COMMENTARY: Religious persecution demands a vigorous response

c. 1997 Religion News Service (Rabbi Rudin is the national interreligious affairs director of the American Jewish Committee.) UNDATED _ I have a serious problem only Christians can solve. I want to know what the proper response is to reports that Christians _ yes, Christians _ are being persecuted in places like China, Saudi Arabia, […]

c. 1997 Religion News Service

(Rabbi Rudin is the national interreligious affairs director of the American Jewish Committee.)

UNDATED _ I have a serious problem only Christians can solve.


I want to know what the proper response is to reports that Christians _ yes, Christians _ are being persecuted in places like China, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan? According to some accounts, Christians are frequently forbidden to hold religious services, and are discriminated against in employment, education, and housing. And there are ominous reports of physical violence aimed at Christians, including crucifixions.

Some Jews wonder whether these accounts of human rights violations are true. And, if they are, how can we best combat this anti-Christian campaign? Historically, Jews know too well what it means to be victims of prejudice based on religious identity; the Holocaust being the worst example of such campaigns of murderous hatred. And unfortunately, Jews have learned from bitter experience that public action is often necessary to save the lives of the persecuted. Jews operate on the sacred principle that every Jew is responsible for the well-being and safety of other Jews throughout the world.

In recent years, American Jews led the campaign to rescue Soviet Jewry from communist oppression. Happily, the biblical cry”Let my people go!”was taken up by hundreds of thousands of Christians who joined the Jewish community in the successful effort to free Soviet Jews.

Hearing today’s reports of Christian persecution, Jews want to reach out in solidarity to their neighbors. But the divided reaction from some Christian leaders is puzzling.

Many evangelical Christians have vigorously pressed Congress, the White House and the State Department to become more aggressive in combatting the reported persecution of Christians. Indeed, a presidential commission has been appointed to investigate the matter, and legislation has been introduced in the House and Senate to economically punish countries that persecute Christians.

But at the same time, other Christian leaders _ some representing the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Council of Churches, for example _ have urged the U.S. government to move slowly. They argue that overly aggressive action could jeopardize the status of beleaguered Christians and urge a different response, one based upon strengthening contacts with their fellow Christians in lands of tension and bigotry. They believe a campaign of”quiet diplomacy”is more effective than presidential panels and congressional legislation.

American Jews heard both these arguments during the Soviet Jewry struggle. Some leaders cautioned that public criticism of the Soviet Union by the Jewish community would be”counter-productive.”The big bad Russian bear must not be annoyed, we were told, lest it become even more anti-Jewish.

But other leaders and many Soviet Jews themselves gave the opposite advice. They welcomed the giant rallies of support held in Washington, New York, and other major cities. They asserted that public marches, demonstrations, and petitions brought strong pressure to bear on the U.S.S.R. In addition, congressional legislation and presidential support were also forceful weapons in the battle for Soviet Jews.

Now, a similar debate is occuring within the Christian community, a debate that is new for most Christians. After all, in many parts of the world, Christians are the dominant religious majority. While they may frequently fight with each other, as in the 17th century during Europe’s Thirty Years War, Christians are not usually the victims of religious persecution themselves.


As the intraChristian debate heats up, let me offer some unsolicited advice based on the Jewish experience: Always remember that religious minorities living amidst hatred and discrimination tend to underplay the severity of their own situation lest the ruling authorities be offended. As a result,”outside”accounts of religious persecution generally prove to be both true and worse than first imagined.

In the face of widespread religious persecution,”quiet diplomacy”has severe limitations. Ultimately, repeated public exposure of the persecutors becomes necessary along with economic and political pressure. Finally, members of any persecuted minority must lead the charge against their persecutors. Others can not do it for them.

Only Martin Luther King Jr. could become the most prominent civil rights leader. Only Natan Sharansky could become a leader of the Soviet Jewry struggle. And only a Christian can effectively lead the battle against Christian persecution.

I hope my Christian friends will soon get their act together so we can work together to eradicate religious persecution. I’m waiting for their call.

END RUDIN

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