Mohammed Arkoun

1 -2- 1928 Kabylië Algerije 14-9 -2010 Parijs Frankrijk.

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MUHAMMAD AL-SAMMAK. "Two negative points demonstrate the problem faced by Eastern Christians: The first point concerns the lack of respect for the rights of fully equal citizenship when faced with the law in certain countries. The second concerns the misunderstanding of the spirit of Islamic teaching, especially as concerns relations with Christians whom the Holy Koran qualifies as 'nearest among them in love to the believers', justifying this love by saying 'this is because there are priests and monks among them and because they do not behave proudly'. These two negative points, with all they entail ... are bad for us all - Christians and Muslims - and offend us all in our lives and in our shared destinies. For this, we are called upon, as Christians and Muslims, to work together to transform these two negative elements into positive elements Firstly, by respecting the rules of citizenship, which impose equality first in rights and then in duties. Secondly, by denouncing the culture of extremism in its refusal of others and in its wish to have the monopoly on ultimate truth, and by working towards the promotion and spread of a culture of moderation, charity and forgiveness, such as respect for differences of religion and beliefs, of language, of culture, of colour and of race. As we are taught by the Holy Koran, we put ourselves at the judgment of God about our differences. Yes, the Christians in the Middle East are being tested, but they are not the only ones".

"The Eastern Christian presence, which works and acts with Muslims, is a Christian as much as Muslim need. It is a need not only for the East, but also for the entire world. The danger represented by the erosion of this presence on the qualitative and quantitative levels is a Christian as well as an Islamic concern, not only for Eastern Muslims, but for Muslims all over the world. Furthermore, I can live my Islam with all other Muslims from all States and from all ethnicities, but as a Middle Eastern Arab, I cannot live my Arab identity without the Middle Eastern Christian Arabs. The emigration of Christians is an impoverishment of Arabic identity, of its culture and of its authenticity.

"For this reason I underline once again, from the stage of the Vatican, what I have already said in Mecca: I am concerned about the future of Eastern Muslims because of the emigration of Eastern Christians. To maintain the presence of Christians is a shared Islamic duty as well as a shared Christian duty. The Christians of the East are not an accidental minority. They are at the origins of the presence of the East before Islam. They are an integral part of the cultural, literary and scientific formation of Islamic civilisation".

VIS 20101015 (2190)