Since the so-called "Arab Spring," there has been a new Middle East Christian leadership that has emerged with policies that are more coherent, intellectual, and courageous in challenging the status quo and bringing into the open the plight of the Middle East Christians in their countries. This positive leadership has brought their various denominations together and has given new confidence to the local Christians in their countries because they all face similar challenges. The plight of the Middle East Christians has also brought The Vatican and Arab and Muslim leaders to the understanding that emptying the Middle East of Christians and the rise of religious fundamentalism does not bode well for their governments or religion, and have initiated national and international conferences in the Middle East and abroad. Even westernized Muslim leaders, such as Baroness Sayeeda Warsi (the British government minister for faith and the first Muslim member of British cabinet), called on western governments to do more to protect besieged Christian minorities across the world, particularly in the Holy Land where they are now seen as outsiders. According to her, "when the majority religion is offended or aggrieved, the local Christian community is fair game, and...somehow collective punishment can be meted out against these communities...[even] in the very places that gave rise to Christianity." However, European and American leaders seem to have reversed roles regarding the preservation of Middle East Christianity, Christians, their rights, and their existence. While President Vladimir Putin is publicly demanding the safeguard of Syrian and Middle East Christians, the American government is seen as doing the opposite by cooperating with politically-religious-minded political groups, such as in Egypt, the Syrian opposition, or by turning a blind eye to Iraqi Christians' dilemma after invading Iraq. Pope Francis, like his predecessors, has been eloquent and outspoken regarding the Middle East Christians. Unfortunately, his message has been dimmed by the western press, who has been more interested in his "liberal" view than in his efforts to preserve the Middle East Christians. Pope Francis has invoked "everyone's right to a dignified life and to freely profess their faith [and to] be respected" with similar rights as Muslims enjoy in the west. The Jewish and Muslim communities, when faced with similar challenges, created organizations such as the World Jewish Congress or the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. The Middle East Christians should at a minimum create a similar organization, which proved successful for the Jewish and Muslim communities, in order to internationalize the Middle East Christians' plights and work with like-minded. This organization should have a political, social, and economical agenda, speak with one voice, and take action proactively and reactively. Such an organization should and will have the backing of members of the United Nations and their leadership who believe in the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Middle East Christians have been the victims of recurring genocides in the past, whether with the Armenians, Assyrians, Syrians, Chaldeans, or others. If we turn a blind eye, history will condemn us. It is difficult to understand why America and other western governments are not responding to these genocides in a similar manner as they did to the Yugoslavia/Sarajevo events in the 1990s, where the Muslim community was threatened, by arising the world's conscience and interfering militarily. The present Middle East Christians' situation is similar, if not worse. The Middle East Christians believe such genocides must be reported to the United Nations Security Council and International Criminal Court at The Hague. The time has come for the world to recognize that a Middle East without Christians or a Holy Land without Christianity is not in anybody's interest politically, religiously, or socially.

Ramsay F. Dass is president of the American Middle East Christians Congress.