The article refers to the problem of the extinction of Christianity and other religious minorities in the Middle East. This process began in the 19th century in the Balkans and continued with Jews in the Arab countries, Jews and Bahais in Iran, and the Chaldo-Assyrian Christians in Iraq and Syria. The events of 2011 provoked a new wave of anti-Christian feelings in the Arab world with the worst anti-Christian violence against Copts in Egypt. The other question discussed in the article is why the Western press and political elites have ignored or under-reported this persecution.