The Last Christians: Stories of Persecution, Flight, and Resilience in the Middle East
A Westerner’s travels among the persecuted and displaced Christian remnant in Iraq and Syria teach him much about faith under fire.

Gold Medal Winner, 2018 IPPY Book of the Year Award
Silver Medal Winner, 2018 Benjamin Franklin Award
Finalist, 2018 ECPA Christian Book Award

In Syria and Iraq, Christians have long been a religious minority. When the Islamic State took control of the region, many feared that these ancient faith communities would be wiped out forever, and with it the witness of a church that has modeled Jesus’ way of nonviolence and enemy-love for two millennia.

The kidnapping, enslavement, torture, and murder of Christians by the Islamic State, or ISIS, have been detailed by journalists, as have the jihadists' deliberate efforts to destroy the cultural heritage of a region that is the cradle of Christianity. This book provides insight into the religious and historical roots of the recent conflict.

Andreas Knapp, a priest who works with refugees in Germany, traveled to camps for displaced people in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq to collect stories of survivors – and to seek answers to troubling questions about the link between religion and violence. He found Christians who still speak Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic, the language of Jesus. The uprooted remnant of ancient churches, they doggedly continue to practice their faith despite the odds. Their devastating eyewitness reports make it clear why millions fled the Middle East. Yet, remarkably, though some of these Christians will likely never return to their homes, they also harbor no thirst for revenge. Could it be that they hold the key to breaking the cycle of violence in the region?

Includes sixteen pages of color photographs.

1125531167
The Last Christians: Stories of Persecution, Flight, and Resilience in the Middle East
A Westerner’s travels among the persecuted and displaced Christian remnant in Iraq and Syria teach him much about faith under fire.

Gold Medal Winner, 2018 IPPY Book of the Year Award
Silver Medal Winner, 2018 Benjamin Franklin Award
Finalist, 2018 ECPA Christian Book Award

In Syria and Iraq, Christians have long been a religious minority. When the Islamic State took control of the region, many feared that these ancient faith communities would be wiped out forever, and with it the witness of a church that has modeled Jesus’ way of nonviolence and enemy-love for two millennia.

The kidnapping, enslavement, torture, and murder of Christians by the Islamic State, or ISIS, have been detailed by journalists, as have the jihadists' deliberate efforts to destroy the cultural heritage of a region that is the cradle of Christianity. This book provides insight into the religious and historical roots of the recent conflict.

Andreas Knapp, a priest who works with refugees in Germany, traveled to camps for displaced people in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq to collect stories of survivors – and to seek answers to troubling questions about the link between religion and violence. He found Christians who still speak Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic, the language of Jesus. The uprooted remnant of ancient churches, they doggedly continue to practice their faith despite the odds. Their devastating eyewitness reports make it clear why millions fled the Middle East. Yet, remarkably, though some of these Christians will likely never return to their homes, they also harbor no thirst for revenge. Could it be that they hold the key to breaking the cycle of violence in the region?

Includes sixteen pages of color photographs.

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The Last Christians: Stories of Persecution, Flight, and Resilience in the Middle East

The Last Christians: Stories of Persecution, Flight, and Resilience in the Middle East

The Last Christians: Stories of Persecution, Flight, and Resilience in the Middle East

The Last Christians: Stories of Persecution, Flight, and Resilience in the Middle East

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Overview

A Westerner’s travels among the persecuted and displaced Christian remnant in Iraq and Syria teach him much about faith under fire.

Gold Medal Winner, 2018 IPPY Book of the Year Award
Silver Medal Winner, 2018 Benjamin Franklin Award
Finalist, 2018 ECPA Christian Book Award

In Syria and Iraq, Christians have long been a religious minority. When the Islamic State took control of the region, many feared that these ancient faith communities would be wiped out forever, and with it the witness of a church that has modeled Jesus’ way of nonviolence and enemy-love for two millennia.

The kidnapping, enslavement, torture, and murder of Christians by the Islamic State, or ISIS, have been detailed by journalists, as have the jihadists' deliberate efforts to destroy the cultural heritage of a region that is the cradle of Christianity. This book provides insight into the religious and historical roots of the recent conflict.

Andreas Knapp, a priest who works with refugees in Germany, traveled to camps for displaced people in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq to collect stories of survivors – and to seek answers to troubling questions about the link between religion and violence. He found Christians who still speak Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic, the language of Jesus. The uprooted remnant of ancient churches, they doggedly continue to practice their faith despite the odds. Their devastating eyewitness reports make it clear why millions fled the Middle East. Yet, remarkably, though some of these Christians will likely never return to their homes, they also harbor no thirst for revenge. Could it be that they hold the key to breaking the cycle of violence in the region?

Includes sixteen pages of color photographs.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780874860627
Publisher: Plough Publishing House, The
Publication date: 09/01/2017
Series: Gospel in Great Writers
Pages: 233
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

A poet, priest, and popular author in Germany, Andreas Knapp left a secure position as head of Freiburg Seminary to live and work among the poor as a member of the Little Brothers of the Gospel, a religious order inspired by Charles de Foucauld. Today he shares an apartment with three brothers in Leipzig’s largest housing project, and ministers to prisoners and refugees. His latest book, The Last Christians, recounts the stories of refugees in his neighborhood and of displaced people in camps in Kurdistan, northern Iraq.

Table of Contents

Preface: Giving a Voice to the Voiceless ix

1 Looking Death in the Eye 1

2 Please Help Us! 8

3 A Graveside Reunion 18

4 Last Respects 25

5 A Waiting Game 41

6 When They Persecute You 52

7 A Life's Work in Ruins 58

8 A Bishop in Exile 71

9 Nothing New under the Crescent Moon 86

10 Within Sight of the Islamic State 98

11 The Decline of the Christian Middle East 107

12 A Rocket in the Roof 122

13 Garo's Odyssey 133

14 Remembrance Is the Secret of Redemption 145

15 The Death of a Language 158

16 Through a Child's Eyes 171

17 Blessed Are the Meek 181

18 Easter Comes Early 193

19 Giving of Our Best 207

Epilogue: The Gift of Home 220

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