ICC Note: The proposed ‘Safe Zone’ state for Christians in the Middle East raises some serious questions. While the proposal has gained much traction to a tangible degree, it has received widespread attention. The idea is that this safe zone would eventually become a sovereign state in the future. But, as was said, questions remain. Would regional government allow such a thing? Who would be welcome? What about Muslim converts to Christianity? What about the Kurds? All these questions and more must be considered before this proposal is a viable option.

09/23/2016 Iraq (Cross Map): Iraqi Christians, Yazidis, and other religious minorities gathered in Washington two weeks ago and proposed for there to be a safe zone created for them in the Nineveh Plains, which are northeast of Mosul in northern Iraq, Christian Telegraph reports according to Mission Network News. The idea would be for the safe zone to potentially become a sovereign state in the future.

The proposal hasn’t gained much traction, but a lot more would need to be answered first, says Todd Nettleton of Voice of the Martyrs, USA.

“It just raises so many questions. How would this happen? Who would defend it? Would the governments in that area allow such a thing to exist? And who all would be welcome there?”

Nettleton continues, “Typically when we are talking in this context about Christians, we’re talking about traditional Christians, people who were born into a Christian family. What does this proposal mean for Muslim converts, those who were born in a Muslim family but have made the decision to follow Christ? How would they be affected by this?

“The other thing that immediately comes into my mind is the Kurds, and the fact that the Kurds in that area have been pushing for some type of autonomous Kurdish region or even a Kurdish nation that would be carved out of some of the surrounding nations for decades. So how would this affect their call for statehood?”

The biggest point of note – if Christians pull out of their communities in Iraq and other nearby countries, it would be a detriment to the spread of the Gospel in the Middle East.

“If you separate out all of the Christians and put them in one area and you put all the Muslims in a different area, who’s going to go to the Muslim area and share the Gospel? How are Muslims going to encounter Christ through the example and testimony of their neighbors and coworkers and friends?” Nettleton asks.

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