Popoli –  09/1994

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UN – Population Conference, Cairo

Parish Bulletin

One of our parishioners, born in Egypt of Syrian-Lebanese parents of Catholic faith and profound knowledge of the Arab world, participated as an observer on behalf of some publishers in the recent “International Conference on Population and Development” held in Cairo. He reported these interesting impressions that we offer to our readers’ attention.

Cairo, September 1994.

Impressions of an Observer

The UN recognizing the growing interdependence between world population, development and the environment has called for an “Inter National Conference on Population and Development” to adopt appropriate macro / socio-economic policies to promote growth in the context of population problems. In essence, to trace the fundamental lines in order to contain the demographic growth of the next 20 years in the world.

Three thousand five hundred delegates from 182 countries, five thousand members of four hundred non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and three thousand eight hundred journalists intervened in Cairo, around fifteen thousand in all, including the logistics with equally active security personnel

The Conference was an opportunity to verify the enormous difference in mentality that exists between economically more developed countries and the rest of the world. The former come from a long history of socio-economic, demographic and military revolutions and consume 75% of the world resources available, even though they represent only 20% of the world population.

In their eyes, the third world is guilty of developing insufficient economic resources to sustain its demographic growth, and thereby cause unbridled emigration to relatively “rich” countries. The first version of the document presented to the delegates proposed, in practice, to reduce the birth rate growth of the population in developing countries using for this purpose, a large part of the economic aid approved as a lever to incentivize the poorest people to conform to this understanding. Many delegates of the developing countries indicated that they will apply the decisions of the Conference only if they are compatible with their traditions, culture and religions.

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POPOLI 12-1994

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We gladly offer clarifications, proposed by one of our parishioners, Giuseppe Samir Eid (*), a Christian of Arab origin, concerning some very current terms and concepts on the problems with Islam.

Do I know Islam?
Islam: indicates total submission to the will of Allah, Supreme Being (Akbar, without associates) and acceptance of his decrees understood as shariah. Some Islamic schools deny that the God understood by Christians, Trinity, is the same as Allah, adored by Muslims.
Quran: Qura’an is the word of Allah transmitted by the prophet Muhammad. Muhammad.
Sunna: it is the collection of what Muhammad said, done or accepted – his life example.

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01/15/95

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1. Demographic gap
Italy and Europe are transforming themselves, due to the migration phenomenon, into multicultural contexts, where people of different languages, religions and cultures live side by side. Islam is a reality increasingly present in our cities, although in many ways unknown.
One of the reasons for immigration to Europe is the strong population growth that occurred on the other side of the Mediterranean. The population of the North, at the end of the Second World War, was about twice that of the South of the Mediterranean basin. 50 years later, North Africa and the Middle East have bridged the gap with Mediterranean Europe: the proportion is currently 1 to 1.In the southern Mediterranean, demographic development has not been accompanied by as many economic improvements. In addition, the European population, richer but also older, has offered space for the peaceful invasion of people from countries that are geographically and culturally distant. These immigrants, who grew up in countries where there is no conception of separation of religion and state, where, as in nations of Islamic culture, freedom of religious choice is severely limited, and if allowed it is only in a unilateral sense, will inevitably end up to cause serious cohabitation problems. And the flow from South to North seems destined to grow again.

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