The death of Pope John Paul II, although expected, has nevertheless been strongly felt around the world. One of his main themes was the promotion of democracy and freedom. What I would like to do here is to use this opportunity to look at two other issues close to John Paul’s heart – the future of Arab Christianity in the Arab world, especially those groups – the Uniates and the Maronites – aligned with Rome, and the future of Muslim-Christian relations. Christian Arabs will play a role of course in the democratization of the Arab world, assuming their communities survive sufficiently to have any influence. The impact of Muslim-Christian relations on democracy in Africa is more certain.

CHRISTIANITY IN THE ARAB WORLD
Christianity in the Arab world is not an oft-discussed topic, but Christian Arab communities are alive, although, alas, not well. There are five Arab countries with significant Christian populations – Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Iraq. They include the Copts of Egypt, the Rome-aligned Maronites of Lebanon, several “Uniate” Churches (i.e. institutionally separate from the Roman Church but loyal to it), the Assyrians (mainly in Iraq) and other Eastern Rite Churches. For those who want an excellent overview of Christian groups in the Arab world, read this article from The Middle East Policy Council. It is the best summary I have seen of the subject (I plan to use it in the next revision of my book!).

Sadly, it must be said that Arab Christianity is dying. This has been a long, slow process, aided through the centuries by the pressures of conversion and the legal structures of Islamic law (i.e. Christians can convert to Islam but not vice versa, exclusion from the political elite, Muslim men may marry Christian women, but not vice versa, and their children become Muslims, and various other disabilities). But this process has been greatly accelerated by the modern era, based on two factors: ease of travel, and conflict. The civil war in Lebanon and the dreadful conditions in Iraq and among the Palestinians has led many to immigrate to the West, and as Christians with their greater economic development were more able to leave, the disparate impact has been huge. Only the Copts in Egypt have not seen their ranks shredded by out-migration.

THE FUTURE OF MUSLIM-CHRISTIAN RELATIONS
Reconciliation between Catholics and other Christians, as well as non-Christians, was one of the major themes of Pope John Paul’s ministry. This certainly extended to relations with Muslims, and it is almost certain that this Pope is the most respected in history among Muslims. Yet it is probably a fair statement that his efforts in this regard were more successful with regard to Jews than Muslims (see this Powerline post on Catholic-Jewish reconciliation). Muslim-Christian conflict is increasing, not decreasing, in Africa, the one continent where both religions are expanding at a rapid pace.

The importance of this brewing conflict is illustrated by the biography of Francis Arinze, a Nigerian Cardinal who is considered one of the leading candidates to become the next Pope. If so elected, he would be the first black African to succeed to the throne of Peter. Among other positions, Arinze has been in charge of Muslim-Catholic relations for the Vatican. As a sample of his thinking, see this article on interreligious dialogue. I have reproduced below an excerpted version of his biography (see this Reuters article for a full discussion):

FRANCIS ARINZE (NIGERIAN), BORN NOV 1, 1932

Cardinal Francis Arinze was for nearly 20 years the Vatican’s point man for relations with Islam, a key issue cardinals choosing the next pope will have to take into consideration… Arinze has been working at the Vatican since 1984, when Pope John Paul named him as head of the department that handles relations with all non-Christian religions except Judaism…

Aides say Arinze is sometimes seen walking to his office near the Vatican, clutching rosary beads while praying and smiling all the time. The cardinal, who changes the topic quickly when told he is a possible candidate for the papacy, believes the church should not seal itself off from the world… A theological conservative, Arinze has worked as a consultant to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican department that keeps an eye on doctrinal integrity…

Arinze has been the key player for the Vatican in its sometimes difficult relations with Muslims. While he was head of the Vatican department for non-Christians, Arinze sent a message every year to the world’s Muslims on the occasion of the fasting period Ramadan. Relations between the two religions became increasingly important to the Vatican in the 1980s and 1990s as Christianity and Islam often appeared to be on a collision course, particularly in Africa, and as Islamic fundamentalism spread.

Contributed by Kirk H. Sowell at Window on the Arab World, and More!