“Challenges Facing Arab Christians”
Report
by Rev. Dr. Habib Badr
On the Amman Conference held from 3–4
September, 2013
By invitation of
King Abdullah the 2nd of Jordan, I participated in an international
conference held in the capital Amman from 3 to 4 September, 2013 on the theme “Challenges
Facing Arab Christians.”
The invitations came
to us via Prince Ghazi, the cousin of the King, who is also his consultant for
religious affairs and personal envoy. Prince
Ghazi is additionally the initiator of the famous document “Common Word,” that called for Christian/Muslim
dialogue, and that was signed by many Muslim scholars and leaders from all over
the world. He is a conservative Muslim,
but well educated and very eloquent. He has
made some positive moves to enhance Muslim-Christian relations, and has also
taken significant initiatives to ameliorate the situation of Jordanian and
other Middle Eastern Christians in recent times.
Participants:
About 70 Eastern and
Western Christian leaders and scholars were invited. Among them were two Greek Orthodox Patriarchs:
John X of Antioch (whose brother, the bishop of Aleppo, was recently kidnapped)
and Theophilus III of Jerusalem (who is well connected to Prince Ghazi). In attendance also were: the Melkite (Greek
Catholic) Patriarch Gregorios III of Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem;
Patriarch Fuad Twal of the Latin (Roman Catholic) Church of Jerusalem and all
the East; Patriarch Louis Sako of the Chaldean Church (of Iraq); the Armenian Patriarch
of Jerusalem, Nurhan Manougian.
Additionally, several bishops and priests representing other churches
and communities in the Middle East were also invited. Worth mentioning are: Bp. Suheil Dawani of
the Anglican Church of Jerusalem and Bp. Mounir Hanna of the same Church in
Egypt; Bp. Munib Younan of the Lutheran Church of Jordan/Palestine, and current
president of the Lutheran World Federation; as well as Bp. Avak Assadourian of
the Armenian Orthodox Church of Iraq.
I was invited in my
own right, but I also represented the president of the Supreme Council of the
Evangelical Community in Syria and Lebanon.
Also attending was Rev. Dr. Riad Jarjour. Additionally, only four Muslim scholars attended
and spoke. Most prominent amongst these
was Dr. Muhammad Al Sammak from Lebanon.
Other than Prince
Ghazi, who opened the Conference, altogether about 40 persons spoke each for 10
minutes or so. These represented the
various countries of the Middle East such as Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan
Palestine and Iraq. The Coptic Pope
Tawadros of Egypt sent a word that was read, and Patriarch Al Raii (of the
Maronites of Lebanon) could only attend for a few hours at lunch at the King’s
Palace on Tuesday, where he said a very short word and received (among others)
a special medal from the King.
The Vatican was
represented by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council
for Interreligious Dialogue, in addition to retired Cardinal McCarrick, of
Washington D.C. Canterbury was
represented by Bp. Michael Langrish. Olav
Fykse, General Secretary of the WCC was also present and spoke, so also did
Rev. Dr. Ian Torrence, a prominent Presbyterian leader from Edinburgh (and ex-president
of Princeton Theological Seminary). Noteworthy
also was the presence of certain prominent North American conservative Evangelical
leaders and representatives. Worth
mentioning are: Pastor Rick Warren (who said the opening prayer at president Obama’s
first inauguration), Rev. Dr. Geoff Tunnicliffe, Secretary General and CEO of
the World Evangelical Alliance (who claims to represent 600 million Christians
around the world), the Baptist pastor and professor Dr. Paul Fiddes of Oxford
University, and Mark Burnett and his wife Roma Downey, the producers of the
famous “The Bible” series that aired
on the History Channel in the USA. They are also ambassadors for the World
Evangelical Alliance.
Interestingly, these
Evangelicals are all well connected to the King, who seems to want to foster
good relations with American Evangelicals, knowing the potential influence they
have on American politics and politicians, but also because he wants them to
better understand the Middle Eastern Christian situation.
It is also note
worthy that the local (conservative) evangelical churches in Jordan and some other
countries of the region, who are growing in number and influence, were not
invited to participate in the event.
Issues Raised and Discussed:
At the lunch hosted
by the King on Tuesday, and throughout the conference, three main issues were
raised, and were considered particularly pressing at this critical moment in
the history of Middle Eastern Christianity.
The first concern of
the Conference was to raise the voice of the Christians of the Middle East, and
to make it heard and taken note of by local governments, the world church, as
well as by the international community.
And this voice was certainly expressed -- loudly and clearly -- at the
conference. Several complaints were
expressed, and five main points were raised in this regard:
1-
The
various Christian communities (“minorities”) of the Middle East region have in
general (with the possible exception of Lebanon) not been treated as full
citizens with equal rights and privileges in the various Arab and Middle
Eastern countries and societies in which they live. Many concrete examples were given in this
respect. This has many reasons, one of
them being the lack of clarity on the place and role of “the different other” (be
it individual or community) in Islamic law and government. This of course is not only a challenge that
faces the Christian communities of the Middle East, but it also extends to many
“minority groups” within the region.
2-
In
light of the fast, violent and radical changes taking place in the Arab world
today (the so-called “Arab Spring”), this situation has dramatically worsened. Indeed
persecution and violence against Christians has greatly increased and the waves
of migration have risen to unprecedented levels. Many cases of such deterioration were cited, not
least of which is the kidnapping of the two (Greek and Syrian) Orthodox bishops
of Aleppo. The future that awaits
Christians in this situation looks unclear, grim and scary.
3-
The
“moderate” Muslim and Arab clerics, intellectuals, rulers, governments, leaders
and political authorities have to do something to ameliorate this situation. Their voices need to be raised and heard by
all parties concerned. One of the Muslim
participants, Dr. Sammak, declared boldly that the emptying of the East from
its Christian inhabitants will inevitably have a negative impact on Islam and
the image of Muslims in the world.
Christian and Muslim leaders ought to come together in order to analyze
the problem, to find practical and effective ways and means to face the
challenges thereof, and to change and improve the situation for the sake of
both peoples.
4-
In
spite of all the difficulties they have suffered (or caused), Middle Eastern
Christians have always sought to be a serving and productive element in the
societies they live in. Through their
various institutions of social, educational, medical, cultural, and other
diaconal ministries, as well as their significant contributions to the Arab
cultural and national awakenings, the Christians of the Middle East have tried
to be instruments of peace and a means of blessing for the region and its
inhabitants. They have been serving its
Christian, Muslim and even Jewish inhabitants alike without discrimination, distinction
or bias. They desire to continue to do
so.
5-
Christians
have consistently played an important role in defending and advocating the
causes of justice and peace in the region, in particular in promoting a just
and lasting solution to the Palestinian problem. The MECC, among other institutions, has
played a significant role in this regard on an international level. Christians believe that they have a unique
role to play in bridging the gap created by misunderstandings between East and
West, and in lessening the existing tensions on many issues (such as Islamophobia,
Christian Zionism, terrorism and other issues).
The second issue discussed
at the Conference relates to the practical ways in which the above-mentioned concerns
and challenges may be tackled. Not many
ideas were put forward in this regard because of the lack of time and because
it was agreed from the outset that no final communiqué was to be issued by the
participants. However, a few ideas were
put forward, one of them being to transform this conference into a permanent
organization, meeting regularly to follow up the issues raised and to find
solutions and ways forward. Another was
to form a follow-up committee from the persons invited to meet with Muslim and
government leaders on all levels to explore ways of going forward.
The third issue
raised is concerned with the role that Christians can play in the determination
of the final status of Jerusalem. It was
observed by King Abdullah that the present ongoing negotiations between
Palestinians and Israelis seem to be moving in a positive manner, unlike
previous rounds of talks. The King,
being the custodian of the Holy Sites in Jerusalem, requested the Christian
leaders to meet with their Muslim counterparts in order to reach, as soon as
possible, a common and unified position on the final status of Jerusalem. He hoped that this position would safeguard
the rights and privileges of all the inhabitants of the “City of Peace” --
before it is too late! It is feared that
the current measures being taken by the Israeli government in the city (and the
country as a whole) are rapidly changing its character, and consequently leave
very little space for its non-Jewish inhabitants to live as equal citizens, and
to continue to practice their centuries’ old religious heritages.
Conclusion:
All in all, this was
a very good beginning for all parties involved.
And even though in principle this conference should have been convened
upon the initiative of the churches of the Middle East (possibly by the MECC),
nonetheless, it is good that it took place.
Perhaps now the churches would be emboldened to pursue matters on their
own, without losing the momentum created by this welcome and appreciated invitation
of the King of Jordan and Prince Ghazi.
Let us hope and pray for a brighter, more secure and peaceful future
ahead for all of us living in this troubled region of the world.
Habib Badr
Beirut, 9 September,
2013
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