicile during his periodic visits to the city. This was done without prior consent of the church.

TREATMENT OF CHRISTIANS BY THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY

On the social and religious level, the Christians remaining in Palestinian Authority controlled areas are subjected to relentless persecution. Christian cemeteries have been destroyed, monasteries have had their telephone lines cut, and there have been break-ins to convents. Nuns are afraid to report such incidents.

In August 1997, Palestinian policemen in Beit Sahur opened fire on a crowd of Christian Arabs, wounding six. The Palestinian Authority is attempting to cover up the incident and has warned against publicizing the story. The local commander of the Palestinian police instructed journalists not to report on the incident.

Palestinian security forces have targeted and intimidated Christian leaders and Palestinian converts to Christianity. Recent incidents of persecution of include the following:

In late June 1997, a Palestinian convert to Christianity in the northern West Bank was arrested by agents of the Palestinian Authority’s Preventive Security Service. He had been regularly attending church and prayer meetings and was distributing Bibles. The Palestinian Authority ordered his arrest. He is still being held in a Palestinian prison and has been subjected to physical torture and interrogations.

The pastor of a church in Ramallah was recently warned by Palestinian Authority security agents that they were monitoring his evangelistic activities in the area and wanted him to come in for questioning for spreading Christianity.

A Palestinian convert to Christianity living in a village near Nablus was recently arrested by the Palestinian police. A Muslim preacher was brought in by the police, and he attempted to convince the convert to return to Islam. When the convert refused, he was brought before a Palestinian court and sentenced to prison for insulting the religious leader. He is currently being held in a prison cell with more than 30 people, most serving life sentences for murder.

A Palestinian convert to Christianity in Ramallah was recently visited by Palestinian policemen at his home and warned that if he continued to preach Christianity, he would be arrested and charged with being an Israeli spy.

As a result of unceasing persecution, the Christians are forced to behave like any oppressed minority which aims to survive. Christians in Palestinian Authority-controlled areas have taken to praying in secret. The wisdom of survival compels them to assess the "balance of fear", according to which they have nothing to fear from Israel but face an existential threat from the Palestinian Authority and their Muslim neighbors. They act accordingly: they seek to "find favor" through unending praise and adulation for the Muslim ruler together with public denunciations of the "Zionist entity."

EMIGRATION OF CHRISTIANS FROM PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY TERRITORY

In the last census conducted by the British mandatory authorities in 1947, there were 28,000 Christians in Jerusalem. The census conducted by Israel in 1967 (after the Six Day War) showed just 11,000 Christians remaining in the city. This means that some 17,000 Christians (or 61%) left during the days of King Hussein’s rule over Jerusalem. Their place was filled by Muslim Arabs from Hebron.

During the British mandate period, Bethlehem had a Christian majority of 80%. Today, under Palestinian rule, it has a Muslim majority of 80%. Few Christians remain in the Palestinian-controlled parts of the West Bank. Those who can - emigrate, and there will soon be virtually no Christians in the Palestinian Authority controlled areas. The Palestinian Authority is trying to conceal the fact of massive Christian emigration from areas under its control.