Iraqi Christians leaving

Submitted by Rebecca Moulds (United States), Aug 24, 2004 at 22:39

Dear Mr. Pipes,

Your article made me very depressed, mostly because I know it's true. I used to live in Moscow back in the early '90's, and met many Jewish people who were leaving by the thousands every week, many of them going to Israel, due to persecution in Russia. That mass exodus reminds me of this present one in Iraq. I also lived in Cairo until January of this year, and attended a church there in a leafy suburb(Ma'adi, do you know it?) Although the Egyptian authorities tried their best to protect the foreigners, I became very cautious and nervous after the Luxor massacres in 1997( we were in Cairo at the time) and felt that the few armed guards at the church entrance weren't enough to stop a potential terrorist. I'm afraid I became a nervous wreck and stopped going into downtown Cairo, especially at night and weekends. While most Americans are sitting comfortably, I am constantly looking around when in public places. Although it's not certain that this persecution of Christians will spread,(in the Middle East) there is enough apathy in the world to allow it. Perhaps it will happen here someday.

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".