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

by Andreas Knapp

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2911821,171 (4.2)None
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 Inside Syria and Iraq, and even along the refugee trail, they're a religious minority persecuted for their Christian faith. Outside the Middle East, they're suspect because of their nationality. A small remnant of Christians is on the run from the Islamic State. If they are wiped out, or scattered to the corners of the earth, the language that Jesus spoke may be lost forever - along with 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. But some stories run deep, and without a better understanding of the religious and historical roots of the present conflict, history will keep repeating itself century after century. Andreas Knapp, a priest who works with refugees in Germany, travelled 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 today 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 are fleeing the Middle East. Yet, remarkably, though these last Christians hold little hope of ever returning to their homes, they also harbor no thirst for revenge. Could it be that they - along with the Christians of the West, whose interest will determine their fate - hold the key to breaking the cycle of violence in the region? Includes sixteen pages of color photographs.… (more)
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English (10)  German (1)  All languages (11)
Showing 1-5 of 10 (next | show all)
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
This was a difficult book to read, but I believe it is important for every Christian to see how fellow believers are persecuted in the Middle East simply because they are followers of Jesus Christ. I had to read it one chapter at a time and then think about what I'd read. Some parts of it brought me to tears. ( )
  mfvetter | Sep 23, 2022 |
Brilliant book telling the stories of believers from Iraq and Syria, some whose heart language is Aramaic. the language of Jesus, and what has happened due to Islamic State. Heartbreaking but encouraging accounts in that while they don't expect to get things back, they will neither give up on their faith nor will they resort to violence. ( )
  cbinstead | Jul 19, 2018 |
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
Andreas Knapp's honesty and directness kept me hooked from the beginning, and I couldn't put it down until I finished. This book brings to light what is often glossed over or viewed through an outsider's lens. All Christians need to be aware of how their brothers and sisters are living (or dying) around the world.
  AdamNu | Feb 7, 2018 |
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
The author, a German priest, goes to Iraq and gives us a personal look into the struggles and sufferings of Middle Eastern Christians. Written with clarity, honesty and compassion, with historical sidebars that give additional context, The Last Christians is an important book that sheds light on a people whose plight is often overlooked by the media. ( )
  Suzanne81 | Dec 31, 2017 |
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
Andreas Knapp, Roman Catholic priest, from Leipzig, Germany, having listened to harrowing stories of Christian refugees and their persecution at the hands of Islamists in Iraq and Syria, decided to go to war-torn Mosul in northern Iraq's Kurdistan region to learn more about what Knapp understands as the historical center of Eastern Christianity.

[ . . . ] ( )
  chuck_ralston | Dec 30, 2017 |
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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 Inside Syria and Iraq, and even along the refugee trail, they're a religious minority persecuted for their Christian faith. Outside the Middle East, they're suspect because of their nationality. A small remnant of Christians is on the run from the Islamic State. If they are wiped out, or scattered to the corners of the earth, the language that Jesus spoke may be lost forever - along with 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. But some stories run deep, and without a better understanding of the religious and historical roots of the present conflict, history will keep repeating itself century after century. Andreas Knapp, a priest who works with refugees in Germany, travelled 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 today 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 are fleeing the Middle East. Yet, remarkably, though these last Christians hold little hope of ever returning to their homes, they also harbor no thirst for revenge. Could it be that they - along with the Christians of the West, whose interest will determine their fate - hold the key to breaking the cycle of violence in the region? Includes sixteen pages of color photographs.

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