Will Arab Christianity survive?

Belated though this entry may be, here's a thoughtful piece from the New York Times on the persecuted Christians of  the Arab world.

Can Arab Christians and Muslims, Anthony Shadad asks find common ground in a shared culture and history? Sadly, Muslim intolerance for their fellow "people of the Book" seems to foreshadow a negative answer. Christian blood continues to flow- and Christians continue to flee elsewhere, to cultures other than their own in which they will be allowed to worship as their consciences dictate.

Will there be any Christians left in the Middle East in thirty years? I think so. If nowhere else, there will be Arab Christians in Israel no matter how fiercely they are persecuted in Arab nations.

Which is one more reason why I sympathize with Israel rather than with its enemies in the Middle East. Israel is very, very far from perfect.. But even at its least tolerant, it remains a beacon of diversity in a region filled with the darkness of bigotry and blood lust.

HT: Real Clear Religion