A Parable for Our Time

by Dexter Van Zile (January 2012)

Imagine yourself up in heaven, prior to your birth. You are an unborn soul standing before the Creator of the Universe. He speaks to you.

You nod in gratitude. The Creator of the Universe has your best interests at heart.

You nod, this time with a bit of trepidation.

At this point, we can step away from the scene described above and discern for ourselves where we would want to live.

We know the answer.

We know that the great risk facing the unborn soul described above is the prospect of being born as a religious or ethnic minority in the Middle East and North Africa. We also know that being born into an Arab or Muslim majority in the region is no guarantee of safety and wellbeing either. We also know that Arab Muslims living in the Jewish state of Israel have more rights than Arab Muslims living in Arab- and Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East.

Yes, there is some discrimination in Israel, but there are legions of Jewish activists who will lobby on your behalf if you are mistreated. And as soon as you are mistreated, the whole world knows and howls with outrage.

But if you are born a Christian or Jew in a Muslim-majority country, you are likely to endure great oppression at the hands of your neighbors who regard you as the low cost target of hostility and frustration. To make matters worse, there is a good chance your suffering will be ignored.

And woe to you if you are born a woman in a Muslim-majority country where female genital mutilation is an accepted practiced and endorsed by Muslim scholars such as Yusef Qaradawi.

God help you if you are born in Syria where an authoritarian regime is murdering its citizens in the streets.

After your brief discussion with the Creator of the Universe, one of His angels approaches you and brings you over to a computer terminal.

The angel speaks to you.

website and look at descriptions of the various countries in the Middle East. You see one country merits a lot of criticism from the WCC. In fact, the country is so guilty of oppression and sin that the WCC has dedicated not one, but two bureaucracies – the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine Israel and the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum to assail is policies. The WCC treats no other country like this in the world. You see page after page lamenting the suffering of the Palestinian people at the hands of this country. You conclude that this country, Israel, must be a pretty evil country, a bad place. Clearly, you are not going to choose Israel.

Syria, which is described in praiseworthy terms. It has been “been in the forefront of support for the Palestinian cause, and the struggle against Israel.” There is an odd and troubling passage about the government not tolerating opposition – “neither Islamic nor political” but nevertheless, the country can’t be all bad because first of all, it’s part of the fight against Israel, and second, a delegation from the WCC met with the Syrian president and had a pleasant conversation with him. Things are so good in Syria, that the WCC issued a statement about how good interfaith relations are in that country.

That seals it. You make your decision.

A version of this parable first appeared in the December 2011 issue of The Jerusalem Post Christian Edition.

Dexter Van Zile is the Christian Media Analyst for the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America.

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