The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit reaffirmed churches’ commitment to justice and peace in the Middle East, while stressing the importance of a common vision for living together by Christians and Muslims in the Arab world.

Tveit was speaking at the Christian-Muslim consultation on “Christian Presence and Witness in the Arab World” organized by the WCC programmes for Churches in the Middle East and Inter-religious Dialogue and Cooperation in collaboration with the Middle East Council of Churches.

The consultation is currently taking place from 24-28 January at the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia in Antelias, Lebanon, bringing together youth, scholars and Christian and Muslim leaders for a frank and dynamic discussion.

Tveit said the Middle East is of special interest for the WCC, and articulated the historic significance of Christian presence in the Arab world, where he believes faith plays a major role, reflecting on the decleration of the WCC’s Central Committee meeting of February 2011:

Our living faith has its roots in this region and is nourished and nurtured by the unbroken witness of the local churches, who have their own roots from the apostolic times. Without this Christian presence, the conviviality among peoples from different faiths, cultures, and civilisations, which is a sign of God’s love for all humanity, will be endangered – Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit .

Rev.Tveit appreciated the participation of a range of Muslims in the consultation, who he says, have emphasized their commitment to strengthen the Christian presence in the Middle East. He said that it is through their action for the common good that people in the Arab world can accomplish peace, justice, freedom and harmony.

“We will certainly want to make clear to our wider constituency, the WCC’s extensive experience over many years of how Christians and Muslims continue to work together constructively for the common good,” he said.

Tveit also pointed out the challenges faced by the Christians in the Arab world, and the sense of insecurity they feel, due to political divides and persistent conflicts.

The WCC has addressed over a number of years the issue of emigration of Christians from the region resulting from the occupation and war in Iraq and the occupation of the Palestinian territories.

He said, “We know that the changes in the Arab world over the last year – and changes still to come – have also left many Christians, along with many Muslims, feeling uncertain and even afraid for their future.”

Highlighting the efforts of churches struggling for justice and peace in Israel and Palestine, Tveit said that the situation is of great concern for Christians in Jerusalem, as well as people of other faiths.

Links:

Full text of the WCC general secretary’s speech

Churches in the Middle East re-affirm their commitment to peace (WCC press release of 14 December 2011)

WCC programme for special focus on the Middle East

WCC programme for inter-religious dialogue and cooperation

ABC Religion and Ethics – 25 Jan 2012 Renate Klein and Susan Hawthorne

Melinda Tankard Reist deserves to be supported instead of vilified. The intensely personal attacks against her will only serve the pornography and prostitution industries, which would be delighted to see an influential critic cut to her knees.

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On a day in which Boko Haram bomb attacks left more than 150 people dead in Nigeria, Sister Janet Fearns  from Missio, has sent us this report on how Franciscans and Muslims are working for peace  – with an 800 year-old example to show them the way!

In 1219, St Francis of Assisi, alone and unarmed, astounded the warring armies of Damietta’s besieged Crusaders and the Saracens when he walked into the Saracen camp and asked to speak to the Sultan, Melek al-Kamil. Francis had a problem which he wanted to discuss: pilgrims wanted to visit the Holy Places and were prevented by the constant battles between the Christians and Muslims in Egypt. The pilgrims needed unhindered access to the sacred sites, regardless of whatever was happening around them. The Sultan agreed and so, for 800 years, that tiny joint venture in peace-making has been a treasured memory for both Franciscans and Muslims.

The Damietta Peace Initiative (DPI) came into being in 2008 and is an amazing Franciscan-Muslim cooperation which arose as both Franciscans and Muslims reflected upon this unlikely meeting. There are an estimated 12,000 Franciscans in Africa, but in 2008, in true Franciscan fashion, they started small. If Christians and Muslims were to cooperate in little ways, bit by bit, they could help to bring about peace and dialogue. Each small act of love and understanding could help to build something big and beautiful.

The Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood (FMDMs) have been involved in the DPI from the start. They already enjoyed many years of practical experience of Christian-Muslim dialogue as a result of their work in Palestinian refugee camps in Amman, Jordan, where several Sisters became fluent Arabic speakers, able to see and understand Islam ‘on the inside’. They also had 60 years of unbroken presence in the predominantly Muslim north of Nigeria, again caring for the poor regardless of their religious belief. In Jos, a principal city in northern Nigeria, the Sisters are extensively involved in pastoral work and health care in the prisons and young offenders’ institutions where everybody is in need.

More of the article here

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Dissident Christian writer details torture by China police (via CathNews)

After arriving safely with his wife and child in the US, Christian dissident writer Yu Jie held a press conference and gave full details of his brutal mishandling and harassment by police in China, which has been ongoing since 2010, said a report published by ucanews.com. » more

Christians pledge to surround UK protesters in ‘ring of prayer’ (via CathNews)

Christians from several denominations have pledged to hold a ‘ring or prayer’ around protesters outside St Paul’s Cathedral in London, if bailiffs or police begin to forcibly remove them, reports the Independent Catholic News. » more

Philippines police investigate suspicious death of Aussie priest (via CathNews)

Authorities in the Philippines are investigating the suspicious death of an Australian priest found floating in a river, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. » more

You are not forgotten. – English Bishop William Kenney on Christians in Gaza

In his annual address to diplomats Monday, Pope Benedict XVI highlighted religious freedom with emphasis on persecuted Christians around the world.

“In many countries, Christians are deprived of fundamental rights and sidelined from public life,” he said. “In other countries, they endure violent attacks against their churches and their homes.”

This week, a delegation of Catholic bishops from Europe and the States tried to shine a spotlight on one small chapter of this global story: the Gaza Strip, where 2,500 Christians live amid an overwhelmingly Muslim population of 1.5 million. They’re caught in a vise formed by Islamic militancy on one side and an Israeli- and Egyptian-imposed blockade on the other.

English Bishop William Kenney told the Christians of Gaza, “You are not forgotten.”

It’s a lovely sentiment, and the bishops of the Holy Land Coordination, which includes Tucson Bishop Gerald Kicanas as the American representative, deserve credit for their efforts. One wonders, however, how much reality there is behind Kenney’s claim.

French intellectual Régis Debray, a veteran leftist who fought alongside Che Guevara in Bolivia, has observed that anti-Christian persecution unfolds squarely in the political blind spot of the West — the victims are usually “too Christian” to excite the left, “too foreign” to interest the right.

As a contribution towards erasing that blind spot, let’s debunk five common myths about anti-Christian persecution.

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All parties must resolve outstanding matters peacefully through negotiation, respecting the territorial integrity of both sovereign states – Kevin Rudd

The Australian Government is providing up to 25 Australian Defence Force personnel and 10 Australian Federal Police to the UN Mission in South Sudan, and on-going development assistance to South Sudan.

(Mission Network News)

Over the weekend of 19-20 November, a minister from the Church of North India was arrested in Kashmir on charges of causing communal disharmony. Rev Chandra Mani Khanna, the presbyter in charge of All Saints’ Church in Srinagar, has been accused of forcing local people to convert to Christianity.

For more than a year, young Kashmiri people have been coming to the church seeking teaching from Rev Khanna. There has been no intentional outreach programs and the church does not proseltyse.

Rather, these people came out of their own interest to the church. After some time, these young people asked to be able to participate in Holy Communion. Rev Khanna explained that baptism is required before receiving the Euchatrist and the young people then requested baptism.

Bishop P. K. Samantaroy, from the Amritsar Diocese, stated “the whole Christian community is hurt because the Christian Mission work in the state of Kashmir has been carried out with utmost commitment for the benefit of the majority Muslim population…. it is unfortunate that the long sacrificial ministry of the Church has not been considered while arresting Rev Khanna for allegedly causing communal disharmony.”

The Church of North India is a partner church of the Uniting Church in Australia.