Christian Holy Sites in Palestine

Threats and Constructive Dialogue

By : His Eminence Archbishop Salim Essayegh(*)

Introduction

Christian holy sites have a religious dimension that takes us back to the age of prophets of ancient times, and to the first century after the rise of Christ. Between old and modern times stretches an uninterrupted tradition of prophecy that represents in the Christian vision a single spiritual and religious fabric welded together by the Messiah. Christian holy sites have historical and geographical dimensions which prove that today’s political frontiers cannot contain holy lands, and that these holy lands are not the property of one people to the exclusion of others. The two banks of the Jordan River have witnessed a merging history and the evolution of two brother peoples : the Jordanian and the Palestinian peoples. In this paper, I will address the most serious threats to Christian existence in the holy lands, and the constructive national dialogue which can restore optimism in people’s hearts and dispel fears and pessimism.

First : Major Danger Factors

1- Israeli Occupation :

Today, when we talk about Christian holy sites, we do not refer to the physical place only but also to the Christian person who lives in the shadow of these holy places, to his institutions and his economic, human, educational and living conditions.

The state of Christian holy sites under Israeli occupation is no different from that of Islamic ones. Christians are partners in the suffering, struggle and hope of their brothers, the Muslims. Christian holy sites in Jerusalem are closely associated with the person of Jesus Christ who was born and raised there. No other city in the land of Christendom contains as many sacred edifices as Jerusalem. In every corner of this city stand renowned buildings that testify to the deeds of our lord the Messiah. Since the birth of the Church, from the arrival of the Holy Spirit to date, Christians have lived in the Holy city and carried the Christ’s message of justice and piety. The Church has never ceased to discharge its mission even in the darkest of times, and perhaps the current circumstances experienced by Palestine and the Middle East are the darkest and most dangerous of these times in view of the threat they pose to Christian presence in the Holy Land.

Christian holy places in the occupied territories have been exposed to many material abuses. The occupation forces expropriate real estate, confiscate lands and impose peremptory military rules to make the life of those living near holy sites a living hell, and to drive out of Jerusalem. These forces are creating a new demographic reality around these sites where the Jewish character is overwhelming and where Arab presence, be it Muslim or Christian, is obliterated. Christian presence in Palestine has an Arab face, and therefore it is as much threatened as the Muslim Arab presence.

Who has access to Jerusalem today and to the other holy sites ? The Israeli occupation forces have surrounded Jerusalem and other parts of Israel with a network of roads and walls that serve the dual purpose of a screen and a trap. They grant the Israeli settler the freedom of movement wherever his wishes may take him, but they restrict the Palestinian’s movement, except in the perimeters allowed by the occupation. There is a generation of young Palestinians who have never seen the Church of Resurrection, the Church of Nativity or that of Annunciation. Shutting Jerusalem off is a crime against the place and the human being, an insult to the glory of the Lord who meant this city to be a place of dialogue between Himself and his creatures, and to the dignity of the human being for whom Jerusalem embodies the most noble sentiments and aspirations.

As for Christian pilgrimage, it is considered by some as a western journey to holy places. But historical reality shows that Palestine has remained, throughout the ages, the destination of Christian pilgrims from all over the world. Arab Christians would visit it from Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and Iraq. Today, and because of the Israeli occupation, Arabs, Christians and Muslims, are deprived of the possibility of performing the rites of pilgrimage and prayer in the holy sites.

2- Christian Immigration :

The phenomenon of Christian immigration shows in the dwindling numbers of Christian citizens in the Middle East in general, and in Palestine and Jerusalem, in particular. These falling numbers herald the possibility of a total future absence of Christians in this part of the world where Christianity first saw the light of the day. The study of this phenomenon raises a number of questions that intellectuals and officials in Palestine avoid asking. It is worth noting that draining the region of its Christian inhabitants is tantamount to depriving it of its civilisational diversity, which may produce more extremism and fanaticism in the region.

Over a period of five decades, Christians in Palestine suffered the same injustice, displacement and destruction to which Muslims were subjected. Many of them migrated east and west, and the ultimate result is a weakened Arab Christian presence in Jerusalem.

For example, the number of Arab Christians in Jerusalem does not exceed eleven thousand individuals, representing 7.1% of the Arab Palestinians living in the city, while this number stood in 1944 at almost 39,350. Christian Jerusalemites suffer in the same way as their Muslim brothers. They can neither build new houses nor restore their old ones, and they live cut off from their relatives in the rest of Palestine, and are subjected to tyrannical laws and unfair taxes that practically drive them outside the walls of the city.

In other parts of Palestine, they live within a huge prison called the Israeli security wall, or rather the discriminatory separation wall.

3- The Palestinian street :

Today, Palestinians stand with a rich legacy of coexistence and neighbourly relations behind them. But the lack of security and the escalating Islamic religious extremism may lead to a disruption of this quietude and a destabilisation of Islamic-Christian relations. However, it seems that the disruption of this quietude is not owed to official stances, but to individual practices that take place on the Palestinian street in the form of verbal and psychological violence and some isolated aggressions against the lands or property belonging to Christians.

It is often the case that the Palestinian street negatively projects nationalist and doctrinal conflicts on its internal relations with Christians. At such times, the Christian neighbour is seen as somewhat of an acolyte of the aggressor and, therefore, of the American Administration, and the enemy of the Palestinian cause. Thus, doubts fester and the Christian’s fears escalate. But such stances serve only the interests of the common enemy. In these terrible times, the Christians in the occupied territories need to hear a clear message from their Muslim brothers, first at the level of people, then at that of officials, confirming their excellent relations and their capacity for co-existence.

The status of the Christian in the sites, Jerusalem in particular, cannot be considered separately from the crisis of Israel’s treatment of citizens in occupied territories, the inability of the national authority to shoulder its responsibilities, or the treatment of Christian citizens on the Palestinian street.

Second :  Constructive Dialogue Can Restore Serenity

What can we do to restore serenity and an optimistic future outlook ? We can act at two levels. First at the political level which evolves around the return of occupied territories to their legitimate owners, Christians and Muslims, and the establishment of the State of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital. It also involves Jerusalem as a city for all, where the Muslim, Christian and Jew can have access to their respective holy sites. We believe that Al Quds is Arab and Palestinian, and that Palestinian sovereignty over the city will never be an obstacle in the way of the religious rights of any creed. Second at the level of launching dialogue between citizens and brothers : Christians and Muslims. This dialogue would be aimed at :

1- Global National Sensitisation :

The Christian presence in Palestine is an Arab presence, the holy sites stand on Arab soil, and the Christian community that lives there is an Arab community. Therefore, the issue of Christian Arabs is primarily and ultimately a case of citizenship. Citizenship issues must be settled within the borders of the homeland, and the solution must have a national character that confirms loyalty to the fatherland as well as belonging to a religion. There is a vast difference between the theoretical dimensions of states’ polices and what happens on the ground in Arab societies.

With a strong faith in the co-existence of Muslims and Christians within a society where freedom and equality prevail in citizenship rights, and being conscious of the need for joint action in facing up to the internal concerns and the external dangers that threaten Arab youth, Muslims and Christians alike, and as we very much like to consolidate the feeling of belonging to one country that embraces all its children with their different religious denominations, and that transcends ethnic or religious fanaticism, we must abandon slogans in favour of the realities that exist on the ground; that is, at grassroots’ levels. We need to launch a sensitisation campaign in schools and in the Islamic and Christian societies on national unity and on the Christian as a citizen with full citizenship rights. We need to persuade the world that the Western and American hegemony has nothing to do with the Arab Christian citizen, in the same way that Muslim Palestinians cannot be blamed for the many political mistakes made in the Muslim world. This kind of sensitisation is our spiritual, moral and cultural objective and quest.

It is also necessary to sensitise the citizens, Muslims and Christians, about the need to clear all confusion that exists between virtuous religiousness and the despicable fanaticism that leads to violence and extremism. We need to understand the true piety that brings man closer to his God and to his fellow man, created and loved by Allah. Violence is a behavioural deviation that seeks to impose opinions on those who do not share them through the use of force. True religion, on the other hand, preaches acceptance of the opinion of those whose religion is different than ours, it teaches coexistence with them and respect of their religious convictions and particular rites. Difference and diversity are a human reality, and a miracle of the divine creation of the universe and of man. We cannot exploit religion to fuel political and social conflicts, because this is totally incompatible with the message and with the essence and spirit of religion, and turns it into a tool to be exploited instead of a source of guidance.

2- Brotherly Frankness :

Disrespect of the cultural and religious specificities and the mismanagement of diversity in Arab societies have led to a relative decline in interaction and cooperation between Muslims and Christians at community level and in varying degrees. What is needed here is frankness and constructive criticism between the followers of the two religions within the same country, of the two religions.

For the sake of frankness and good relations, we would like to say the following :

Islamic-Christian dialogue is not a tool for daawa or preaching, nor a subject for doctrinal debates. It is not, as some think, an attempt, to unify all religions, nor is it an attempt to engage in comparisons to determine which religion is better. It is not a form of negotiations between an Islamic block and a Christian one, it does not feed on amiability that turns a blind eye on differences, nor does it indulge in hypocrisy and treachery. True and constructive dialogue and joint action do not expect any party to compromise on their creed and faith.

Constructive dialogue recognises the reality of religious difference and the right to difference. It prevents this diversity from becoming a source of dissent and conflict ; it consolidates the bonds of the national fabric, and bolsters the values of co-existence among the citizens, Muslims and Christians. It is a reflection of moral and intellectual rectitude in dealing with the other... and seeks to find common denominators and points of convergence in faith and morals between Christianity and Islam, to bridge the gap between citizens.

Thus, constructive dialogue starts with the respect of the other in his beliefs and the consolidation of the religious bases of co-existence within one country. It is an opportunity to bring together the minds and hearts of believers who share the same civilisational and cultural belonging and the same destiny, around common issues and challenges. It consolidates coexistence and respects religious specificities, sentiments, symbols and sanctities, whether Islamic or Christian.

Arab Islamic-Christian dialogue seeks to assert the unified Muslim and Christian Arab front, whether at the local level through living side by side in peace and serenity, or at the international level in defending the common Arab causes.

Conclusion

I would like to conclude my address with a quote from the pastoral message addressed by the Catholic Patriarchate in the East to its followers around the world on the occasion of Easter 1992, and where attention is drawn to the many dangers that besiege us :

“Our dialogue is one with our Muslim brothers before anything else. Our coexistence over long centuries represents an irrevocable political experience and part of what Allah has destined us and them for... It remains, despite all the difficulties, the solid ground on which we build our joint action in the present and the future to achieve an equal and balanced society where no one feels that he is a stranger or rejected... Christians in the East are an integral component of the Muslim civilisational identity, and Muslims in the East are an integral part of the Christian civilisational identity. With this in mind, we are responsible for one another before God and before history” (pages 43 and 44).

(*) The Latine Church, Amman, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.