Christian Migrant Workers in Qatar Ask for Prayers Amid Mideast Diplomatic Crisis
Another Middle East country—Qatar—is facing big trouble, threatening its over 2.3 million people, including over 200,000 Christians, according to Open Doors.
Its neighbors—Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Yemen and other smaller states—have severed diplomatic relations and accused its rulers of supporting terrorism, including support for the Islamic State (ISIS) and Hamas. The United States and Israel have also leveled the same charge. However, Qatari leaders vehemently deny such support.
The situation is complicated since Qatar is being supported by Iran—the sworn enemy of Saudi Arabia and its allies—and Turkey, which is supposedly a part of the anti-ISIS coalition where Saudi Arabia and its allies are also a part of.
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On Saturday, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel warned that the dispute between Qatar and other Arab states could lead to war, al-Jazeera reported.
"There is a danger that this dispute could lead to war," Gabriel told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung after meeting his counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey and phone calls with the foreign ministers of Iran and Kuwait.
Tension is gripping the people of Qatar, including the tens of thousands of Christians among the migrant workers and local residents. They do not know what will happen next. Panic buying in supermarkets has reportedly started as Qatar's now hostile neighbors are suspending commercial flights and trade.
Open Doors said it has spoken to several Christians living in Qatar. They are asking for prayers from fellow Christians worldwide. "Let's just pray this problem will not escalate further... that they will be able to settle their differences," one believer from an Asian country said.
According to Harvard Divinity School, roughly 9.6 percent of Qatar's population is Christian, the overwhelming majority of which are Filipino, Indian, and Lebanese noncitizen workers. There are also some Qatari converts from Islam.
The country's Islamic rulers do not permit foreign missionary groups in the country but have allowed the construction of churches.
Most of the Christians in Qatar are Roman Catholic, followed by Protestants, Anglicans, and unaffiliated Christians.
On Friday, Amnesty International accused Qatar's Arab neighbors of splitting up families and destroying peoples' livelihoods and education in Qatar and other affected countries.
The sweeping measures imposed in an arbitrary manner by the Gulf countries in their dispute with Qatar are already having a "brutal effect" on the people of these countries, Amnesty said, as reported by al-Jazeera, a major news organization based in the Doha, Qatar's capital.
As a result of the new Middle East crisis, the Philippine government temporarily suspended the deployment of Filipino workers to Qatar, which hosts more than 200,000 Filipino workers.
