Category: Syria

Former Lebanese President Warns of “Crisis of Pluralism” in Middle East

Gemayel Says “Rise of Religious Extremists” Afflicts Entire Region ZURICH, March 14, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Amine Gemayel, the former President of Lebanon, warned on Thursday that the Arab world is experiencing a “crisis of religious pluralism” driven by “the rise of religious extremists,” which threatens “any community which does not constitute the majority” – including… Read more »

Bassam Tibi: “‘Arab Spring’ a Catastrophe for Religious Minorities in the Middle East.”

Leading Middle East expert warns against a de-Christianization of the region ZURICH and WASHINGTON, Nov. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire / — “The so-called Arab Spring has turned out to be a deadly winter,” Professor Bassam Tibi said in Zurich Tuesday at a lecture hosted by Christian Solidarity International.  Tibi’s lecture was entitled, “The Uprisings in the Middle… Read more »

CSI Urges President Obama to Support Religious Freedom in Syria

Eibner Presents Findings from Syria Visit WASHINGTON, Sept. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ –Today, CSI-USA’s CEO, Dr. John Eibner urged President Obama to present guarantees of the rights of Syria’s religious minorities, and religious freedom and parity for all Syrians as central tenants of his Syria policy. He added that credibility of such guarantees depended on public endorsement… Read more »

EIBNER: Preserving Syria’s ‘first freedom’

The Washington Times August 23, 2013 The horrific scenes of paralyzed children gasping for breath in vain after a chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburbs this week prompted me to recall President Obama’s historic decision two years ago to make regime change in Syria official U.S. policy. The removal of Syrian President Bashar Assad,… Read more »

The Religious Cleansing of Qusayr, Syria: An Eyewitness Account

In the first six months of 2012, the Syrian city of Qusayr was religiously cleansed.  The entire Christian population of the city – over 800 families – was expelled by armed Islamic jihadists fighting against the Syrian regime. On CSI’s recent mission to Syria, we were able to interview one of the survivors of the… Read more »

Dr. Eibner Before Congress: Syrian Religious Minorities Face Threat of “Eradication”

WASHINGTON, June 25, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Dr. John Eibner, the CEO of Christian Solidarity International (CSI-USA), testified today in a congressional hearing that the Syrian civil war “could lead to the eradication of religious minorities,” including Christians, Alawite Muslims, Shia Muslims and Druze. The hearing was a joint subcommittee hearing of the House Foreign Affairs… Read more »

Egyptian Academic: Is Syria heading towards majoritarian rule?

Professor warns of growing sectarian violence in Egypt and Syria at CSI supported conference OXFORD, England, June 11, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/  — Mariz Tadros, an Egyptian academic based at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, spoke of worrisome processes of democratization in Syria and Egypt in a talk at Oxford University on June… Read more »

Bishop Nazir-Ali Calls for Equality for Christians and other Groups, Women in Arab Spring Countries

ZURICH, Switzerland, June 5, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, the former Anglican Bishop of Rochester and co-head of the Anglican-Al Azhar Dialogue, warned in a speech hosted by Christian Solidarity International (CSI) last Thursday against the rising threat of a “tyranny of the majority” in countries affected by the recent Arab revolutions, and called on… Read more »

CSI Mission to Help Syrian Christians

CSI-USA’s Dr. John Eibner and Joel Veldkamp were in the Middle East recently to meet with Christian refugees from Syria, and to develop further CSI’s program for supporting Syrian Christians threatened by war and religious cleansing. Thanks to our supporters, CSI has already been supplying vital humanitarian aid to Christians living on the frontlines of… Read more »