An Article of Faith

3 minute read

Re “Unholy Choices” [April 21]: Congratulations to Time for your extremely well-written article, which described with such accuracy the plight of Middle Eastern Christians. A religious genocide is taking place in plain sight, and nobody really seems to care about it. Christians of all denominations are currently humiliated, brutally tormented and murdered because of their religious affiliation. And this carnage takes place just some hundreds of miles away from the supposedly Christian Europe.
Georgios Kapellakos,
Halkida, Greece

In most countries, minority groups will be shortchanged and discriminated against in many ways. It would be hard for members of the minority group to compete with those in the majority group in terms of education opportunity, job securement or social mobility. This is not so much a question of injustice but more of the superiority complex of the majority leaders who are in power and responsible in prioritizing the welfare of their supporters.
Benedict Chern,
Singapore

Thanks for publishing the truth about Muslims’ persecution of Christians. But you overlooked the tolerance and freedom enjoyed by Christians in Israel—the Holy Land. No wonder Arab governments refuse to recognize Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people—that would imply acceptance of Jewish and Christian rights in a multi­cultural, not just Islamic, Middle East.
David Zohar,
Jerusalem

The article focused on the Christian minorities in Syria, Iraq and Egypt. I was rather shocked to realize that there was no mention whatsoever of the Christians living in Lebanon! After all, we are the only country in the Middle East where, according to the Lebanese National Pact, the President has to be a Christian!
Peter Daaboul,
Beirut

Looking for Trouble
Re “A Little Trouble in Big China” [April 21]: China is no Lehman Brothers. By highlighting the default of a small and insignificant solar-energy firm, Rana Foroohar has gone too far in predicting an imminent debt crisis. Western journalists seem to favor bubbles of all kinds, especially those related to China. Several years ago, they argued China’s housing and property bubble could burst anytime. This time the debt bubble is in fashion. But where are the bubbles, let alone the bursts? Does China not have trillions of dollars in reserves?
Phu Lusou,
Shanghai

Shifting Ground
Joe Klein in “Why Obama Hit Pause” states that “the Iran talks seem to be going as well as the Middle East talks are going poorly” [April 21]. While Washington’s attitude and actions are important in this regard, the recent developments (or lack of them) in the Middle East are mostly due to two important and decisive changes in the region: Iran becoming more moderate and accommodating, while Israel more extremist and intransigent.
Javad Mahdavi,
London

Forward Fashion
Re “Model Behavior” [April 14]: All credit to the organizers of Moscow Fashion Week and Fashion Without Borders for putting on a groundbreaking runway show of styles for the disabled. It is great to see the usually self-absorbed fashion industry there being more inclusive by thinking of the needs of our differently abled brothers and sisters, rather than focusing solely on attire for their regular, painfully thin professional models.
Paul Surtees,
Hong Kong

Old Habits Die Hard
Re “Waiting for the Taliban” [April 14]: The U.S. has wrongly believed the balance of power in a country can be changed with military intervention and superimposing a new order and government favoring U.S. values. It fails to recognize that the balance of power in society is a structural force that has been achieved along a historical path.
Jane Tse,
Hong Kong

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