Is a sovereign Christian state in the Middle East the answer to ISIS violence?
Is a sovereign Christian state in the Middle East the answer to ISIS violence? –
(Christian Daily) – Activists are currently debating whether the creation of a sovereign Christian state in the Middle East could help stop the genocide being conducted against Christians in the region.
In partnership with In Defense of Christians (IDC), the Philos Project recently gathered in Washington, D.C. to raise awareness about the genocidal acts that ISIS is committing against Christians. The two groups discussed the solid steps that American Christians can take to stop the ISIS violence against their Middle Eastern counterparts, Christian Broadcasting Network details.
For many advocates, the only way to protect the believers in the Middle East is to establish a homeland where they can go, and this is what Philos and other organizations are driving at.
“Christians in the Middle East will only be safe when they have a protected homeland, a foundation on which to build their shattered society,” said Philos Project president Robert Nicholson during the discussion.
The idea to create a sovereign Christian state in Iraq’s Nineveh Plains has been met with some criticism. Nevertheless, Nicholson cited the modern examples of Israel, Iraqi Kurdistan, and Armenia to show that minority groups are able to survive and thrive by living in a secured territory.
“History has shown us various examples of this concept working in practice, of minority peoples under existential threat surviving and thriving by securing territory: Israel, Armenia, Iraqi Kurdistan, even (to a far less satisfactory degree) Native American reservations in the U.S.,” Nicholson explained.
In an interview posted on Front Page Mag in March last year, International Christian Union (ICU) president Joseph Hakim said the Christian militias are no match for the heavy arms and fighters of ISIS. Because of this, the ICU has asked the international community to send troops to protect the Christians from the terrorists and demanded that Turkey and Qatar stop financing the militant group.