FORCING THE CONTRADICTIONS:

Christian and Muslim relations in the Mideast have a long history of cooperation, and the pan-Arab nationalist movement has always included Christian intellectuals, writers, poets, political leaders and professionals of all kinds. Faraa noted that in the 1970s her mother studied at the American University in Beirut, one of several leading institutes of higher education in the Middle East founded by Western Christian missionaries.

But these bonds have been strained in recent years by the rise of Islamic radical movements, which have sometimes attempted to create schisms within the Arab world. Radical Islamists discourage their followers from congratulating their Arab Christian neighbors celebrating Christmas or Easter. When Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by Israeli snipers in May of 2022, some cautioned devout Muslims not to call for mercy on her soul.

But Palestinians who had watched Abu Akleh on Al Jazeera for years, many of whom had no idea she was Christian, were outraged when mourners trying to carry her Palestinian flag-draped coffin to the Christian cemetery in Jerusalem's Old City were disrupted by Israeli police. 

The Israeli action in Gaza has now further cemented the bond between Arab Christians and Muslims. Arab Christians, meanwhile, feel increasingly alienated from their fellow Christians in the West, not least by the United States' whole-hearted support of Israel from the start of the war. A statement by 12 Palestinian Christian institutions calling on Christian leaders to denounce the violence against Palestinian civilians has since garnered more than 15,600 signatures.

"We deeply mourn the death and suffering of all people because it is our firm conviction that all humans are made in God's image. We are also profoundly troubled when the name of God is invoked to promote violence and religious national ideologies," the statement read.

The statement concludes, "We refuse to give in, even when our siblings abandon us. We are steadfast in our hope, resilient in our witness, and continue to be committed to the gospel of faith, hope, and love, in the face of tyranny and darkness.

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