Christianity in North Africa and West Asia 9781474428064

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Christianity in North Africa and West Asia

Editorial Team

Editors

Kenneth R. Ross Mariz Tadros Todd M. Johnson

Associate Editor

Albert W. Hickman

Managing Editor

Katherine Hampson

Editorial Advisory Board John Eibner Anthony O’Mahony Elizabeth Prodromou George Sabra Hratch Tchilingirian

Demographic Profile

Editor: Gina A. Zurlo Data Analyst: Peter F. Crossing Layout and Design: Justin Long Cartography: Bryan Nicholson

Edinbu rgh Companions to Global Chr isti anit y

Christianity in North Africa and West Asia Edited by

Kenneth R. Ross, Mariz Tadros and Todd M. Johnson

Edinburgh University Press is one of the leading university presses in the UK. We publish academic books and journals in our selected subject areas across the humanities and social sciences, combining cutting-edge scholarship with high editorial and production values to produce academic works of lasting importance. For more information visit our website: edinburghuniversitypress.com © editorial matter and organisation Kenneth R. Ross, Mariz Tadros and Todd M. Johnson, 2018 © the chapters their several authors, 2018 Edinburgh University Press Ltd The Tun – Holyrood Road 12 (2f) Jackson’s Entry Edinburgh EH8 8PJ Typeset in Palatino and Myriad by R. J. Footring Ltd, Derby, UK, and printed and bound in Malta by Melita Press A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978 1 4744 2805 7 (hardback) ISBN 978 1 4744 2806 4 (webready PDF) ISBN 978 1 4744 2807 1 (epub) The right of the contributors to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and the Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003 (SI No. 2498).

Contents

Series Preface viii Volume Preface x Contributorsxii

Introduction

A Demographic Profile of Christianity in North Africa and West Asia Gina A. Zurlo Christianity in North Africa and West Asia Mariz Tadros

Countries

3 15

Morocco and Western Sahara Jack Wald

41

Algeria and Tunisia Katia Boissevain

45

Libya52 Akram Habib Sudan56 John Eibner Egypt68 Samuel Tadros Cyprus80 Anastasia Yiangou Turkey92 Hratch Tchilingirian and Ed Alden Syria102 Razek Siriani Lebanon  Charles Chartouni

114

vi  Contents Israel127 David Neuhaus sj Palestine140 Bernard Sabella Jordan152 Paolo Maggiolini and Iyad Twal Iraq164 Herman G. B. Teule The Gulf: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Yemen Hrayr Jebejian

177

Armenia and Karabakh Hratch Tchilingirian

190

Georgia and Azerbaijan Silvia Serrano

202

Major Christian Traditions

Anglicans219 Yazid Said Independents227 Duane Alexander Miller Eastern Orthodox Georges Tamer

235

Oriental Orthodox Aho Shemunkasho

247

Protestants259 Mitri Raheb Catholics271 Anthony O’Mahony Evangelicals285 Wafik Wahba Pentecostals/Charismatics293 Eric N. Newberg

Contents  vii

Key Themes

Faith and Culture Elizabeth Monier

303

Worship and Spirituality Rima Nasrallah

313

Theology325 George F. Sabra Social and Political Context Mark Farha

335

Mission and Evangelism Heather J. Sharkey

347

Gender360 Donna Rizk Religious Freedom Ewelina Ochab

371

Inter-religious Relations Najib George Awad

383

Monastic Movements and Spirituality Anna Poujeau

394

Ecclesiology405 Gabriel Hachem Christian Media Sara Afshari

417

Displaced Populations Kristian Girling

427

Conclusion

The Future of Christianity in North Africa and West Asia Mariz Tadros

Appendices

Christianity by Country Methodology and Sources of Christian and Religious Affiliation Todd M. Johnson and Gina A. Zurlo

441

455 462

Index479

Series Preface

While a number of compendia have recently been produced on the study of worldwide Christianity, the distinctive quality of this series arises from its examination of global Christianity through a combination of reliable demographic information and original interpretative essays by indigenous scholars and practitioners. This approach was successfully pioneered by the Atlas of Global Christianity 1910–2010, published by Edinburgh University Press on the occasion of the centenary of the epoch-making Edinburgh 1910 World Missionary Conference. Using the same methodology, the Edinburgh Companions to Global Christianity take the analysis to a deeper level of detail and explore the context of the twenty-first century. The series considers the presence of Christianity on a continent-by-continent basis worldwide. Covering every country in the world, it maps patterns of growth and/or decline and examines current trends. The aim of the series is to comprehensively map worldwide Christianity and to describe it in its entirety. Country-specific studies are offered, all the major Christian traditions are analysed and current regional and continental trends are examined. Each volume is devoted to a continent or sub-continent, following the United Nations classifications. Through a combination of maps, tables, charts and graphs, each of the successive volumes presents a comprehensive demographic analysis of Christianity in the relevant area. Commentary and interpretation are provided by essays on key topics, each written by an expert in the field, normally an indigenous scholar. By the use of these various tools each volume provides an accurate, objective and incisive analysis of the presence of Christian faith in the relevant area. The projected volumes in the series are: 1. Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa 2. Christianity in North Africa and West Asia 3. Christianity in South and Central Asia 4. Christianity in East and Southeast Asia 5. Christianity in the Pacific 6. Christianity in Latin America 7. Christianity in North America 8. Christianity in Western and Northern Europe

Series Preface  ix



 9. Christianity in Eastern and Southern Europe 10. Compact Atlas of Global Christianity As series editors, we rely heavily on the regional expertise of the dedicated third editor who joins us for each volume. Furthermore, each volume has its own editorial advisory board, made up of senior scholars with authoritative knowledge of the field in question. We work together to define the essay topics for the volume, arrange for compilation of the required demographic data, recruit the authors of the essays and edit their work. Statistical and demographic information is drawn from the highly regarded World Christian Database maintained by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (South Hamilton, MA, USA) and published by Brill. For each volume, a team of 35–40 authors will be recruited to write the essays, and it is ultimately upon their scholarship and commitment that we depend in order to create an original and authoritative work of reference. Each volume in the series will be, we hope, a significant book in its own right and a contribution to the study of Christianity in the region in question. At the same time, each is a constituent part of a greater whole – the 10-volume series, which aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of global Christianity that will be groundbreaking in its demographic quality and analytical range. Our hope is that the Companions will be of service to anyone seeking a fuller understanding of the worldwide presence of the Christian faith. Kenneth R. Ross and Todd M. Johnson Series Editors

Volume Preface

This region, North Africa and West Asia, is where Christianity began, nearly 2,000 years ago. Many Christian communities today trace their histories back over the entire period. At the same time, there is no region in the world where Christians are more at risk of extinction, as civil wars, persecution and economic distress have resulted in a massive exodus of the Christian population. This volume documents that exodus while it is underway. The future of Christianity in the region is highly uncertain. At the same time, there is evidence of vitality and renewal. The picture is complex and multifaceted, defying generalisation and simplification. What is clear is that there is much at stake for Christians in this region, and much at stake for the region as the future of Christianity hangs in the balance. In pursuit of understanding, this volume offers four angles of analysis. The first is demographic, using the methodology of the highly successful Atlas of Global Christianity (Edinburgh University Press, 2009) to present accurate statistical information in an attractive, user-friendly format. Maps and charts depict the status of Christianity regionally and in terms of the principal church traditions. As stated above, this profile is one of exodus and decline, although, since the 1970s, the Gulf states have welcomed large numbers of guest workers, many from largely Christian countries. The second angle of analysis is at the country level. Account is taken of the presence and influence of Christianity in each of 25 settings in North Africa and West Asia. Scholars who are either indigenous or have long experience of the region have contributed interpretative essays that offer a ‘critical insider’ perspective on the way in which Christianity is finding expression in their context. Most countries are the subject of a dedicated essay, while, in a few cases, an essay covers neighbouring countries with significant affinity. Thirdly, Christianity in North Africa and West Asia is considered in terms of its principal ecclesial forms or traditions. Five types of church are considered: Orthodox (both ‘Eastern’ and ‘Oriental’), Catholic, Protestant, Anglican and Independent. In addition, the Evangelical and Pentecostal/ Charismatic movements, which cut across ecclesial affiliation, are examined. Fourthly, selected themes are considered. Eight of these run right through the entire Edinburgh Companions series: faith and culture, worship and spirituality, theology, social and political context, mission and evangelism,



Volume Preface  xi

gender, religious freedom and inter-religious relations. A further four have been selected specifically for this volume on account of their salience in the context of North Africa and West Asia: monastic movements and spirituality, ecclesiology, Christian media and displaced populations. Each of these themes is examined on a region-wide basis, deepening our understanding of features that are definitive for Christianity in this part of the world. As is evident from the short bibliography offered at the end of each essay, this book rests on the body of scholarship that has illuminated our understanding of North African and West Asian Christianity, particularly the burgeoning literature of the past 25 years. Besides many detailed local studies, much insight has been derived from such attempts at overall analysis as Habib Badr et al.’s Christianity: A History in the Middle East (World Council of Churches, 2005), Betty Jane Bailey’s Who Are the Christians in the Middle East? (Eerdmans, 2010), Andrea Pacini’s Christian Communities in the Arab Middle East: The Challenge of the Future (Clarendon Press, 1998), Anthony O’Mahony and Emma Loosley’s Eastern Christianity in the Modern Middle East (Routledge, 2010), Otto Meinardus’s Two Thousand Years of Coptic Christianity (American University in Cairo Press, 1999) and Paul S. Rowe et al.’s Christians and the Middle East Conflict (Routledge, 2014). While resting on the preceding scholarship, this volume breaks new ground through its reliable demographic analysis, its contemporary focus, the indigenous authorship of its essays and the originality of the analyses. The essay authors employ a variety of disciplinary approaches – historical, theological, sociological, missiological, anthropological – as appropriate to their topics. Taken together, the volume offers a deeply textured and highly authoritative account of Christianity in North Africa and West Asia, one that will reward the attention of any who wish to deepen their knowledge of this subject. Kenneth R. Ross Mariz Tadros Todd M. Johnson August 2017

Contributors

Sara Afshari is a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh in the field of media, religion and culture. She is also co-founder and former Executive Director of SAT-7 PARS, a Christian television station for the Persian/Farsispeaking world. Christian Media Ed Alden has served in Central Asia for the last 17 years, conducting research on Christianity in the region. He is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, USA. Turkey Najib George Awad is a theologian and poet originally from Syria. He is Associate Professor of Christian Theology and Director of the International PhD Program at Hartford Seminary, Connecticut, USA. Inter-religious Relations Katia Boissevain is a researcher in anthropology at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in Aix-en-Provence, France. Her field of competence is religious anthropology of the Maghreb. She is the author of Sainte parmi les saints: Sayyda Mannubiya (Institut de recherche sur le Maghreb contemporain, 2007) and is currently co-editor of the journal L’Année du Maghreb. Algeria and Tunisia Charles Chartouni is Professor of Sociology and Politics at Lebanese University and St Joseph University and has taught at universities in Europe and America as well as in his native Lebanon. He was active as a politician and negotiator during the Lebanese civil war (1975–90) and has published extensively on the politics of difference and conflict resolution. Lebanon John Eibner is a managing director of Christian Solidarity International (CSI), with special responsibility for the Middle East and North Africa. He

Contributors  xiii

has undertaken many human rights fact-finding missions to Sudan since 1992. Sudan Mark Farha is Assistant Professor of Politics and International Relations at Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, where he teaches in Arabic. He has written extensively on Lebanon and the Middle East, including The Resisted Rise and Fall of the Secular State in Lebanon (Cambridge University Press, 2018). Social and Political Context Kristian Girling is a postdoctoral research fellow at the School of Theology and Ministry, Boston College, USA. He completed his doctoral studies on the Chaldean Catholic community at the Centre for Eastern Christianity, Heythrop College, University of London, UK, in 2016. Displaced Populations Akram Habib is a veteran development manager and researcher with 20 years’ work experience in the Middle East and is active in Christian media. Libya Gabriel Hachem is a professor at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK) in Lebanon as well as editor-in-chief of the journal Proche Orient Chrétien. He has been a member of the International Theological Commission for the Roman Catholic Church since 2014 and has authored many books and articles on Eastern Christianity, ecumenism, ecclesiology and theological liturgy. Ecclesiology Hrayr Jebejian is General Secretary of the Bible Society in the Gulf. He is the author of The Armenian’s Path for Struggle and Existence (in Armenian). A recipient of the Ambassador of the Motherland Medal from the Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia, Dr Jebejian lives in Nicosia, Cyprus, with his wife and two children. The Gulf: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Yemen Todd M. Johnson is Associate Professor of Global Christianity and Director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-­ Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, USA.

xiv  Contributors He is also Visiting Research Fellow at Boston University’s Institute for Culture, Religion and World Affairs, leading a research project on inter­ national religious demography. Methodology and Sources of Christian and Religious Affiliation Paolo Maggiolini is Research Fellow in Political and Social Transformations in the Arab World (Arab-Trans) for the Mediterranean and Middle East Programme and Research Assistant in History and Institutions of Asia at the Catholic University of Milan, Italy. He is the author of Arabi Cristiani di Transgiordania. Spazi politici e cultura tribale (1841–1922) [Arab Christians of Transjordan: Political Spaces and Tribal Culture (1841–1922)] (Franco Angeli, 2011). Jordan Duane Alexander Miller is Lecturer in Theology and Church History at Nazareth Evangelical Theological Seminary and adjunct faculty at Saint Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, USA. He is the author of Living Among the Breakage: Contextual Theology-making and ex-Muslim Christians (Pickwick, 2016) as well as numerous articles on religious conversion to Christianity in the Middle East. Independents Elizabeth Monier is a Leverhulme Fellow in Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Cambridge, UK. She works on the contemporary history of the Arab world, focusing on minorities, sectarianism and identity. Faith and Culture Rima Nasrallah is Assistant Professor of Practical Theology at the Near East School of Theology, Beirut, Lebanon. Her specialty is in liturgical-­ ritual studies, with a focus on everyday practices in the East. Worship and Spirituality David Neuhaus sj is a Roman Catholic priest and serves as Latin Patriarchal Vicar, responsible for Hebrew-speaking and migrant Catholics in Israel. He teaches biblical studies at various institutions in the Holy Land and is the author of numerous books and articles. Israel Eric N. Newberg is Professor of Theological and Historical Studies at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. An ordained pastor of the

Contributors  xv

Evangelical Covenant Church, he is the author of The Pentecostal Mission in Palestine: The Legacy of Pentecostal Zionism (Wipf and Stock, 2012). Pentecostals/Charismatics Ewelina Ochab is a PhD candidate in international law and human rights and a legal researcher for ADF International. She is the author of Never Again: Legal Responses to a Broken Promise in the Middle East (Kairos, 2016). Religious Freedom Anthony O’Mahony is Reader in the History of Christianity at Heythrop College at the University of London, UK. He was founding director of Heythrop’s Centre for Christianity and Interreligious Dialogue and now serves as director of Heythrop’s Centre for Eastern Christianity. His numerous publications include Christianity in the Middle East: Studies in Modern History, Politics and Theology (Melisende, 2007). Catholics Anna Poujeau is a social anthropologist and researcher at the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France. She is conducting research on Christian community and monasticism in Syria. Monastic Movements and Spirituality Mitri Raheb is President of Dar al-Kalima University College of Arts and Culture in Bethlehem, Palestine. A senior pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem, he is the most widely published Palestinian theologian to date. His latest book is entitled Faith in the Face of Empire: The Bible through Palestinian Eyes (Orbis, 2014). Protestants Donna Rizk holds two master’s degrees in theological studies, from Holy Cross Orthodox School of Theology and the University of Oxford, and is a PhD candidate in early patristics at King’s College London, UK. Her research interests include gender in the Orthodox Church, Armenian and Coptic studies and the history of Christianity. Gender Bernard Sabella is a native of Jerusalem and is Associate Professor of Sociology at al-Quds University in the master’s degree programme at the Centre for Jerusalem Studies. His academic interests are focused on Palestinian Christians and questions of identity and other challenges,

xvi  Contributors including emigration. In 2006 he was elected to the Jerusalem Christian quota seat in the Palestinian Legislative Council (Parliament). Palestine George F. Sabra is President and Professor of Systematic Theology at the Near East School of Theology in Beirut, Lebanon. He is the author of Thomas Aquinas’ Vision of the Church: Fundamentals of an Ecumenical Ecclesiology (Matthias-Grünewald-Verlag, 1987) as well as other books in Arabic, and also editor of the Near East School of Theology Theological Review. Theology Yazid Said is a Palestinian-born Israeli citizen and an Anglican priest. He is Lecturer in Islam at Liverpool Hope University, UK, where his research is focused on Muslim–Christian relations and medieval Muslim political and legal thought. He is the author of Ghazali’s Politics in Context (Routledge, 2017). Anglicans Silvia Serrano is Associate Professor in Political Science at the Université d’Auvergne and researcher at the Centre d’études des mondes russe, caucasien et centre européen (Cercec) at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris, France. Her research focuses on the political sociology of the post-Soviet Caucasus. She is the author of Géorgie: Sortie d’empire (CNRS Editions, 2007) as well as numerous articles on the Caucasus. Georgia and Azerbaijan Heather J. Sharkey is an associate professor in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Pennsylvania, USA. Her books include American Evangelicals in Egypt: Missionary Encounters in an Age of Empire (Princeton University Press, 2015) and A History of Muslims, Christians, and Jews in the Middle East (Cambridge University Press, 2017). Mission and Evangelism Aho Shemunkasho is a Professor for Syriac Theology and director of the MA in Syriac Theology at the University of Salzburg, Austria. He comes originally from Turabdin in south-east Turkey and is a sub-deacon in the Syriac Orthodox Church. Oriental Orthodox

Contributors  xvii

Razek Siriani is a lay deacon in the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch, a researcher in Christianity of the East, a former director of education and international ecumenical relations at the Middle East Council of Churches and a former director of Relief Humanitarian Program for Refugees. He is originally from Syria and has translated Towards the One Faith into Arabic. Syria Mariz Tadros is Professor of Politics and Development at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK, where she co-leads the Power and Popular Politics Cluster. She is the author of Copts at the Crossroads: The Challenges of Building Inclusive Democracy in Egypt (American University in Cairo Press, 2013). Her research interests include religion in development, gender and development, political Islam, democratisation, unruly politics and security. Introduction; Conclusion Samuel Tadros is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution and a professorial lecturer at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, USA. He is the author of Motherland Lost: The Egyptian and Coptic Quest for Modernity (Hoover Institution Press, 2013). Egypt Georges Tamer is Professor of Oriental and Islamic Studies, Leader of the Centre for Euro-Oriental Studies and Director of the project Key Concepts in Interreligious Dialogue: Judaism, Christianity and Islam (KCID) at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany. He represents the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East in the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches and has published widely in the fields of Arabic, Islamic and inter-religious studies. Eastern Orthodox Hratch Tchilingirian is an associate faculty member of the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, UK. A sociologist by training, he has published many studies and articles on Armenian Christianity and religion over the last two decades. Turkey; Armenia and Karabakh Herman G. B. Teule is professor emeritus at Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands, and University of Louvain, Belgium. Formerly he was

xviii  Contributors Head of the Institute of Eastern Christian Studies and has published extensively on the history and present-day situation of Middle Eastern Christianity, especially in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and eastern Turkey. Iraq Iyad Twal is a Jordanian Catholic priest in the Latin Patriarchate Jerusalem; Chairperson of the Department of Religious Studies Bethlehem University; Professor of Philosophy, Dean of the Faculty Theology and Philosophy at the Latin Seminary, Beit Jala; and pastor Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in the Bethlehem area. Jordan

of at of of

Wafik Wahba is Associate Professor of Global Christianity at Tyndale University and Seminary in Toronto, Canada. He has taught theology and topics on global Christianity in the USA, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and South America and is author of several books and articles as well as a speaker at numerous international Christian conferences. Evangelicals Jack Wald has been pastor of Rabat International Church for 17 years. He received his DMin from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in 2015 and has published a book derived from his thesis, A Guide to International Church Ministry: Pastoring a Parade (Barton-Veerman, 2016). Morocco and Western Sahara Anastasia Yiangou received her PhD from the University of London and is a historian of modern Cyprus. She is the author of Cyprus in World War II: Politics and Conflict in the Eastern Mediterranean (I. B. Tauris, 2010) and the co-editor of The Greeks and the British in the Levant, 1800–1960s: Between Empires and Nations (Routledge, 2016). Cyprus Gina A. Zurlo received her PhD from Boston University and is Assistant Director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-­ Conwell Theological Seminary (South Hamilton, Massachusetts, USA). She is co-editor of the World Christian Database (Brill) and associate editor of the World Religion Database (Brill). A Demographic Profile of Christianity in North Africa and West Asia; Methodology and Sources of Christian and Religious Affiliation

Introduction

A Demographic Profile of Christianity in North Africa and West Asia Gina A. Zurlo Majority Religion by Province, 2015

MAJORITY RELIGION Christians

10–49% 50–74% 75–100%

Jews

10–49% 50–74% 75–100%

Muslims

10–49% 50–74% 75–100%

Although Christianity has been extant in the North Africa and West Asia regions for 2000 years, the region is predominantly Muslim today. From 1970 to 2015, Muslims have risen from 87% to 92% of the population. Historic Christian and Jewish com­ munities have been declining proportionally due to political and social conflict. Religions in North Africa and West Asia, 1970 and 2015 Religion Muslims Christians Jews Agnostics Others Total

1970 Adherents 147,487,000 11,550,000 2,568,000 4,123,000 3,192,000 168,920,000

% 87.3 6.8 1.5 2.4 1.9 100.0

2015 Adherents 440,182,000 24,913,000 6,409,000 4,590,000 5,029,000 481,123,000

% 91.5 5.2 1.3 1.0 1.0 100.0

Source: Todd M. Johnson and Gina A. Zurlo (eds), World Christian Database (Leiden/Boston: Brill), accessed April 2017. Figures do not add to 100% due to rounding.

4  Gina A. Zurlo

Christianity in North Africa and West Asia, 1970–2015 Christians by Country, 2015 24.9 Million Christians, 5.2% of Population

MOROCCO