Matthew D Whitton and Dr. Chad Emmett, Geography

Despite recent events, the last ten years has represented an unparalleled opportunity for Palestinians and Israelis to resolve their many differences at the negotiating table. With the signing of the 1993 Oslo Accords, Palestinians received for the first time a level of autonomy that many hope will eventually accumulate in the establishment of an independent Palestinian State. The Palestinian Authority (PA) became the governing body of the Palestinians during an interim period designed to test the Palestinian leadership’s resolve to democracy and Israel’s security.

Contrary to popular belief, Palestine (i.e. the West Bank and Gaza Strip) is not home to a religiously homogenous population. Although Muslims now comprise nearly 97% of the territory’s inhabitants, Palestinian Christians and Samaritans also reside within the region’s borders. Despite their religious differences, culturally they are all Arabs and accordingly play important roles as members of the Palestinian nationalist movement. As a small religious minority, Palestinian Christians provide the academic world with an opportunity to examine the democratic future of an inevitable future state in Palestine. This relationship relies on the premise that a democracy’s measure of success can be determined by (1) how well a government protects the rights of a minority group and by (2) how well that group participates in the political activities of its country. I predicted that although Palestinian Christians experience more political freedom than do most fellow Arabs in the Middle East, there exist, nevertheless, factors that will prevent them from realizing the full potential of democracy’s promises for them.

In order to test my hypothesis, I required a substantial amount of background information concerning the history of Palestinian Christians and their political roles over the last one hundred years. My studies not only examined the basis of past and present religious interaction in Palestine, but also relied on examples of Christian leadership in determining to what extent religion divides Palestinians in the political arena. As a result, I discovered what role religion plays in the politics of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. I continued my research with additional studies of post-Oslo politics and government in Palestine. I intended to measure the unity that existed in Palestinian society despite any differences of faith. During my research, I examined the results of and the commentary surrounding the 1996 Palestinian elections as well as documentation, legislation, and policy by the new interim government that demonstrated any partiality to a given religious group. Finally, my research analyzed the writings of Palestinian Christians who wrote of their faith, experiences, and how they perceived their future in Palestine. Ultimately, I attempted to ascertain whether or not Christians lived as social and political equals with their fellow Muslims.

My work, however, was not without its obstacles. I decided early into my studies that my efforts would best be validated by fieldwork in Palestine during the summer of 2002. As I made preparations for this field study, several factors complicated my task. I had initially planned to intern with the U.S. State Department in Palestine and live in the provided government employee residence. My application for this internship unfortunately found itself into an anthrax-contaminated mailroom and the department never received my application. Even so, I was determined to make the trip. After exploring other opportunities, however, it became readily apparent that traveling to Palestine would prove to be a dangerous undertaking due to Israeli incursions, increased suicide bombings, and a worsening of human living standards. In due time, I decided to forgo any fieldwork until the situation in Palestine improved dramatically— something that has yet to happen. My inability to conduct research in Palestine has left me with a shortage of available resources because social scientists have done relatively little in the past to address the region’s internal political issues. Even so, I remain confident that my efforts to acquire a sufficient amount of information will not fail.

Although my research remains uncompleted, I have nonetheless made a series of conclusions in response to my original hypothesis. I discovered that the Palestinian nationalist movement has united Christians and Muslims together providing them with a more positive future than they would have had together otherwise. As a result, Christians serve as respected leaders in Palestine regardless of their religion. Under the Palestinian Authority, Christians find political protection to the extent that at times the law is impartial towards them. For example, law guarantees Christians six seats in Palestine’s eighty-eight-seat legislature (more than double the Christian to Muslim population ratio in Palestine) as well as a number mayoral positions. Over the last twenty years, Christians have filled a number of PLO committee positions and PA cabinet posts as well. In May 2002, PA President Yasir Arafat signed the Basic Law guaranteeing many democratic values including freedom of religion to all the citizens of Palestine. Thus, under law Christians find themselves equals of the Muslim majority. Several factors, however, threaten to disrupt the Christian hope for political equality. The rising violence, the deepening economic disparity, and the unresolved settlement with Israel slowly diminish the Christian community from within. Often known for “facing the West,” Palestinian Christians are usually better educated than their Muslim counterparts and therefore more likely to migrate from Palestine to Europe or the Americas in order to avoid their homeland’s precarious circumstances. Consequently, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict threatens to remove the Christian presence from Palestine entirely. Islamist politics further diminish the likelihood that Christians will succeed politically in Palestine. Their influence in government could bring religious tensions to the surface that until now have been kept in check. Finally, Christians run the risk of not asserting themselves enough in the political culture of their homeland. The Muslim majority could easily drown out the Christian voice if allowed to do so. Thus, Christian political longevity depends on a variety of controllable and uncontrollable elements.

As I conclude my research, I intend to conduct primary research at a local level. I recently received approval to conduct interviews among Palestinians on issues of Palestinian statehood, religious tolerance, and the role of Palestine’s Christians. I will conduct these interviews with Palestinians living in the Provo or Salt Lake areas. This and additional secondary research will help me complete my efforts to better understand not only the prospects of Christians in Palestinian politics but also whether or not Palestine will succeed in its democratic endeavor.