This week’s cover of Newsweek magazine marks a turning point: the first time a mainstream national newsmagazine has so prominently featured the plight of Christians in the Arab world. The picture of a blood-stained image of Christ found in a bombed-out church building is shocking to American believers who take their freedom of worship for granted. The plight of Christians in the Middle East and Northern Africa has grown increasingly horrific over the past twenty years. Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, it has become genocidal. The Arab Spring has simultaneously produced the hope of popular sovereignty and the specter of religious violence, particularly against Christians. Yet, Western news outlets have largely ignored this story.
Two of my previous posts were devoted to this subject. In December of 2010, I wrote this post about how Christians celebrating Christ’s birth were literally risking their lives. And six weeks ago, I wrote this post about the rash of violence against Christians in the wake of the Arab Spring.
Here, I’d like to focus in on the central thesis offered by Newsweek reporter Ayaan Hirsi Ali. He writes,
