Christians in overwhelmingly Muslim Gaza have long fretted in private about the survival of their tiny community.
But their fears exploded publicly when two members of the flock
recently converted to Islam. Christians staged a rare public protest,
accusing Muslims of pulling followers from their faith.
The converts, who had been hiding to evade angry relatives, eventually
surfaced and said they voluntarily changed religions. Gaza's ruling
Islamic militant Hamas movement reiterated respect for freedom of
worship and Christian institutions.
But the uproar highlighted the growing sense of vulnerability among
Christians here. They are a dwindling minority among a mostly devout
Muslim majority, mostly hemmed into the tiny sliver of land because of
movement restrictions imposed by Israel and Egypt. And they say some
Muslims are doubling their efforts to convert them, emboldened by the
atmosphere of Islamic fervor fostered by Hamas since it seized power in
Gaza in 2007.
"We aren't safe anymore," said Josef Elias, a 44-year-old Christian
from Gaza City. "This is a conspiracy against our existence in the Holy
Land."
Fewer than 3,000 Christians live among Gaza's 1.7 million Muslim
residents, and their numbers have rapidly shrunk in recent years, mainly
because of the territory's turmoil. Some Christian families fled during
the destruction from Israel's three-week military campaign against
Hamas militants in the winter of 2008-2009. Others emigrated as Gaza's
economy crumbled under Israel and Egypt's blockade, imposed after Hamas'
takeover. Low birth rates also erode the community.
Those who remain say they feel increasingly unwelcome amid the more assertive religiosity everywhere around them.
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