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Middle East church leaders respond to Iraq bombings

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  • Middle East church leaders respond to Iraq bombings

    Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (Comunicados de prensa), Switzerland
    Aug 2 2004

    Middle East church leaders respond to Iraq bombings: solidarity and
    work for peace needed

    Middle Eastern church leaders have condemned attacks on Iraqi
    churches and called for solidarity following bombings at churches
    yesterday.

    Speaking today at the World Council of Churches (WCC) Faith and Order
    plenary commission meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, bishop Nareg
    Alemezian of the Armenian Apostolic Church (Catholicosate of Cilicia)
    said: "This is the first time Christian churches have been targeted.
    We condemn this attack and we are very concerned about it."

    Metropolitan Dr Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim, from the Syrian
    Orthodox Church of Antioch, urged Christians and Muslims to work
    together for peace. "Solidarity is very important, both inside and
    outside the region, both among Christians and between Christians and
    Muslims," he said.

    Gregorios stressed that "the WCC and others should encourage anything
    that brings Christians and Muslims together, not only in theological
    dialogue but also in the dialogue of life and work."

    "I address my appeal to the Arab world, which can support any plan
    for peace, and also to the Iraqi people themselves - if they are not
    in solidarity, how then can they solve these problems?" he asked.

    Alemezian called on international and local people to work for peace.
    "This is not just a problem for Syrians and Armenians," he said. "The
    situation in Iraq is not isolated. It is related to the general
    political situation in the world.

    "We have a conflict, and we have to solve it - the US, the UN, all
    parties involved in the creation of this situation, but also local
    people and faith communities."

    Both leaders stressed the good relations between Christians and
    Muslims in Iraq prior to the bombings.

    "Christians are an integral part of the society they are living in,
    they are not newcomers, they are not there for any superficial
    reason," said Alemezian. "Middle Eastern Christians are the people of
    the land where Christ was born," he added.

    They both stressed the dangers posed by pressure on the nearly
    1million Iraqi Christians leading to increased emigration.

    "The diminishing number of Christians in Iraq is a terrible thing,"
    said Gregorios. "The same picture is replicated in other countries
    like Turkey, Iran, and Palestine. We are losing our people."

    Could a situation arise, they said, where there were no Christians in
    the Middle East and no Muslims in the West? This would be "dangerous
    for everybody," said Metropolitan Gregorios. "This is very important.
    It's not good for humanity."

    According to news reports, at least 11 people were killed and dozens
    injured as bombs exploded at four churches - two of them Syrian and
    two, Armenian Orthodox - and a monastery.

    Additional information: Juan Michel + 603 2148 9166 Melaka room +4179
    507 6363

    Para más información: Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363
    [email protected]

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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