Answer 1

It might have something to do with the fact that historically it pretty much has been. The doctrine of converting with the sword has left some lasting memories (much like the crusades have).

Answer 2

Looking at Christians in Muslim-majority countries is very informative in this regard. This shows a consistent inequality between Muslims and Christians in Muslim-majority countries. The fact that most Muslims not only tacitly accept this inequality but claim that they are "very tolerant" of Christianity gives many Christians worry. In the case of Israelis and other Zionists, showing the way that Islam "tolerates" Christianity may help to explain why they are afraid of being under Islamic control as well.

If we examine the treatment of Copts in Egypt:

Under the rule of Hosni Mubarak, Egypt was an Islamic State with unequal rights for Christians and other religious minorities. Christians, while Egyptian citizens, did not have the same legal protections in certain cases (such as the lack of the Christian right to build new or repair old churches while Muslims could easily build and repair mosques) and in other cases where the laws placed Christians and Muslims on equal footing, there was a tendency to treat the Christians as inferior (such as property law). Christian churches were bombed relatively infrequently, but no government suits or arrests followed such actions. Christians were also expected not to openly drink wine (such as in restaurants that are exposed to the street or in other public places) and not to openly eat pork to avoid offending Muslims. Proselytization to Christianity was also forbidden by law, even though Islamic proselytization on Christians is permitted. Conversion of Muslims to any other religion is also illegal. However, Egyptian Christians can live in whatever communities they want and can pray without the fear of forcible conversion. Christian Egyptians paid no higher taxes on account of being Christian and they were permitted to work in the government and serve in the Army.

The mass departure of Copts from Egypt has been relatively recent. In the 1970s and 1980s, rioting against the Copts and the bombing of their churches. When Egyptian Pope Shenouda III decried the Egyptian government's lack of protection for them, Mubarak prevented Shenouda III from being able to leave Egypt so that he could not discuss the issue with foreign Copts rather than actually fixing the problem. Since the Arab Spring Revolution, the problem has accelerated with church bombing and anti-Christian riots becoming almost weekly activities. Egyptian Copts are fleeing to America and Western Europe to escape the violence and find a place where they can live securely, even though they have a strong attachment to their homeland

If we examine the departure of Christians from Lebanon:

Between 1860 and 1932, over 207,000 Lebanese Christians fled Lebanon, mostly for the United States, Western Europe, and Australia, this is in contrast to all non-Christian Lebanese immigrants during the same period (Sunni Muslims, Shiite Muslims, Alawites, and Druze) which total less than 37,000. During and after the Lebanese Civil War (1975-Present), Christians emigrated from Lebanon at six times the rate of non-Christian Lebanese. Each wave of Lebanese migration came as Muslims in Lebanon gained more power and began to insist on a more religiously Islamic government as opposed to the Confessionalist System that Lebanon currently has.

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