The persecution of Christians in the Middle East

If the United States seeks to make its objections clear to allied nations, it must open a quiet dialogue and pressure them to correct their records on religious freedom.

At the international level, any progress toward ensuring the protection of religious freedom and reducing discrimination against and persecution of religious minorities has been hampered by the failure of the United Nations.

The UN Security Council is overly politicized, and a resolution to stop the persecution of minorities is rarely passed; even then, there is no enforcement mechanism over which all Security Council members agree upon. The UN General Assembly is less effective, as any resolution passed is non-binding and largely ignored by its own members.

The strategies that have been enumerated for addressing religious persecution of minorities in the Middle East do not constitute a silver bullet that will bring a halt to discrimination and abuse. It is a tragedy for the world when any group of persons – whether they be Christians, Muslims, Yazidis, or Druze – are denied their human dignity and the basic human freedom to believe and worship as they please.

The freedom of religion and the dignity of each and every individual will be fully restored when those who now are consumed with hatred for the other, recall and take to heart the words of Matthew 25:40: "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."