General Michel Aoun’s open letter to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI and to the Synod of bishops for the Middle East held between the 10th and the 24th of October 2010
Most Holy Father,
Your Eminence Cardinals and Patriarchs,
Your Grace Bishops, Priests and Monks,
Dear participants in the Synod for the Middle East,
Dear Eastern Christians and Muslims,
It has been two thousand and some years on the advent of Jesus Christ to earth, and the beginning of his preaching in Palestine, the cradle from which, Christianity spread throughout the East, and onto the world. Today, in the face of this historic turning point witnessed by the Orient and the dangers that threaten its very existence, with plots aimed at altering the essence of its humanity and civilization, it is my duty as a responsible citizen, who shares the eastern identity with his brothers in citizenship and religion, in this part of the Holy Land, to address your Holiness. I will use no ambiguity or dubious meanings, to depict the bitter reality that confronts us today, and to which Your Holiness have referred to in the letter (Instrumentum laboris) pertaining to the Synod for the Middle East.
The Eastern Christians have played throughout history a pioneering role in the fields of knowledge, culture, science and they lived, side by side, with their Muslim counterparts ever since they set foot in this Orient; they stood by the Caliphs as leaders in management, science, medicine and translation until the end of the Arab Islamic era, and the fall of the Abbasid dynasty (750-1258 AD); they also took upon them the challenging task of enlightening the people during the dark ages of the Barbarians and Tatars; thus, it was not surprising to see them compelled to shine for the second time, towards the decline of the Ottoman Empire, in the late nineteen and early twentieth centuries, in the so-called Arabic Renaissance, during which they acted as the gateway of knowledge that spread Islam from East to West, and brought the achievements of the western scientific revolution to the Middle East.
Your Holiness,
Approaching the current Eastern issue from the perspective of minorities and majorities is a mistake, because this region, and since the beginning of times, is but a melting pot of cultures of the numerous peoples and religions that occupied it since before monotheism. This heritage gathered by both minorities and majorities, gave birth to a rare blend of cultures as well as to changes in the political orientations but kept the social and cultural diversity within the same geographic boundaries. Hence, majorities became minorities and vice versa. This is why we are compelled to preserve this unique legacy of spiritual and cultural wealth with respect to freedom of belief, freedom of opinion and the right to be different while belonging to this Orient. This was the substance of the Apostolic Exhortation of His Holiness Pope John Paul II.
History in this region shows us that to our attachment to our roots, and to the teachings of Jesus Christ of love and peace is the only salvation, not only for the Orient, but for the entire world. The closer we bring ourselves to our fellow countrymen and love them, the more we succeed, and the farther we withdraw from this love, the more secluded and isolated we become. Therefore we implore Your Holiness’ guidance to spread the culture of openness rather than intimidation, so peace will be achieved and love will conquer.
Your Holiness,
More than one reason have lead the Christians to emigrate from this part of the world; this exodus is not solely due to Islamic religious extremism, but also to deteriorating economic and political conditions, and successive wars from the First World War to the Second World War and the poverty they brought about; to colonization, and the establishment of the state of Israel; to the partition of Palestine and the ethnic cleansing perpetrated against its Arab population both Muslim and Christian, as well as to the tremendous strain exerted on those remaining to displace them and deny them the right to return to their country. To top all these reasons, comes the plan for the settlement of the Palestinians refugees in their host countries. A plan that we strongly oppose, because its purpose is to empty the land of its indigenous people and to make the birthplace of Jesus Christ a land without Christians ultimately wiping out the identity of the Holy Land.
Can we contemplate Christ and Christianity without Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Capernaum and Tiberias?
Can there be Christianity without the Annunciation, the Manger, the Calvary, the Holy Sepulcher, Or Paul the Apostle and the disciples who set out to preach the nations? Does the stream flow if the spring is dry?
The efforts deployed to render Israel a solely Jewish state will lead to woes and tragedies in a land described by Sigmund Freud as “historically loaded”, with the most important landmarks of both the Christian and Muslim religions, the land of pilgrimage for two universal religions. To do so is an explicit expunging of two heavenly religions, followed by more than 3 billion believers, and the consecration of a single religion with about 12 million followers. It is a blow to civilization and humanity, which will undoubtedly constitute grounds for upcoming wars.
Your Holiness,
From our understanding to this region of Christian-Muslim coexistence, the Easterners await from the Vatican, which is the highest spiritual authority for Catholics, and a moral authority for the entire world, considering the importance of St. Peter’s seat in the heart of the faithful, as they await from all the leaders of the Greek Orthodox and Protestant Churches, to relentlessly work with the Western governments to stop demonizing Islam, a religion followed by over a billion people, and to consider the essence of Islam, according to its original text, not through the misdeeds of some terrorist group, whom Muslims condemn and see themselves as their victims alongside with the rest of the world.
Diffusing the concept of Islamic Phobia would inevitably lead to more conflicts and instability in the Middle East and around the world, and perhaps to an endless war of religions and a clash of civilizations resulting in the self-destruction of the world.
As for the Eastern Christians, they also urge your Holiness to exert pressure on Israel to cease Judaizing Jerusalem and establish peace in the Orient, in compliance with the relevant United Nations resolutions and help put an end to the coerced migration of historical peoples like the Assyrians, the Chaldeans and the Syriacs. They also rely on the Holy See to consolidate their presence in their countries and stop their migration and displacement, especially from Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon, where the policies of Western governments and the State of Israel are put in motion to achieve this goal.
As for the Eastern Churches of the See of Antioch with all of its fundamental influence over the Christians and their identity, and the resistance it opposed in the face of all the wars, invasions and adversity, the Oriental Christians hope from the Oriental Patriarchs and from the Church in general, a unified approach and continuous coordination; and as Christ is One in the Gospels, to at least restore the unity of Easter in the Orient, because their union strengthen their Christian identity, their presence and their efficiency in their countries.
The faithful also call upon the Eastern Churches for greater involvement in social life in support of the youth, encouraging them to become more implicated in national and social work by helping them stay in their own countries. They also urge them to ensure their presence in society, by making schools run by churches and religious orders a place of social unity and enlightenment and ask them to do what is in their power to write one unified history for the region, which stresses the unity of society and highlights the leading role of the youth. They equally appeal to them to emphasize that coexistence is an act of will, urging them to endure whatever hardship comes their way without resorting to immigration in the face of social and economic difficulties, but to carry their cross and follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. The Christians also hope that their Churches will do every effort to stop the intimidation from fellow compatriots, and to enhance the concept of citizenship.
With regard to the secular and political authorities, the Eastern Christians hope from them to safeguard their social fabric, their common history and spiritual heritage, by eliminating all obstacles to progress and development and strengthening the historical peoples in their lands. They ask them to stop the brain drain of young people, namely Christians, and to encourage through politics, culture, religion, and media the fight against religious extremism, and instill the spirit of kinship, compassion and citizenship in the community.
Your Holiness,
Dear participants to the Synod for the Middle East,
This historic opportunity may not repeat itself: You gathering as the “Apostle in the meeting of Pentecost” for the first time, to discuss the fate of Eastern Christians, make us expect of you decisions of this magnitude. Decisions the size of the rock on which Our Lord has built his Church, and said that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it; He who taught us that our faith, even as small as a mustard seed, can move mountains.
We all believe that Christ is with us forever, for this He left us his message and preaching; do not let His land be ravaged by injustice and darkness, and imagine for a moment an Orient without Christians; only then will evil triumph in the world and invalidate the act of resurrection, and the universe will fall into an unprecedented massacre.
For this I turn to your Holiness, in the name of whom I represent in this land where Jesus walked, to adopt resolutions that will keep the torch lit, bright and steadfast on the threshold, a guiding light for all Orientals, Christians and Muslims alike.