Bullying against Arab evangelicals who tried to establish a dialogue with their global counterparts.
By Daoud Kuttab
A strange thing happened after a group of Arab evangelical leaders put out a statement calling for dialogue with the global church. The August 5th statement came as a result of the continued gruesome Israeli assault on the Palestinians of Gaza in part aided through the silence and in many cases the support of some evangelical Christians in the West.
The attacks have largely emanated from studios run by US Christian organizations who gave space and permission (whether knowingly or not) for a campaign of insults and vicious attacks. The insults against men of God who signed the document were followed up by a campaign of innuendos, character assassinations, and attempts to cause the defunding of Church organizations in the Middle East.
Despite the softly worded biblical backed and reconciliatory message, the bulk of the attacks were focused on one single statement and later morphed into other unrelated issues:
We unequivocally reject all forms of violence against civilians to achieve justice (Jeremiah 22:3; Romans 3:15–18), and strongly condemn all religious, political, and social ideologies that hinder a lasting peace including antisemitism2, islamophobia3, and Christian Zionism4.
Using a Christian television platform, the attackers were upset by the signatories opposing Islamophobia. Mistakenly understanding the meaning of the term, he said that it was poison that was intentionally stuck within the rest of the statement claiming that this was the true intention of the Arab Christian leaders who are appeasing Islam and have never condemned Islamic radicalism and terrorism.
Of course, this was not true, but the humble Arab leaders added the official definition of the term to explain to the audience their position. They also insisted that they are against radical and violent Islam but that as followers of Jesus, they are ordered to love all, including our enemies.
In one television sermon the head of the largest evangelical church in Egypt Rev. Sameh Maurice argued that while Christian believers are opposed to the faith of other religions, they are ordered to love everyone including Jews and Muslims. He said that Christians have the right to convert to Islam but equally this right should be awarded to anyone wanting to become a Christian. The attackers used the first part of his message and ignored the other part.
A major attack targeted Palestinian Christians for daring to suggest a Palestinian theology with a distortion of what it is and an attempt to ostracize them as being heretics simply because they challenged the prevailing Christian Zionist biblical interpretation that justified violence against Palestinians. One Arab evangelical explained that we are opposed to any biblical interpretation that justifies acts that are not biblical. Following the calls of Jesus to be peacemakers and the need to feed the hungry and visit the prisoners goes against the justification of the Israeli policy of starvation and the destruction of houses of faith, hospitals, schools, and water purification systems.
Yet the attacks continued and morphed into Christian Zionism with Arab Christian Zionists anchor saying that he is a Zionist. He trashed Palestinian theology with personal attacks on pastors and fellow believers who insist that the Bible should not be used to justify the killing of innocent Palestinians, including Palestinian Christians.
Still, the attacks continued and widened. In some cases, some far-right-wing Egyptian American Christians joined in trashing fellow Christians.
This unprecedented bullying has become so embarrassing that even television managers in the US were embarrassed when approached by fellow Christian evangelical leaders.
The intimidation and harassment continued with the TV anchor in the US pulling out an older sermon of Rev Sameh Maurice and tweeting it with mentions to all major US evangelicals along with an accusation that the Egyptian pastor had used antisemitic troops in one of his sermons when the pastor had used a quote from the Apostle Paul.
It is not clear what the end game of this vicious attack is. It has exposed several television anchors from America who preach to the Arab world for being out of step with their own audience and with the global church and has created a schism between Arab American Christians and their brethren in the Arab world.
Many in the global church have reacted positively to the August 5th message and have agreed to initiate dialogue with fellow Arab evangelicals. Still, the malicious attacks and insults have not stopped causing friction and division with many leaders preferring to stay out of the sunlight even though all the attacks are coming from one direction.
But this chilling effect is a sad reflection on some of the Christian evangelicals who like their largely republican counterparts in the US have become so involved in destructive politics using the bible that they have alienated many and have caused actual harm to the body of Christ. The sad part is that the majority of the pastors and people have been traumatized and have decided not to say anything for fear of the bullying effects of this highly subsidized group of US-based tv anchors.
Arab Evangelicals behind the important call for dialogue insist that the main objective of the August 5th statement is “to unite with our brothers and sisters in Christ around the globe in preserving the pure gospel of Christ, free from geopolitical entanglements, ensuring that its message of love, peace, unity, and reconciliation remains central to our mission.“
To ensure the clarity and integrity of their message they have said that they “wish to clarify several key points: According to the United Nations’ definition, “Islamophobia” refers to the hatred, fear, and discrimination against individuals solely because they are Muslims. We used this term solely in this context, and we unequivocally reject any form of hatred toward any group of people, following the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ and His Word (John 3:16; Matthew 5:43–44).
In addition, they have unequivocally denounced all violence against civilians, including the recent events in and around Gaza, recognizing the sanctity of every human life. This condemnation extends to all groups that resort to violence against innocent lives to achieve their ends (Matthew 26:52; Romans 12:17).
Along with the global community, they have told everyone that they recognize all UN member states as well as support the position of the overwhelming countries of the world in advocating a peaceful two-state solution.
While there might be various end-times theological interpretations, they have preferred to avoid any ideology discussing that uses biblical texts or provides theological justifications for violence or expansion that causes suffering and displacement.
At the same time, the Arab evangelical authors say that “they reject any ideology that denies the Palestinian people their humanity, dignity, and basic rights. We offer these clarifications to prevent distortions or misunderstandings and invite dialogue as we work together to promote the gospel of peace in our region.”
—
