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ISBN: 978-0-9932090-2-4
412 pages Paperback RRP: UK: £8.95, USA: $14.00 |
Identity Crisis: Religious Registration in the Middle East by Jonathan Andrews
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How can the Middle East flourish for the benefit of all its peoples? So many are craving the opportunity to flourish in societies which afford good governance and equal opportunities for all. Can this be achieved? Is there a way through?
In this highly readable book, Jonathan Andrews explains the roots of the religious registration system and offers a tour of the region, exposing the profound effects on culture and faith. He admits that there are no easy answers but offers credible alternatives to the current situation.
In this highly readable book, Jonathan Andrews explains the roots of the religious registration system and offers a tour of the region, exposing the profound effects on culture and faith. He admits that there are no easy answers but offers credible alternatives to the current situation.
...an admirably clear account of how compulsory registration of religious affiliation plays into issues of discrimination and fuels violence throughout the Middle East. This is a must-read for anyone with an interest in the Middle East and in the subject of conversion. Researcher and advocate Jonathan Andrews offers a concise, highly readable overview of how human identity in the Middle East is largely, and almost unchangeably, defined by official registration based on religion. Readers will find no simple answers, but are sure to gain a clearer understanding of this complex issue. This book should definitely be read by anyone interested in the Middle East, human rights and religious liberty issues, and understanding those who desire to follow a different faith from those in which they were raised. Sometimes the persecutor is a person. Sometimes the persecutor is a system. This book not only shows the brutal side of persecution, but how subtle and yet how fierce are the myriad pressures on Christians from a Muslim Background in the Middle East today. “Set my people free” is what Moses thundered to the Egyptian overlords. Jonathan Andrews delivers the same call, with precision and love. This sane analysis and overview is greatly needed for all God’s people to flourish in the Middle East today. It’s time to get beyond the generalisations about Christians in the Middle East, and there’s no better way of doing this than by wrestling with some of the human rights issues which affect the lives of Christians in the region. One of the great strengths of this very readable book is that it deals with each country separately, seeking to understand how legal issues affecting the lives of Christians have been shaped by history, religion, politics and demography. Here is a challenge to all who want Christians to remain rooted in the Middle East and not to emigrate to the West. I hope it may point the way for a new generation of activists, journalists and people with legal and sociological training – both nationals and foreigners – who are willing to work patiently and creatively for the common good within the political system in each country of the region. Religious affiliation should be freely changeable in any direction and without any legal recriminations. Apostasy should not be a crime. There should be no coercion in religion. People should also be free to change their religious registration. And religious affiliation should not be registered in identity documents in the first place. This is what international norms say. And this would reduce the abuse of power and increase freedoms. |
Jonathan Andrews’ book is impressive and imminently relevant. The issue of the human rights of religious minorities in the Middle East – especially Christian communities – is more painfully acute than it has been for centuries. This is a study that raises some complex questions about what legal framework might work best to secure their basic liberties. Avoiding simplistic solutions and attending carefully to the agenda set by those on the front line, it provides a uniquely thoughtful perspective. At a time when we badly need help in understanding the Middle East, this timely book takes us below the surface to understand the realities that shape the lives of Christians. Sympathetically, clearly and carefully, years of experience and insight are presented in highly accessible form, enabling the reader to understand the complexities of the region and how we can pray and support our brothers and sisters. I highly recommend this book. Jonathan has done something extraordinary. He’s taken the world’s most complex and volatile region today, the Middle East and examined one of its most divisive and partisan issues, individual rights and freedoms, especially religious freedom. Yet the result is this very readable and informative book, born out of his detailed and personal knowledge merged with his clarity and objective presentation, that leaves you with a touch of hope. Everyone interested in the Middle East and Human Rights, from whatever persuasion, needs to read this book. Who are we? is a key question for everyone, and a crucial one for people who change their beliefs. In a world of identity cards, changing to establish recognised new identities in Christ is a major struggle. Jonathan takes us on a compelling journey, examining religious identity from every angle, presenting an insightful guide to the Middle East and North Africa, revealing the realities of following Christ, and setting out the challenges governments and regimes must face. Many of us in the West have little understanding of the importance of the question of identity. We are so used to making lifestyle choices and defining our own identity, that it comes as a shock to realise that many people in the Middle East live under a system of Registration which effectively defines their identity for them. This carefully researched and nuanced book explores the implications of this Registration system as it is variously operated across the Middle East. The author’s concern to listen to the voices of local people is particularly commendable, as is his avoidance of simplistic solutions. There is a deep challenge here for those of us in the West who want to support our brothers and sisters in this region of the world which has known so much pain and sorrow. Numerous religious books have been written about every subject you can think of regarding life in the Middle East as Christian or as someone who would like to adhere to it. However, Jonathan Andrews has tackled well and with depth, one of the issues that is considered as the root cause of much of the persecutions by authorities as well as by society in general. Religious registration goes back many centuries and has brought tremendous suffering to so many people. Extensive research and studies have enabled Jonathan to put in one book illustrated by real life stories that will help every reader understand well the situation. I trust that Western as well as Middle Eastern policy makers will be motivated to use their influence to bring lasting changes to this root cause of persecution. |
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‘Religious Registration’: An Insult to Human Dignity and Decency
Review by Martin Accad, 8th January 2016 Link here |
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Magazine, Issue 2 2016
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