Christians in the Middle East are becoming increasingly fearful of the tremendous political and social change sweeping the region. Reports of a rising Islamist threat and hostility towards Christians in Egypt after the revolution are unsettling Christian communities in the Levant. Although they may be right to fear for their political status, which has been privileged in countries like Syria and Lebanon, Christians are now debating their role in the Syrian, and more broadly, Arab uprisings.

Fearful of a marginalized role and a potential threat to the survival of the Levantine Christians, the Lebanese Patriarchy recently took a controversial position, siding with Syrian President Bashar Assad - against the Syrian people who are protesting his tyranny and brutality. The head of the Maronite Church, Patriarch Bshara Butrus Rai, last month expressed support for Assad while on a trip to Paris. In further statements, he supported Hezbollah's retention of its arsenal to protect Lebanon from Israel. Other Lebanese contend that those weapons should be handed over to the Lebanese army, constitutionally the only national institution entrusted to defend the country.

Rai's statements were not received well internationally and caused him to cancel an upcoming trip to Washington. Reports had it that the U.S. Administration snubbed it after his remarks, as expressed by Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly in a meeting with Rai last week. Connelly reportedly told Rai the US would look into the prospective trip to Washington after Rai's visit to the South of Lebanon. Lebanese-American groups also expressed concern about Rai's comments in a petition to the administration, which reportedly helped shape the Administration's view of the trip.

Despite the backlash against those statements, Rai did not retract his comments. In fact, he pressed forward with a tour to the Lebanese South, and was received by Hezbollah's officials and their Syrian allies. This week, he received Syrian Mufti Sheikh Adnan Afyouni and Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel Karim Ali at the seat of the Maronite Church in Bkirki, north of Beirut.

Rai's new position cannot be taken lightly in a country whose Patriarchy vehemently defied Syrian hegemony over Lebanon for decades. His rationale stems from the fear that Christian communities in both Syria and Lebanon would be harmed by a potential Sunni overtake of the government in Damascus. Syrian Christians, constituting approximately 10 percent of the Syrian population, have long been allied with the Assads, who continue to provide them with protection. What cements this alliance is Christian fear of the reprisals by the protestors should the regime fall.

But not all of Lebanon's Christians have come to the Syrian fold. Christian leader Samir Geagea, addressing tens of thousands of supporters for an annual mass celebrating fallen martyrs, argued that the Christians should not be bystanders to the events happening in Syria. "It is the responsibility of Christians in the Middle East to ensure they do not slide into isolationism" he said. He negated Rai's view on Hezbollah's arms, stressing that the existence of illegitimate weapons is no longer justified given the various Arab uprisings.

In order to ease the fears of Christian communities in the region, the protestors must assure their Christian compatriots that there would be no reprisal if the regime falls. For their part, Christian leaders must not support a brutal tyranny for short-term narrow interest, at the expense of their fellow countrymen. In Lebanon, it is wiser for Christians to stay true to their long-standing commitment to Lebanon's independence and to justice. Anything else risks losing their historical role and their future in a new Middle East.