Monopoly is an old game in the Middle East
Reader comment on item: Bethlehem Christians Speak Out

Submitted by David (United States), May 28, 2007 at 08:07

With rare exception, where the population has taken on a very high predominance of one group or another, such as in virtually every Arab country, one will see that violence and intimidation was used to achieve that prominence. But, this was true in the Christian world as well, where you saw an overwhelming predominance of Catholics, etc. It might be added that generally where Jews live, other minorities will settle because of a sense that their rights will generally be respected. Even Jordanian homosexuals have sought asylum in Israel to escape the homophobia of Jordan.

There may be exceptions, aside from Israel.

I handled immigration cases from many Arab countries and once the Jews were expelled, that left other minorities, thus the Copts in Egypt have suffered from persecution as have others who were different in various countries, until there is a homogeneity.

The same inexorable process has happened between the Shias and Sunnis, and even on a micro level, the same has taken place on an inter-tribe basis if one can describe that as the Mohajir situation in Pakistan.

In short, there is nothing new about Muslim intolerance, whether it is practiced in Saudi Arabia, Bethlehem or Beirut. I see it as a plague and it will last as long as those who are non-Muslim fail to come to grip with extreme danger that Islam poses to the World.

But I do want to add that the same process was practiced in Europe to bring a single religion such as Catholicism to predominate, e.g. from Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Russia, etc. In short, we find that those and other countries had long histories of anti-semitism, murder, pogroms and violence, which led to a single overwhelmingly powerful religion. Today, that single overwhelmingly powerful religious population has been beset by rot and these countries are easy prey to self-hatred, guilt and Moslem infiltration. In short, they are getting what they historically richly deserve.

David

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