The Future of Christianity in the Middle East and How to Deal with Violent Islamic Extremism

With massive displacements of Christians in Iraq and Syria, and recent violence against the Copts in Egypt, will Christianity survive in the Middle East? Kent Hill will provide a brief survey of Christianity in the Middle East. Then, with a special focus on what it will take to undermine violent Islamic extremism, he will address how Christians in the west can help. A particular area he will consider is whether the core problem is extremism or Islam itself. Without addressing this issue, Dr. Hill believes a way forward will not be found.

Kent Hill joined the Religious Freedom Insitute after six years as Senior Vice President at World Vision, one of the largest faith-based relief and development organizations in the world. He also served for eight years as Assistant Administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), responsible for U.S. foreign assistance to Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, and, subsequently, all USAID health programs worldwide. Earlier in his career, Dr. Hill was President of Eastern Nazarene College, and President of D.C.’s Institute on Religion and Democracy. In 2010, as a Vice President at the John Templeton Foundation, Hill, along with Tom Farr, conceived Georgetown’s Religious Freedom Project and secured funding to launch the project. Dr. Hill has published a book on Christianity and the Soviet Union. His Ph.D. is from the University of Washington.