Despite years of valiant effort, attempts by Americans from both the left and the right to strengthen the indigenous Christian communities of the Near East have fallen short of expectations. The international religious-freedom movement, a fusion of both camps, has had important successes on this front, but political instability and sectarian violence have left the region’s minorities weaker than ever before. Devastating wars in Iraq and Syria have harmed Muslims and Christians alike, but Christians, owing to their small footprint and lack of political power, have felt their effects disproportionately.
The problem isn’t due to a lack of goodwill or righteous intent. It’s a problem of approach. The time has come to forge a new international religious-freedom strategy, one that is less reliant on American power, more organic to the Near East, and more street-smart about changing realities.
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