Islamic _ Christian Fraternity In Syria

In the context of the escalating political pressures on Syria in particular, and on the countries of the Middle East in general, it is believed to be one aspect of the clash of civilizations, Islamic and Christian feelings of the Syrian people merged in one mold to realize one aim and target. Thoughts united to protect the country from the repercussions of these pressures, sanctions and siege. In order to maintain this unity of destiny we, in Syria, are capable of religiously coexisting in harmony, unity and peace, of living together and sacrificing the most valuable things we have. This is not a privilege of the present, rather, our history is full of glorious examples that confirm this fact:

* Did not the Syriac Jerusalemites call the Moslem leader Omar Ibn al Khattab, al Farouk, “the just savioro because he saved them from the Byzantines?

* Did not the Rashidi caliphs vow to protect peace and security of the Christians of the Levant and protect their churches, homes and properties keeping, in Damascus alone, more than thirty churches open for worship? No wonder, Syria was the cradle of early Christianity, and from it, St. Paul moved to the world to spread the new faith. Aren’t these signs of Arab Moslemss respect to their brothers ,Christian Arabs?

* Were not the Christians loyal to the Islamic Umayyad empire when they worked in its departments?

 * Did not the Umayyad caliphs trust them and grant them high ranks, and give them the authority to manage their financial affairs?

 * Did not the Christians of several nationalities translate the books of philosophy, biology, astrology, medicine, engineering, and mathematics from Greek, Persian, and Latin into Arabic, to enrich Islamic libraries?

* Did not Christians excel in medicine, biology and philosophy, and were trusted by Moslem caliphs as well as the commons, in the past and in the present?

* Did not Christians fight side by side with their Moslem counterparts to achieve the independence of Syria and have the same destiny of being killed and hanged for this cause?

The Martyrs of the 6th of May 1916 are examples of this joint strife for the same national cause. In an article published in Beirut, researcher Ghassan al Shami wrote about a visit he made to the Grand Mufti of Syria, he said: “I visited the late Mufti of Bilad aSham Sheikh Ahmad Kaftaro, to talk about tolerance in Islam. The Mufti told me this story: “A European ambassador asked me how many Christians are there in Syria? I immediately said: seventeen millions. (This is the then total population of Syria). Surprised by the answer, the ambassador asked the question again. I repeated the same answer. He said that he asked the same question to other people and was given a very smaller figure. I said I am the Grand

Mufti and I know the real number .We Moslems cannot confirm our belief in Islam unless we recognize that Jesus, son of Mary the virgin, is a true prophet whom God, the almighty, devoted a full chapter in the Holy Quran to honor him and his mother, and devoted another chapter to honor their dynasty. This is the true Islam. Al Shami continues in his article: “I went to Aleppo and met Sheikh Ahmad Hassoun, the Mufti of Aleppo(later the Grand Mufti of Syria) from whom I heard wonderful words about Islamic and Christian unity. When asked about the word ‘unity he said: “yes ,unity rather than coexistence. The word ‘existence does not reflect the real cohesion that binds Moslems and Christians in Syria. Sheikh Hassoun told me also that Christianity is an essential belief for the Moslems, and Islam is a great support for pure Christianity. Islam in Syria, is the original Islam. not marred by any of the faked trends or innovations that came from other parts of the world. The same is for real pure oriental Christianity which is completely different from some western Zionist Christian factions.

Other evidences of this religious unity are realized when several archdioceses and churches in Syria invite Moslem clergies for an Iftar  in the Holy month of Ramadan. Many papers wrote about such events. Excerpts:

Archbishop Isadores Battikha, deputy general archbishop of the Roman Catholics in Damascus proclaimed that Christians in Syria are required to fast in the 17th of October 2005 “in solidarity with their brothers the Moslems in the holy month of Ramadan, “in implementation of the will of his holiness Pope John Paul II, friend of Arabs and Moslems. In a joint mass held in Ramadan in the Roman Catholic archdiocese, Christian and Moslem groups chanted holy hymns and Soofi poems after which his holiness archbishop Battikha, on behalf of his holiness archbishop Gregarious III.

 Iftar is the event of eating and drinking, breaking the fast at sun set. It is noteworthy that most Christian churches in Syria, and in the East in general, hold an annual Islamic Iftar for the Moslem clergies to enhance Christian Islamic coexistence and dialogue.

The Vatican’s Congratulations in Ramadan “Let us prove that we can live Together, AFP 15/10/2005.  “In a letter addressed to the Moslems in the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, the Vatican hoped Christians and Moslems would work together to achieve justice and permanent peace. Chief of the Papal Council For Dialogue Between Religions, Monsignor Michael Fitzgerald called for establishing good relations among the believers of different religions saying: “Let us prove, Christians and Moslems, that we can live together in real fraternity. The 17.10.2005 bulletin of “We Are All Partners website said: Fasting and Accountability Archbishop Johanna Ibrahim, head of the Syriac Orthodox church of Aleppo, kidnapped by terrorists by now,  wrote an article about the advantages of fasting in Islam from which we excerpt the following:

In these blessed days , while our brothers, the Moslems practice the fasting of holy Ramadan, every believer should be aware that fasting is not mere abstention, leaving and quitting, rather, the intention should be directed towards good works side by side with abstention from eating and drinking In Christianity : ‘When you fast don’t behave like hypocrites who change their faces to show people that they fastك and in Islam if you fast let your ears, eyes and tongue fast with you.

The prophet Mohammad said: ‘God is in no need of those who leave food and drink and do not stop faking and evil doing. Once, the prophet heard a woman cursing her neighbor while fasting. He told her : “go and eat. She said: but I am fasting. The prophet told her: How can you be fasting and cursing your neighbor! There are, in our society, many examples of that woman who couldn’t fully understand the real meaning of fasting. Fasting is not mere abstention from eating and drinking. In our society, there are many examples of rich but selfish fools who think only in themselves, work hard, multiply and subtract, forgetting the needy. Then out of a sudden, they pass away. To whom they leave their wealth?!

Tishreen newspaper of 24. 10. 2005 had an article titled: The Roman Orthodox Church Invites to Iftar In Qatana The Roman Orthodox Church in Qatana invited the clergies and sheikhs of Qatana, head of the Department of Endowment, members of the Charity & Education Society, secretary and members of the Ba’ath party division, and members of the municipal council, to a holy Ramadan Iftar. Archbishop Mousa Khouri, father Fadi Haddad, priests and pastors of the two churches of Artouz, attended the Iftar. Both Moslem and Christian guests gave speeches about the great meaning of unity, the people in Syria enjoy for more than 1400 years, and about the common feelings followers of the two religions have toward each other in happy as well as unpleasant occasions.

The same paper, Tishreen, published the following news on 25/10/2005: Hassoun Receives The Delegation Of The US Anglican Church…. “Syria Lives aState Of National Unity His holiness Dr. Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun, Grand Mufti of the republic, received in al Rawda mosque in Aleppo delegations from the Anglican Presbyterian Church of Chicago, USA, the Lutheran Church of Sweden, and the Union of Anglican Churches of the Netherlands. The mufti spoke about national unity in Syria saying that religions do not differentiate between human beings. Colonial powers only do that referring to what the US administration, under president Bush, is doing in Iraq, Palestine and what is trying to do in Syria and Lebanon. Dr Hassoun said that the three religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam came from one source and call for the respect and dignity of man. This is what is meant by the religious unity in Syria, which does not differentiate between Moslems and Christians. Some members of the delegations said: “Syria deserves respect. We came here to know more about coexistence between religions. They said that the Palestinian cause is a main point of their interest and that they condemn the war in Iraq. A member of US Anglican church said that they begged president Bush more than once not to launch this repressive war, but in vain. Several guests said that they consider Syria a holy land, and that they work for peace. They found in Syria brothers and friends working to achieve the same purpose, and like them, they sympathize with the Palestinians in order to alleviate the repression submitted against them. To highlight national unity in Syria, the Central Department of Postage had issued several stamps about a number of Christian locations; – Cathedral of St. Simeon, north of Aleppo, four issues: 1959,1961,1968 and 1969.  – Church of Qalb Lozeh in the dead cities of Idlib 1962.- Monastery of the Lady in Saidnaya, north of Damascus 1955,- Church of St. Paul in Bab Keissan in Damascus 1968.- In 1999 the department issued a stamp titled (Two Thousand Years Of Fraternity) with photos of the Umayyad mosque and several churches As bachground. The department was not satisfied by issuing stamps that memorize local places, rather it issued stamps that memorize some world Christian personalities. In 1977 it Issued a stamp bearing the photo of archbishop Hillarion Capucci behind the Israeli prison bars, with a caption saying: ‘In memory of the detention of Archbishop Capucci 1975-1977s. In 1998 it issued a stamp bearing the picture of Mother Theresa, and in 2003 ,in the occasion of the visit of pope John Paul II to Damascus, it issued a stamp with his picture and the Umayyad mosque as background, with a caption saying: s25th Anniversary Of The Nomination Of The Holy Pontiffs.

Conclusion:

For all what had been said, although these are no more than excerpts of our daily life in Syria, we can say proudly, that Syria is a country of religious cohesion and Islamic and Christian fraternity and coexistence, and that on the road of love and peace we will continue our march.

* Biography of archbishop Hillarion Capucci :Born in Aleppo, Syria 1922. He joined the church and passed the ecclesiastical ranks until he had the title of archbishop of Jerusalem. He supported the Palestinians in their struggle against Israeli occupation, and was detained in israel from 1975 to 1977. When freed he was exiled from Palestine to the Vatican. Now he is retired.

* Biography of Mother Theresa: She is of Albanian origins, was born in Skopje, Macedonia 27th. of August 1910. In 1931 she was sent in a missionary to Calcutta, India where, in 1948, she opened a school for poor children in the open air. She had no money, but donations poured on her school so that she could expand her activities in the human field. She continued her mission until she died on the 5th of September 1997. She was granted many prizes, most important of them is the Nobel Prize, 1979.

Haifaa Mafalani