1. Most people think of Muslims and Jews when they think of the religions of the Middle East. How big a presence are Christians in these countries?

The Baileys: The answer would be very different from country to country. In Cyprus, for example, in the ethnic Greek-speaking southern part, Christians are in the majority. There they are largely Greek Orthodox. In Lebanon, Christians are a very strong minority. At one point it was evenly divided between Muslims and Christians. By agreement in Lebanon, the President must be a Maronite Christian and the Prime Minister a Muslim. In Egypt, although the largely Coptic Orthodox Christian community is a relatively small minority, they are a prominent segment of the population.

On the other hand, in the Holy Land, that is Israel and Palestine, where Christianity and the church were born, Christians are a very small minority and declining in a serious way. Their emigration is not caused by poor Christian/Muslim relations but by the Israeli occupation and lack of economic opportunities for those in the West Bank. Christians living in Israel experience "second class" citizenship.

Christian minorities exist relatively comfortably in Syria, Turkey and some of the Gulf States, but are less comfortable in some other places. In Iraq, where the Christian population is small, they have enjoyed an almost surprising freedom for worship and other activities.

2. How well do Muslims, Christians, and Jews co-exist in the Middle East? Is there much of an attempt for interfaith dialogue?

The Baileys: That, too, depends on the country. In Saudi Arabia, for example, where the Christians are mostly expatriates, they meet privately and must function out-of-sight of the Muslim majority. In Jordan, Christians are a small minority but are accepted socially, culturally and politically. As a matter of fact, the Jordanian Prince Hassan sponsors an official center for interfaith dialogue and activity.

Historically, Jews co-existed with the other two monotheistic faiths better in the Middle East than in Europe or elsewhere. However, today Israel is the only country where the Jews are a significant factor and the story there is very mixed. There are several efforts to encourage cooperation and dialogue which in some case takes the form of what they call "trialogue" involving Jews, Muslims and Christians. Those activities, while carried on quite openly, are certainly not encouraged by the present Likud government.

In fact, Prime Minister Sharon appears to encourage policies that make both Muslims and Christians feel uncomfortable. That is one major factor leading to the emigration from Israel (and Palestine) of both Muslims and Christians. On the other hand, under President Yassir Arafat of the Palestinian Authority, Christians were assured a role in the government even though Muslims make up the overwhelming majority of the people. Relations between Christians and Muslims in Palestinian areas have been generally very good.

In Lebanon and Egypt dialogue has flourished, and has been encouraged by the Middle East Council of Churches. In those countries, and elsewhere, Christians and Muslims speak of the "dialogue of life," that is, generally excellent interactions in daily living between members of the two faiths. Some forms of interfaith dialogue were pioneered in Turkey.

Syria is also an interesting case in point. There the initiative for good relationships has been taken by very prominent Muslim religious leaders, including the Grand Muftis of Damascus and Aleppo.

We should probably also mention the Sudan, a nation not generally thought of as Middle Eastern, but one that regards itself that way. There sectarian strife has caused much bloodshed. The ongoing civil wars there, however, are not so much religious as economic and the Christian population, for the most part, lives in the Southern part where they are a rapidly growing part of the society.

3. What about dialogue between the various Christian groups?

The Baileys: Throughout the region as a whole, the Christian groups relate to each other extraordinarily well. In some ways, it is the most "ecumenical" part of the world, as well as a place where Christian traditions go back to the first Pentecost.

One area of problems is when Western church groups come into Middle Eastern countries with the purpose of converting both Muslims and Eastern Christians to their theology and practice of Christianity. It is this phenomenon which leads Muslims to believe that even the local Christians side with the Western countries.

The formal ecumenical body is the Middle East Council of Churches. It is made up of four historic families of churches: The Eastern Orthodox, the Oriental Orthodox, the Catholic (including both Latin and Byzantine rite), and the Evangelical (Protestant) family. The largest group across the whole region would be the Eastern Orthodox who have ancient patriarchates in Istanbul (Constantinople), Alexandria, Damascus and Jerusalem with an autocephalous (self-governing) church also in Cyprus. The largest single church would be the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt, which is part of the Oriental Orthodox family. Among the Protestants, Reformed (largely Presbyterian), Anglican and Lutheran are the most prominent.

4. We often hear of Christians being persecuted in countries where they are minorities. Are Christian groups in the Middle East thriving — growing — or struggling for survival?

The Baileys: Persecution takes different forms. For the most part, in the Middle East, Christians are not physically threatened or abused. Occasionally individual Christians or even a single congregation will be attacked by extremists. That has happened, for example, in Upper Egypt, in the Sudan, in the Magreb of Northern Africa and in Iran. In Israel there have been problems for Christian institutions and for Christians from other countries coming in to do church work or humanitarian work.

Persecution may involve being shunned or economically discriminated against. It may also involve governmental restrictions on the practice of the faith. Those forms of persecution would be much more common. Saudi Arabia, Iran, Israel and the Sudan would be examples. Israel has made it impossible for Christians living in the West Bank or Gaza to reach their Holy Places in Jerusalem, in contravention of international law. Such actions are sometimes the result of official governmental policies rather than the result of personal prejudice or extremist groups. Notably the governments of Israel, Saudi Arabia and Iran limit freedom of religion among individuals or groups other than the majority faith.

The only Middle Eastern country where Christianity is thriving (growing) would be Cyprus. Emigration of Christians (and often of Muslims) is common from almost all Middle Eastern countries. In those countries Christians and churches may certainly be said to "struggle for survival." Proselytism is illegal everywhere but in Cyprus.

Throughout the Middle East, Christians are very sensitive about occasional Western governmental actions to reverse this trend or to interfere with the actions of Middle Eastern governments. Because they want to be loyal citizens to their own nations, most Middle Eastern Christians prefer to work out these difficulties for themselves.

5. How has Western Christianity been influenced by Eastern Christianity and vice versa?

The Baileys: Christianity, of course, was born in the Middle East, so Western Christians have their roots there. Christians everywhere look to the lands of the Bible with special interest and consider the Church of Jerusalem to be the "Mother Church."

Less well known is that the monastic movement originated in the Judean and Egyptian deserts. That movement has influenced not only the Western Catholic tradition, in which monasteries and religious orders are still very common, but other Christian groups in the West as well.

The liturgies of many churches find their roots and modern dynamic development in the ancient traditions. Creeds and statements of faith, as well as hymnody and Christian symbolism tie the Western Church to the historic churches of the East.

In more contemporary terms, one can see roots of the current spirituality movement in the Eastern Church, not least the pioneering efforts of the Coptic Pope, Shenouda III. His monastic life before becoming Pope, his emphasis on meeting and answering the questions of Egyptian youth (some of whom have emigrated to the West), and his ecumenical spirit all have contributed to this.

The Eastern Churches within all four of the historic families of churches have learned from the Western church as well. Though sometimes they prefer not to acknowledge it, even the hierarchical churches are becoming more democratic. All today are genuinely ecumenical in approach and feel comfortable in the wider Christian community. The interchange between East and West may, in fact, be the hope of churches in both worlds.

6. How can the two continue to learn from each other?

The Baileys: The interchange alluded to above is far more extensive than is generally apparent. There is substantial traffic among the churches, not least because of tourism to the region (except in time of war and national tensions). But the interaction also comes when leaders of the Eastern churches visit the West, sometimes to minister directly to members of their constituency who have emigrated to the West.

Partly because the world has become smaller, and partly because of great interest in the Eastern churches among Westerners, there is a great deal of sharing of educational materials as well as of human contact. One stimulus for this interaction is that Eastern Christians increasingly look to the West for guidance in dealing with the impact of secularism and pluralism. Both these phenomena are today affecting the Eastern churches in unprecedented ways.

7. Do Christians in the Middle East struggle to maintain a balance between being Christians and being Syrian, Egyptian, Jordanian, etc.?

The Baileys: That problem is not unique to the Middle East. European and American Christians struggle with it as well, often looking to Asian Christians for examples. But it is essential for Christians in countries with strong nationalistic movements (such as Iran or Israel) or in which Christians are in a very small minority (such as Jordan or the Magreb) to achieve this balance. They must be able to say, as Mitri Raheb does in his book, I am a Palestinian Christian. In many if not most countries of the Middle East, this balance must also include the word Arab, for the Arabic language is the native language of most Christians there. Even though it is the language of the Qur'an and of Islamic worship, it is also the basis of a culture shared by Christians and Muslims and the language of worship for many Christians.

This issue is especially critical for those, like the Armenians, whose liturgical language is also different. Their own credibility — and ultimately that of their church — depends on their being clear about who they are.

8. Can you explain how and when you first became interested in the variety of religious faiths practiced in the Middle East?

The Baileys: We actually talk about this in the introduction to the book, calling it "our love affair with the Middle East." We have long been committed to the ecumenical movement and have long been fascinated by the roots of our own traditions in the historic church. In some ways the Middle East is like a home town — we keep going back because nowhere else have we ever felt quite so comfortable and at home.

In addition, we deeply believe that if Western Christians in general and Protestants in particular are to understand themselves and express their faith adequately, some familiarity with the way the faith is expressed by the most direct descendants of the early church is essential. We also gratefully acknowledge that nowhere have we encountered such genuine hospitality as among the churches of the Middle East.

9. How has seeing the diversity of faith in that part of the world enriched your own faith?

The Baileys: We could, perhaps, write a whole book on that question for the ways are so numerous. We have certainly learned the truth of the prediction of a friend that as we learned more about the faith of the churches in the Middle East we would understand our own faith and practices better.

We discovered, also, that it is sometimes easier to deal with the theology of another group than to deal with their piety. The former may challenge us intellectually, but the other forces us to look deeply into our own practices. We have learned to appreciate both and to be critical of both. We know full well that there are faults in the Eastern Church. But there are problems with the way Westerners express their faith as well.

Our relatively deep exposure to the diversity of faith in the Middle East has made us better Protestants; but we now eagerly identify ourselves as ecumenical Christians.