topic by
barb
4/25/2002 (1:28) |
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I can just imagine what Arabs would have done had Christians holed themselves up in one of their churches!
This is one example of how Christianity will always be the truth, the way, and the light.
ARTICLE: Occupation of the Church of the Nativity
Are Muslims 'desecrating' one of Christianity's holiest places?
Join the Discussion
'If Israel really cared about the church and the priests, it would allow the wounded to be moved to hospitals, it would allow supplies in, it would discontinue the blockade and leave, it would not set fire to it and would not kill anyone trying to put out the fire.'
The IDF and the Church of the Nativity - What do you think?
Related Resources
• Jesus in Islam
• Prophets of Islam
• Basics of Islam
From Other Guides
• Christianity
• Judaism
Elsewhere on the Web
• Middle East Council of Churches
• 'Christian Zionism,' by Dr. Awad, Bethlehem Bible College
Dateline: 22 April 2002
As the Guide to Islam with About.com, I get a fair share of challenging questions. Last week I received one that is worth discussing publicly, as it is bound to be on the minds of many. A reader asks:
'Dear Guide...
Maybe you can guide me to the answer as to why no Muslims have protested the forced occupation of the Church of the Nativity? Why would they desecrate a Christian holy place? Does Islam represent the Anti-Christ... I wonder? If the situation were reversed and we had taken over the Dome of the Rock or Medina...would Islam still be silent? This Christian wants the Muslims and the Jews out of the Church...if you must fight, use one of your sacred places.'
As of this writing, the standoff at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is entering its third week, with no signs of ending. In responding to this question, there are several issues at hand:
Q. Are the people inside the Church 'armed Palestinian terrorists?' Are they Muslims?
A. Bethlehem has a population of approximately 30,000 people, half of whom are Christians. On Tuesday night, April 2, 2002, a battle broke out in the streets of Bethlehem as Israeli forces moved into the city. As the tanks rolled in and firefights broke out, many local Palestinians sought refuge in the church. Some were armed, some were civilians simply searching for a safe place to hide. According to the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem (Michel Sabbah), the priests inside the church offered sanctuary to all, after the gunmen agreed to shoulder their weapons.
Reports indicate that between 200-250 people remain holed up in the church. Israeli tanks have surrounded the area, creating a closed military zone, and the standoff continues. Israeli snipers have shot several people within the church area, including an Armenian monk, 2 Palestinian policemen (one of whom was shot while dousing a church blaze caused by the Israeli army), and a mentally-disabled church bell-ringer, Mr. Samir Salman. Only a few people have managed to leave or escape.
The Israeli army contends that 30 people in the church are wanted criminals. Among the hundreds of civilians in the church are several dozen children, Mohammed al-Madani (the governor of Bethlehem), respected Christian lawyer Anton Salman, rescue worker Anthony Salman, and 50 Christian monks, priests, and nuns. There is no tally of how many of the others are Muslims and how many are Christians. The Rev. Majdi Siryani, a Roman Catholic priest in Bethlehem, says that several of the ' armed Palestinians' are his parishioners.
Q. Are the Christians inside the Church being held against their will?
A. In the early days of the standoff, the Israeli government repeatedly said that the Church clergy were being held as 'hostages.' However, in many subsequent telephone interviews, the Christian leaders insisted that they are there of their own free will, to both protect the church from Israeli fire and to render aid to the wounded. The Israeli government again attempted to dismiss these claims, saying that the clergy could not speak freely while inside the church. Again, more interviews proved these claims to be false.
'No, no, no. We are not hostages. We share everything we have with these people, and pray that they will be able to leave peacefully and go back to their homes.' - Rev. Amjad Sabbar, Roman Catholic parish priest in the compound
'I wish to firmly state that the Friars and Sisters of the religious community in Bethlehem CANNOT BE CONSIDERED AS HOSTAGES. They have freely chosen to remain in that place, the custody of which has been entrusted to them by the Holy See and which constitutes their home. The other 200 Palestinians besieged inside the Basilica have taken refuge there by force in order to flee from the sweep and search by the Israeli army, just as had happened to the 5 Italian journalists during the first day of the siege. Up to now they have not committed any act of violence or abuse of power against the religious community.' - Declaration by the Minister General of the Friars Minor
Q. How do the Christian leaders in Palestine feel about what is happening at the Church? How do the Christians and Muslims of Palestine feel about each other?
A. Let's see what they say:
'For the church, it's a very important honor and matter of dignity to allow people to seek refuge there and not turn them over in the face of a hostile situation.' - Rev. Michael McGarry, Tantur Ecumenical Institute for Christian Studies, outside Bethlehem
'All Palestinian citizens, Christians and Muslims alike, are subject to general instability due to the continuing Israeli occupation. As a matter of fact, both Muslims and Christians are trying together to find their way out of the misery that both are enduring under occupation.... Our solidarity and defense go to the poor, oppressed regardless of their political identity. In this moment, we consider Palestinians to be the poor, oppressed under occupation and our solidarity goes to them as such.' - Latin Patriarche of Jerusalem, 1997
'We cannot help but be humbled by the resilience of the Palestinian people, by their courage and their determination. It is not that we laud violence or approve the acts of suicide that strike terror into the heart of Israeli society. We do not. But we must recognize that, along side the despair that drives some to blow themselves up in a market place or at a bus stand, there is the mass of Palestinians who struggle to maintain their dignity, who work to shield their children from harm, who labor to put a crust of bread upon the table, and pray for a day when light will overcome the darkness that engulfs them. These are the admirable people. And all who speak on their behalf, who stand up as advocates of justice and peace and are counted, who come to the aid of the wounded and feed the hungry, who refuse the gun and demand peace, who interpose their bodies between the rifle and its victim ... these are doing the work of God.' - Middle East Council of Churches, Letter to International Partners and Friends, April 5, 2002
'In order to better understand or contextualize the Palestinian Christian response, there is a need to reaffirm the traditionally excellent relations between Christians and their Muslim neighbors. This tradition of good Christian-Muslim relations has evolved through centuries of coexistence and exchange in the cities of Jerusalem, Nazareth, Bethlehem, Ramallah, and in the rural areas such as Zababdeh, Bir Zeit, and other towns and villages where Muslims and Christians live side-by-side and interact in their pursuit of daily pre-occupations and concerns.' - Dr. Bernard Sabella, Associate Professor of Sociology, Bethlehem University
'Muslims believe in God and in Jesus as a prophet. We can meet on that common ground. At the Bible college, we reach out to Muslims in our community who are living in refugee camps. Their situation is terrible. We give them food and clothing and send visiting medical teams to them. Three years ago, we were grateful to see a big sign saying, 'We appreciate the work of Bethlehem Bible College' in front of one of the camps.' - Dr. Bishara Awad, Founder and President of Bethlehem Bible College
'We are Arabs, and what affects the Arab nation, affects us directly and profoundly. Our Church has always been on the side of the Arab nation, and it will always be, and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people must be restored.... our Church clings to the teaching of Jesus who stood with the oppressed against the oppressor.' - Fr. Hanna Atallah, Archimandrite of the Orthodox Church in the Holy Land
'The Islamic Christian dialogue is important for the protection of the Palestinian national unity and to face the Israeli attempts to destroy the solid relationship between members of this people. We, in this holy land, live in harmony and we are proud of the solid relationship between Muslims and Christians in Palestine. The Israeli aggression did not distinguish between mosques and churches, or between Muslims and Christians.' - Sheikh Tayseer Al-Tamimi, chief judge of Palestinian religious courts
'Hour by hour we see gathering momentum a process leading pell-mell toward genocide. The Palestinian community, in all its religious and ethnic diversity, has become the target of a sustained campaign of terror and destruction. Violence, whatever its source, will never cure the ills of our region. It only increases the strike and counter-strike message of the blood feud now being written ever larger and more ominously across our skies.' - Middle East Council of Churches, open letter to U.S. President Bush, April 4, 2002
Q. Why do Christians around the world continue to support Israeli government policies that oppress their Christian brethren and other innocent civilians?
A. Perhaps this is the real question. The people of Palestine, Christian and Muslim together, serve as an example to the world of what it means to find common ground, embrace those of other faiths, and unite in justice and peace.
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