RELIGION OF PIECES: The Disastrous Campaign to Rid the Middle East of Christianity. “At the start of World War I, the Christian population of the Middle East may have been as high as 20 percent. Today, it is roughly four percent. Although it is difficult to be exact, there are perhaps 13 million Christians left in the region, and that number has likely fallen further, given the continued destabilization of Syria and Egypt, two nations with historically large Christian populations. At the present rate of decline, there may very well be no significant Christian presence in the Middle East in another generation or two.” The author points out that the Muslims will lose, too — by missing out on “pluralism” and “religious diversity.” What?