American Christians of Middle East origin gathered in Washington yesterday to help dispel common misunderstandings, emphasizing Muslims comprise less than one quarter of the people in the U.S. from that region.
Organizers of the Middle Eastern American Convention for Freedom and Democracy, the largest event of its kind ever organized in the U.S., assert the fact that 76 percent of Americans of Middle Eastern descent are Christian reflects the continued persecution of non-Muslims in the area.
In just one generation, the non-Muslim population of the Middle East has dropped from nearly 20 percent to under 2 percent.
“The community not only wants to see democracy and freedom come to the region but to see the historic balance in the Middle East restored, seeing this imbalance as the true cause of the problems in the Middle East,” the organization said in a statement.
This convention was organized by Middle Eastern Christian organizations, including the Assyrian American National Federation, U.S. Copts Association, American Lebanese Coalition and American Middle-East Christian Association.
The groups said they want to “take the lead in stating clearly their position on the war on terrorism, fanaticism and stand with those who love freedom and democracy.”
They challenge organizations in the U.S. who have been “falsely claiming to exclusively represent the opinions and aspirations of all those of Middle Eastern ancestry as Muslim.”
The convention concluded with a letter to President Bush and Congress, declaring support for freedom and rejection of terrorism.
The letter thanked the families of the “1,000 brave young men and women who gave their lives for the liberation of Iraq – something that has not been said clearly by this community.”
The groups highlighted the urgency of assisting the 2.5 million Assyrian Christians in Iraq who are being terrorized daily by radical Musilms. About 40,000 already have left Iraq.
Along with Iraq, topics discussed included terrorism, women’s rights and religious and ethnic discrimination.
