Christians in Deep Danger: 'We Dare Not Be Silent'

From Egypt, to Syria and Iraq, ancient Christian communities--among the world's oldest--are under threat of extinction.

"Christians and other minorities are in deep danger and we dare not be silent. The time to speak is now," said Katrina Lantos Swett, chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Freedom.

Swett delivered that message at the recent 6th Annual Coptic Solidarity Conference in Washington, D.C., on persecution in the Middle East.

So, why should Americans, or other Westerners, get involved? Swett said religious extremism crosses oceans and continents.

"When Coptic Christians in Egypt are jailed for blasphemy or attacked by extremists for supposedly violating such laws and we are silent, we should not be surprised when attacks commence in the streets of Paris or elsewhere," she said.

Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, said," America is in a place to stop the persecution of Christians in numbers never before seen in the world. God has allowed us to be at that place."

But before America and other nations can respond effectively, they must face the truth about what is happening and why.

Middle East analyst and author Raymond Ibrahim blames the media.

"We know about this ISIS thing because ISIS wants you to know. And the media, if anything, has responded by giving us a plethora of editorials trying to convince us that what ISIS is doing is not Islamic," he explained.

Ibrahim said American leaders must speak the truth about the atrocities--like the beheading of Coptic Christians in Libya.

"According to the White House, it was just 21 Egyptians who were randomly killed, not because they're Christians, not because of their faith and so forth," Ibrahim said.

U.S. Religious Freedom Ambassador at Large Rabbi David Saperstein is urgently concerned about Iraqi and Syrian Christians. Their numbers have dwindled to a fraction of what they were just 20 years ago.

"Now, if we're going to preserve those communities, we know what needs to be done," Saperstein said. "First, until ISIL is pushed out, those displaced communities need to be able to live with a quality of life that will be an incentive for them to remain."

And that means providing security and stability for them, along with better healthcare and schools for their children. 

Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn., said people of the United States need to act.

"We cannot stand by and watch this," Black said. "We have a  moral obligation to act in defense of our brothers and sisters abroad."

So, Christian activists in Washington are once again speaking loudly, reminding President Barack Obama and the U.S. Congress that something needs to be done quickly to protect these ancient Christian communities from annihilation.

And they say they'll keep speaking until something is done and they start listening.