CHRISTIAN EMIGRATION OUT OF THE MIDDLE EAST The dire fate of the Christian communities in the Middle East has become headline news lately. The civil war in Syria; the rise of the Islamic State; the turmoil in countries such as Iraq, Libya, and in North Africa; as well as the anti-Christian Islamic regimes in places such as Iran, have led to a mass exodus of Christians from the region. Christians now face the worst religious persecution in over a thousand years in the Middle East, reports Christianity Today. The New York Times ran a major article detailing the plight of Christians in the Middle East, saying about a third of the 600,000 Syrian Christians have already fled, and only about a third of Iraq's 1.5 million Christians in 2003 remain today. A recent report from the British Guardian newspaper pointed out that the persecution of Christians started not with ISIS, but 10 years ago after the US- and British-led invasion of Iraq. Prior to the invasion, "under Saddam Hussein's rule, Christians in fact enjoyed what they now recall as a golden age. They were free to worship and played a full role in society. However, the removal of the dictator let loose an ugly Shia-Sunni power struggle," The Guardian wrote. Israel, and at least for now Lebanon, are the only countries left in the Middle East where Christians have freedom to practice their religion and are safe from persecution. Still, the Lebanese Christian population has shrunken from 78 percent to only 34 percent over the last century. Interestingly enough, the Pew report from April says the strict Islamic nations of the Gulf States, such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, are seeing an influx of Christians. While emigration out of the Middle East and North Africa is projected to lower the share of Christians in countries such as Egypt, Iraq and Syria, the immigration of Christians into the Gulf countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) is expected to keep many Christians in the region. Lebanon has also emerged as a popular destination for fleeing Christians. However, once there many do not stay because they are barred from work. More and more have begun to use Lebanon as a jumping point for emigration trips to Europe and even the United States. Many European countries are struggling to keep up with the flow of these refugees and not all have been overly welcoming. Britain, Sweden, and Germany have been the most supportive toward the refugees. Germany’s vice-chancellor, Sigmar Gabriel, told public television that the nation could take up to 500,000 refugees per year. Since April 2011, Germany has processed nearly 100,000 asylum applications; Sweden has processed 65,000. More than 16,000 Syrian refugees now await resettlement consideration from the United States government.