Raheb touches upon a critical theme in the geopolitics of the Middle East: the persecution of Christians. While tracing the development of the Christian Community under the Millet system of the Ottoman Empire and chronicling the Massacre at Mount Lebanon and the Armenian Genocide, he argues that this notion is a 'western construct' used as a pretext by colonial powers in Europe and the United States to promote their interest in the region. Sustained by an Orientalist view of the region and its people, this construct has had a nefarious consequence for the Middle East: 'the instrumentalization of religion for socio-political gain.'

Mitri Raheb's  The Politics of Persecution offers a trove of information and analysis for any Christians fascinated by the Holy Land and its neighbors. But beyond this, it will be of great interest to general readers of all kinds, basically for anyone interested in the emergence of the Modern Middle East. Raheb addresses many topics and issues that are presently barely known to nonspecialists, and he does a real service in describing so many of these episodes in lucid and approachable terms.  The Politics of Persecution is ambitious in scope, thoroughly researched, and amply deserving a wide readership.

In The Politics of Persecution, Mitri Raheb persuasively demonstrates how the language of 'persecution' has been selectively employed over the past century by Western imperial powers to justify both colonial interventions in the 19th and 20th centuries and contemporary incursions here in the 21st in the MENA region. He argues that both have created vs. mitigated political and social instabilities that are too often simplistically rendered as narrowly sectarian; where 'religious minorities' are 'persecuted' and in need of saving by the very Western powers that created the instability in the first place. His particular focus is Arab Christians, and he counters the portrayal of them as victims with a fulsome and rich representation of Arab Christians as diverse, creative, and resilient. This is a timely, concise, and accessible volume that should be widely read by those concerned with 'religious freedom' in the MENA region.

Dr. Mitri Raheb is a pastor, university president, community developer, author, and as this volume demonstrates, he is also a compelling scholar. This book provides a historical analysis of the Palestinian church in response to the relentless political and ecclesiastical agendas in the Middle East. As he convincingly argues, the story of the church in Palestine is a compelling testimony of resilience.

Rev. Mitri Raheb's book goes deep in our collective historical consciousness. Those who made research on the persecution of Christians and the atrocities, massacres, and confiscation of wealth that they have been through understand better his concerns. Linking persecution to the different dimensions of our existence helps us see the broader scenery that led to what we have been experiencing for centuries and which is being accelerated with the changes that occur in the world order and the game of nations. This book puts before us a challenge by highlighting the reality that preserving our presence and safeguarding our dignity in the cradle of Christianity requires unprecedented approaches and a renewed role which we are called to define. While this book has been 'written by a native Palestinian Christian theologian who has spent his entire life in the region and is committed to continue living here,' this endorsement is written by a native Levantine Christian from Beirut who almost never left the area, who is keen on remaining on his land, and who has been always preaching this to his children as well as to his students. Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb opens, through his book, and without even having met me, a dialogue with my very being.

Mitri Raheb, a Palestinian theological master of our era, examines critically and through a timely decolonial lens the predicament of Middle Eastern Christians in the age of empire. Mitri's book is an act of revolutionary love, walking Jesus' path, and navigating the painful, complex resilience of Christian communities in the most difficult period in the region's history and Palestine in particular. The book is a must-read for anyone wanting to delve into the multifaceted history, appreciate the depth of coverage, and engage Middle Eastern Christians dialoguing from within their unique epistemology and lived experiences. Middle Eastern Christians speaking for themselves about themselves and the world is the foundation of Mitri's book, which is more needed in the age of empire than at any other time. A spiritual light and a message of hope from the heart of Bethlehem.

Raheb's new book offers a fresh approach to Christianity in the modern Middle East and an urgently needed challenge to portrayals of Middle Eastern Christians as passive victims of religious persecution. In mapping the geopolitical and demographic shifts in the region over the past two centuries, The Politics of Persecution links such simplistic persecution narratives to colonialist agendas. This rich study gives careful attention to the national, ethno-linguistic, denominational, and interreligious contexts within which Middle Eastern Christians have responded to these complex changes. Raheb invites students, researchers, and Christian readers in the West to listen to the voices of Middle Eastern Christians and celebrate their communities' resilience.

The Politics of Persecution is an outstanding demystification of the history of Middle East Christians under imperialism. Mitri Raheb offers an erudite study that exposes the pernicious dead ends of Western hegemonic discourses and practices. By employing thoughtful decolonial lenses, he convincingly repositions Middle Eastern Christians in networks of local and regional struggles that open the door for groundbreaking transnational solidarities. This is a must-read by anyone interested in decolonial studies, tiberation theologies, Palestine/Israel, conflict and peace studies, interreligious conversations, and global struggles for justice.