1/08 -2008
Dear Dr. Romano,
There are difficulties invisible to Westerners that drive Christians to emigrate to the West. Ten million in the last century! A figure even published by Magdi Cristiano Allam. I follow your column closely and I am saddened by the fact that with your diplomatic language you avoid the essence of the problem and the examples you mention do not reflect reality. I understand that your contacts remain at a certain level that does not reflect the substance that would come to light if you were allowed contact with the people concerned. The presence of churches built for the most part in pre-war time hides social oppression and discriminatory laws in force. One for everything:
There is a ban on the construction of temples and churches in Egypt, except after having fulfilled 10 conditions that are difficult to implement. An edict by Caliph Omar 639 A.D. still regulates relations between Muslims and Christians and the permission to build Christian places of worship. A decree issued by the Ministry of the Interior in Egypt in February 1934 cited the 10 requirements to be able to issue a building permit. Repairing the boundary wall of a church requires the authorization of the President of the Republic; however, in most cases the prohibitions are deflected by the good will of local officials but always susceptible to blackmail. Religious worship must in any case remain discreet.
The core of the contrasts between the West and the Islamic world, contrasts apparently invisible to the eyes of Italians, are the rights and duties of non-Muslim citizens as codified by the law on personal status. In fact, the divine source of Koranic law, freedom of religious choice, equality between citizens and women’s rights are the most striking points of contrast between all Arab countries and Western culture. I personally believe that the real Cultural Revolution in the Arab world should pass through women and that us, immigrants in the West, have a duty to draw public attention to these contrasts that are invisible to the naked eye.
Dr Romano, given the resonance of your column, I hope that when you return, you will be able to raise or better highlight the situation of human rights in the Arab world, not so much church-building or reciprocity, but human rights. Thank you.
Let me mention to you my article on the subject published by Popoli on POPOLI in February 2005 reported here:
http://www.ildialogo.org/dialogofedi/patriarcaticristiani21022005.htm
Giuseppe Samir Eid
The letter of the day |Sunday 3 August 2008
CHRISTIANS IN ISLAM RESPONSIBILITY OF ITALY
The statement that there are Christian churches in Islamic countries may also be true, as it is true that there are bishops, apostolic legates and priests. What, however, you neglected to specify are the living conditions that Christians in most Islamic countries are forced to suffer, particularly in the Middle East. Some examples are worth more than long speeches. In Aleppo, in Syria, in the short space of a few years Christians have been reduced to a few thousand and, because of the continuation of the current oppression, they are destined to disappear. In Lebanon, as declared by the current Patriarch of the Church of that country, the exodus of Maronites, Orthodox and Catholics continues unceasingly. The Christians of Iraq are continually persecuted and condemned to death according to Sharia law, as the many Iraqi refugees living in Italy testify.
Even Egypt, a country that passes for progress, has made it difficult for Coptic Christians to survive. They must hide their faith; otherwise they are marginalized and consequently cannot work for a living. I have seen this in person through direct testimony during a stay in Sharm el-Sheikh. I could continue on the same subject, always with anti-Christian facts and actions ascertained in Iran, Turkey, Algeria, Pakistan, and Sudan and so on. It is not the building of some churches, as your answer shows, that can determine Islamic countries as tolerant.
When these churches are empty because attending them can cost you your life, perhaps it is better not to build them.
Gabriele Murra, Bolzano
Dear Murra,
I didn’t say Islamic countries are tolerant.
I merely explained why the principle of reciprocity is difficult to apply in the circumstances I described. And I added that a democratic country, founded on tolerance, cannot fail in its principles without betraying itself.
There are, however, arguments in your letter that suggest some reflection.
It is certainly true that Christians, in some Muslim countries, are victims of unjust treatment and deprived of certain fundamental freedoms.
But the cases listed by you are very heterogeneous. In Syria, a few months ago, I was very favourably struck by two factors: the hospitality provided by the Syrian authorities to Iraqi refugees (many of whom are Christians) and the existence of a neighbourhood in Aleppo in which there are churches representing all the Christian cults of the Levant. In Lebanon, recently, I met the Patriarch of the Maronites, Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, in his palace in Bkirki on the slopes of the hills that climb towards Mount Lebanon. From him I learned that a million Maronites left the country during the long years of the civil war. They did not leave, however, because they suffered particular discrimination and persecution. They left a country at war because, unlike other religious groups, they could count on the solidarity of a large Maronite diaspora (about eight million people), now happily installed in Europe, the Americas and Australia.
I remind you that in Lebanon, despite the sharp decrease in the Christian component, the material constitution still provides for the President of the Republic (the last one was elected by Parliament two months ago) to be Maronite. The Iraqi case is certainly the most painful. I have met Assyrian and Chaldean refugees in Damascus, who have been mistreated, blackmailed, forced to choose between exile and death. But it is worth remembering that in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq these same Christians could freely profess their faith and exercise their economic activities. The drama of Iraqi Christian communities began with the American invasion of the country in the spring of 20-To Know and understand each other to coexist and build Peace. In Egypt the Copts represent roughly 6% of a population of 71 million people.
There have been incidents and bloody clashes with radical Islamism groups, especially during the election campaign for renewal by the People’s Assembly. And the government is perhaps less liberal towards them than it was in the past. But the Copts continue to hold important positions in Egyptian society.
They have government positions, and a large family in the community – the Sawiris – controls Orascom Telecom, one of the largest telecommunications companies in the Mediterranean.
Lastly, the criterion of reciprocity applies only to cases where the legitimate interests of states are at stake. The Italian State has the right and the duty to defend its citizens abroad and to ensure that they are not subject to discriminatory measures.
But it cannot deal with Christians as such except in the name of ideal principles and within the framework of any international conventions.
It is not “defender of the faith”, “protector of the faithful” or “guardian of the holy places”. If it behaved as such it would be a confessional State that is an institution of which many Italians would prefer not to be citizens.
Giuseppe Samir Eid
Free web translation from the original in Italian
The published articles intend to provide the tools for a social inclusion of the migratory flow, shed light on human rights and the condition of life of Christians in the Islamic world from which the author come from. Knowledge of the other, of cultural and religious differences are primary ingredients to create peace in the hearts of men everywhere, a prerequisite for a peaceful coexistence and convinced citizenship in the territory.