The vanishing Faith, loss, and the twilight of Christianity in the land of the prophets

Award-winning author and journalist di Giovanni (The Morning They Came for Us, 2016) began this book as the world shut down in 2020, the pandemic's effects overshadowing the events of millennia in the Middle East. With a reporting career spanning three decades throughout the region, she writes with poignant authenticity as she weaves her own deeply personal faith experiences with those of a parade of Middle Eastern citizens who populate the history she recounts of Iraq, Gaza, Syria, and Egypt, places foundational to early Christianity. Each once was home to vibrant Christian communities that held uneasy yet peaceful alliances with Muslim majorities, but is now disrupted by extremism, intolerance, and well-meant outside influences that are driving a modern exodus of Christians from their ancestral homes. Di Giovanni's many interviews and own observations detail heartrending circumstances that have wreaked irreparable harm to families, towns, and countries. The words of one Syrian expat, "Our present is a failure, but our past is glorious," illustrate di Giovanni's difficult, essential undertaking. Maps and an invaluable timeline complement the thoroughly documented text. Challenging but worth the effort, this will resonate with readers interested in gaining understanding of the land's complex issues while grasping with the author for undiscovered solutions.

In this informative work of journalism and memoir, war reporter Di Giovanni (Ghosts of Daylight) recounts her travels through the Middle East with a focus on rapidly shrinking Christian minority groups. While Islam is the majority religion of the region, there are sizable populations of Christian in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, and Egypt dating back to the founding of Christianity. In recent decades, Di Giovanni notes, they have suffered ethnic cleansing, political oppression, and the upheaval of civil wars. Di Giovanni's insightful reporting traces the histories of these groups and emphasizes the cultural legacies they represent; among other topics, she explains the spread and impact of ISIS on Christian minorities throughout Syria and Iraq, and the "drum roll of violence and killing" targeting Coptic Christians within Muslim Brotherhood--controlled Egypt. The propulsive account is marked by the author's keen eye for detail and the stories of the people involved, such as an Egyptian Coptic Christian jeweler who refuses to give up proclaiming his faith despite constant fear and public humiliations. This is perfect for anyone interested in the Middle East, or in how humans live through war. (Oct.)

An intimate look at the fate of shrinking Christian populations in the Middle East. In her latest poignant book, veteran war correspondent and Guggenheim fellow di Giovanni focuses on Christian communities struggling to survive in the region where the religion had its birth. The author specifically explores the plight of Christian communities in Iraq, Gaza, Syria, and Egypt, using firsthand experience from extensive travel in those places. Melodramatically bookended by the author's shelter experience during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, these four lengthy chapters provide relevant historical background, cover recent events, and delve into the personal stories of dozens of individual believers. "I traveled to these places," writes the author, "to try to record for history people whose villages, cultures, and ethos would perhaps not be standing in one hundred years' time. But I also wanted to write about the people I met along the way, whose faith and resilience allowed them to survive, and to pay tribute to those who had vanished." Though factionalism and violent religious intolerance have taken their toll on Christian minorities in the Middle East, di Giovanni makes it clear that the ultimate factor (the "tipping point") forcing Christians to leave is economic uncertainty. Christians in these areas, situated within financially hard-hit areas of the world and torn apart by war and instability, have little hope of economic survival. Beyond economic fear, di Giovanni uncovers an existential crisis as centuries-old communities, rocked by trauma, sense the coming of extinction. She exposes a tremendous pathos and shared sense of grief across the region. But she is also impressed by the overriding faith of these communities, the members of which are uncertain about their earthly fates but focused on the promises religion has provided. The author presents a distinctly personal and subjective account full of empathy and humanity amid upheaval. Heart-rending stories of dying communities buoyed by the hope of their faith. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.