Muslim and Christian religious leaders pose for a photo at Notre Dame University Louaize in Zouk Mosbeh, Lebanon, July 1. (CNS photo/courtesy Mychel Akl, Maronite Catholic Patriarchate)
ishtartv.com - cruxnow.com
By Doreen
Abi Raad, July 4, 2017
Lebanon
is a message of freedom and an example of pluralism for East and West,
according to Christian and Muslim leaders who met in the country for a
conference. "Lebanon sends a message of hope to the Arabs and to the
world," they wrote in a statement.
BEIRUT,
Lebanon - Top Christian and Muslim leaders and Lebanese government
representatives agreed that Lebanon should be highlighted as an example of
peaceful coexistence, noting that “the deepening of democracy in Lebanon sends
a message of hope to the Arabs and to the world.”
They
also reiterated calls for peace and various churches’ support for “the
Palestinian people and their national rights” and for Christians to remain in
the Holy Land.
The
leaders met at Notre Dame University Louaize in Zouk Mosbeh, north of Beirut,
July 1, for a follow-up to two events at Egypt’s al-Azhar University, Sunni
Islam’s highest institute of learning. Addressing a peace conference at
al-Azhar in April, Pope Francis emphasized that religion “is not a problem, but
a part of the solution” because it helps people lift their hearts toward God
“to learn how to build the city of man.”
Lebanese
Cardinal Bechara Rai, patriarch of Maronite Catholics, spearheaded the July
meeting, which included the Vatican ambassador to Lebanon, Archbishop Gabriele
Caccia; Sheik Abbas Shouman, deputy of the grand imam of Al Azhar; leaders of
the Sunni, Shiite and Druze communities in Lebanon as well as Christian and
Muslim experts and Lebanese government representatives.
In
their final statement, conference participants declared their willingness to go
to the Vatican and other Christian and Islamic world religious institutions “to
cooperate and coordinate with them.” They also expressed “their desire to
clarify the importance and challenges of a common living (Muslims and
Christians) in Lebanon, which is the true guarantee of freedom, sovereignty and
national independence.
“Amid
the tragedies of partition, displacement, forced population screening, ethnic
cleansing, targeting of Christians by terrorist gangs - as happened in Egypt
recently - and targeting others in Iraq and Syria, the dangers of sectarian
strife and the escalating conflicts and wars in a number of Arab neighbors, the
solidity of coexistence, and the deepening of democracy in Lebanon sends a
message of hope to the Arabs and to the world,” they stated.
“We
should do everything we can for Lebanon to remain aware of the seriousness and
importance of the Lebanese experience and its relevance to the Arabs and to the
international community in a strong and clear manner,” they added.
They
cited St. John Paul II’s statement that “Lebanon is more than a country, it is
a message of freedom and an example of pluralism for East and West.”
The
conferees called for establishing Lebanon as an official international center
of dialogue among religions, cultures and civilizations “to serve the Arab
world and Christian-Muslim relations of the world.”
They
urged Islamic and Christian educational institutions “to find formulas for
deliberation, cooperation and openness in the educational curricula, and to
consider developing joint programs that promote more mutual knowledge and acquaintance,
creating an atmosphere of religious, national and human sharing.”
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