Christians of the East

Christians of the East do not wait to be 'given' anything by majorities in Arab countries, their rights as citizens are full and self evident, participatory and unabridged. We wait for no one's charity, we are not window dressing, we are as much part of this world of ours as other groups are, but we are more, amidst the sectarian rifts and conflicts that grip this land of the East, pitting Sunni against Shiite, pitting Muslim against Muslim, we are a guarantee of stability, we are the masons that shall build and craft the edifice of State, an edifice that is truely democratic, secular, governed by one law under which all citizens shelter, we must never leave the East though our persecutors multiply.

The Pope's visit to Lebanon is a strong message of support to the long suffering Christian communities in Iraq, in Syria, in Egypt, and across the East, that their suffering is not without meaning, that their sacrifices are not unrecognized. Lebanon is the perfect place from where to issue such a message as it is the main portal from where many Syrian and Iraqi Christians flee westward.

The Christians of the East are the region's load bearing foundations, without which the whole edifice will crumble under the weight of sectarianism and extremism.

Comments

  1. Hani M BathishSeptember 25, 2012 at 10:59 AM

    I don't disagree with your assessment entirely, but this particular post is more a statement about Christians of the East, those in Syria, in Iraq, Egypt, and Palestine, not just in Lebanon

    ReplyDelete

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