Archbishop of Canterbury says Middle East Christians are suffering persecution because of 'American global project'

Claims: Rowan Williams says many Christians have fled their homes in the Holy Land

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.

Dr Williams will say: 'Indigenous Christian community throughout the region have suffered from being associated with the American global project, and indeed the British global project as part of the American global project.'

He cites a recent visit to Syria in which he met some of the half million refugees who had fled Iraq since 2003.

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Conflict: Blood stains the ground after an attack in Jerusalem. The Archbishop warned many Christians in the region have been exposed to violence because of Western foreign policy

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.


FROM THEOPINIONATOR--COMMENTS:

It seems to me that instead of blaming the MUSLIMS/ISLAM PERSECUTORS 100% for the torment of Christians in the Middle East - he somehow wants to temper this blame by using USA & UK foreign policy as the real underlying problem.  Dr. Rowan is singing with the EU dhimmi choir as he tells us if it wasn't for that nasty (Christian) foreign policy - then muslims would love Christians and we would be building towering cathedrals in Tehran.  Perhaps he can enlighten me as to where the Islamic countries have not been "monochrome" all along - where they have welcomed Christians?? Dr Rowan is just another apologist for the Religion of Violence (oops I mean Peace) - making excuses for muslim maniacal behaviours.

I suppose I could applaud him for at least pointing a bobbing finger at the "extremist" muslims for Middle East violence against Christians - even if his attempts are schizophrenic. The Archbishop just can't bring himself to stick to the blatant truth. Nor does he discuss the overt lack of acceptance by muslims for Christians (regardless of foreign policies) - - certainly not now or ever -perhaps he should check the Quran. When dealing with Christians, Islamic countries have never even remotely come close to  the knee bent pandering and absurd sensitivity shown to muslims in UK - we (Christian or otherwise) are expected to virtually twist ourselves into pretzels rather than say, write or do anything that muslims may find offensive.  The idea that if we keep being understanding and sycophants to muslims they will eventually be nice to us- IS NOT NOR WILL IT EVER WORK.

IF the people of the UK have not "woken up" to the plight of Christians, in the Middle East, perhaps it is due to us being so focused on trying to retain our British identity, culture, mores, traditions, religion and language as we suffer the Muslim global project of colonization of Great Britain.