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American Middle-Eastern Christian Association (AMCA):
A New Organization is Born
By Mounir Bishay
October 16, 2004 was a memorable day in the history of the American Christians
of Middle Eastern descent in Southern California. It was the day that witnessed
the first banquet and conference organized by AMCA, which took place at the Double
Tree Hotel located in Orange County. The event was a great success by all measures,
and far exceeded expectations. Approximately 500 people attended the conference,
including two members of the United States Congress: Ed. Royce and Dana Rohrabacher.
The keynote speaker was Fr. Dr. Keith Roderick of Christian Solidarity International
(CSI), who came especially from Washington DC to address the conference.
The conference was one effort by AMCA, a newly established organization, to
serve the interest of Middle Eastern Christians both in the United States and
in the Middle East.
But, why was there a need for such an organization?
On September 11, 2001, 19 terrorists from the Middle East committed the most
horrific terrorist attack on American soil in recent history. The attack resulted
in the destruction of the World Trade Center towers in New York City, damage to
the Pentagon building in Washington DC and the killing of more than 3000 innocent
people. Because the attack was conducted by Middle Easterners, it was only natural
that it would result in casting a cloud of doubt and suspicion on all people of
Middle Eastern descent.
In the wake of these tragic events, the American public developed a tendency
to look upon anyone who looks like an Arab or speaks Arabic and see in him the
19 terrorists who attacked America on September 11, 2001. This stereotyping is
unfortunate and has caused numerous problems for many of us who had absolutely
nothing to do with the terrorists. The only things we share with them are looks
and language. As a result we heard reports of people who were killed and churches
that were burned. Many of us have been exposed to verbal abuse. It is now common
in airports throughout the country to see Middle Easterners, especially young
males, being subjected to special scrutiny prior to being allowed to board an
airplane.
Christians of Middle Eastern descent feel this is unfair, because most of us
are model American citizens who pay our taxes, abide by the rules and contribute
to the prosperity of this great country. We certainly don’t share the terrorists’
radical views. In fact, we condemn those views. Most Middle-Eastern people who
speak Arabic as their mother tongue do not even share the same religion as the
September 11th terrorists, who were Muslim. According to statistics, over 75%
of all Middle Easterners living in America are Christians. The terrorists’
views do not represent the views of the majority of American Muslims either.
Not only do Middle-Eastern Christians not share the same views as the terrorists,
but in fact they too have been victims of countless terrorist acts. In Egypt,
for example, during the last three decades, Coptic Christians were subjected to
more than 50 major attacks on their persons, homes, businesses, and churches.
In many other parts of the Middle East, Christians are slaughtered or kidnapped
for ransom. In Iraq, Christians are killed and their churches are burned. Over
20,000 Iraqi Christians have left their country out of fear for their lives. All
over the Middle East, Christians are leaving the land that was once the cradle
of Christianity and are immigrating in large numbers to any country that is willing
to accept them.
However, because we look like the terrorist and we speak the same language,
we have been lumped together, and are now viewed by the American public with suspicion.
It was apparent that we as Middle Eastern Christians did not do a good job
of communicating the values we stand for and the contributions we have made to
this country. The time was ripe to establish an organization that will speak for
us, will defend our interest, proclaim our identity and polish our tarnished image.
AMCA’s role is to do all that and more. These are a few of its objectives:
- To celebrate the tradition and heritage of the Middle Eastern Christian communities
of all denominations in the US.
- To establish a sense of unity and identity among American Middle Eastern Christians.
- To educate the public about the beliefs, history, traditions, challenges and
heritage of Middle Eastern Christians.
- To reach out to other organizations in the US and the public on social, cultural,
educational and civil rights issues affecting Middle Eastern Americans.
- To strengthen the ties of affiliation with Christians living in the US and
abroad.
AMCA is only at the beginning of its road. The hopes are high for this new
organization to make a positive contribution to the welfare of Middle Eastern
Christians. But AMCA is only as strong as we can help it be. If you share the
vision of a strong AMCA that will achieve these goals for us, for our children
and for our grandchildren, please come join us in this endeavor. United we stand,
divided we fall. To become a member or for more information, visit AMCA’s
website, www.middleeasternchristian.org.
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Mounir Bishay is Vice-President, American Middle-Eastern Christian Association
(AMCA), Southern California.
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For information or comments, write to info@middleeasternchristian.org
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