A Westerner’s travels among the persecuted and displaced Christian remnant in Iraq and Syria teach him much about faith under fire. Gold Medal Winner, 2018 IPPY Book of the Year Award Silver Medal Winner, 2018 Benjamin Franklin Award Finalist, 2018 ECPA Christian Book Award In Syria and Iraq, Christians have long been a religious minority. When the Islamic State took control of the region, many feared that these ancient faith communities would be wiped out forever, and with it the witness of a church that has modeled Jesus’ way of nonviolence and enemy-love for two millennia. The kidnapping, enslavement, torture, and murder of Christians by the Islamic State, or ISIS, have been detailed by journalists, as have the jihadists' deliberate efforts to destroy the cultural heritage of a region that is the cradle of Christianity. This book provides insight into the religious and historical roots of the recent conflict. Andreas Knapp, a priest who works with refugees in Germany, traveled to camps for displaced people in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq to collect stories of survivors – and to seek answers to troubling questions about the link between religion and violence. He found Christians who still speak Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic, the language of Jesus. The uprooted remnant of ancient churches, they doggedly continue to practice their faith despite the odds. Their devastating eyewitness reports make it clear why millions fled the Middle East. Yet, remarkably, though some of these Christians will likely never return to their homes, they also harbor no thirst for revenge. Could it be that they hold the key to breaking the cycle of violence in the region? Includes sixteen pages of color photographs. Knapp is especially impressed that Aramaic Christians have remained nonviolent and peaceable, despite centuries of continual violent oppression. Yousif, the refugee Knapp accompanies to Iraq, comments, "For the terrorists, it is an honor to kill. Shouldn’t it be an honor for us Christians to pray for and love our persecutors?” -- Borromeo Society In his book The Last Christians, Andreas Knapp reports on the tragic decline of Christian communities in Iraq and Syria. His book is a harrowing report on the demise of Christianity in the territories of the Middle East ruled by the Islamic State. -- Sunday newsweekly This book is alarming, suspenseful, and stirring. The Last Christians: Stories of Persecution, Flight, and Resilience in the Middle East takes stock of the precarious situation of Christians in the Middle East. Every so often the reader will need to pause and reflect. Inevitably, the question arises: How would I have reacted in that situation? How would I have behaved? What would I have done? Yet the book’s narrative compels one to keep reading. ... One would wish to give this book as recommended reading to all Christians, and especially to all politicians. Many eyes would be opened. -- Catholic News Network Knapp’s book The Last Christians is a historical narrative written from the victims’ perspective. It seeks to explain why the once flourishing culture of Christianity in the Middle East has been steadily decimated over the course of centuries, and why, in light of the Islamization of the entire region in recent years, for many Christian refugees the hope of returning to their homelands has dwindled. -- Day by Day radio show Knapp is sincere in his beliefs, and his passionate book will provide much-needed anecdotal testimony for readers interested in the plight of Christians throughout Iraq and Syria. --Publishers Weekly If you are looking for a book that does justice to the complex reality of the Middle East and humanizes the suffering of all its people, then look no further. — Agape Review A poet, priest, and popular author in Germany, Andreas Knapp left a secure position as head of Freiburg Seminary to live and work among the poor as a member of the Little Brothers of the Gospel, a religious order inspired by Charles de Foucauld. Today he shares an apartment with three brothers in Leipzig’s largest housing project, and ministers to prisoners and refugees. His latest book, The Last Christians, recounts the stories of refugees in his neighborhood and of displaced people in camps in Kurdistan, northern Iraq. The Last Christians Stories of Persecution, Flight, and Resilience in the Middle East By Andreas Knapp, Sharon Howe Plough Publishing House Copyright © 2017 Plough Publishing House All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-87486-062-7 Contents Preface: Giving a Voice to the Voiceless, ix, 1. Looking Death in the Eye, 1, 2. Please Help Us!, 8, 3. A Graveside Reunion, 18, 4. Last Respects, 25, 5. A Waiting Game, 41, 6. When They Persecute You, 52, 7. A Life's Work in Ruins, 58, 8. A Bishop in Exile, 71, 9. Nothing New Under the Crescent Moon, 87, 10. Within Sight of the Islamic State, 100, 11. The Decline of the Christian Middle East, 109, 12. A Rock