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AINA Assyrian International News Agency
Sept 13 2014
Assyrian Orthodox Patriarch Delivers Keynote Speech At in Defense of
Christians Summit
Posted 2014-09-13 06:06 GMT
Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II.Washington (AINA) --
Yesterday, on the third day of the In Defense of Christians summit,
Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II, Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch,
delivered a keynote address on the persecution of Christians in Iraq
and Syria. The title of the speech was Do Muslims need Christians in
the Middle East?
The Patriarch began by saying "Muslims were welcomed to many major
cities in what is today known as Syria, Lebanon and Iraq by
Christians...Christians had established the infrastructure of the new
[Islamic] state."
The Patriarch said:
Many of the Christians were forced to convert as a result of the
imposition of heavy jizya, poll tax, on them. They often endured many
periods of persecution, especially during the Mongol and Ottoman
times. The Genocide of Armenians and Syriac speaking Christians
unleashed during World War One resulted in the extermination of
millions of Christians. In fact, we all are commemorating this tragic
event throughout next year as the hundredth anniversary of this
atrocity.
...
I believe that Muslims need Christians to challenge themselves to live
in a pluralistic and multi-religious society where they can affirm
their identity without being afraid of the other. Muslims ought to be
able to embrace the values of tolerance and acceptance of the other as
a sign of self confidence to prove that Islam as a religion can
coexist with other religions without the need to absorb others or the
fear that it may be absorbed by others. Living in isolation will keep
Muslims ignorant of the other and ignorance is the mother of all fear.
...
It's high time for Muslim scholars and religious leader to prove to
the world that these groups do not represent true Muslim teachings.
...
Muslims need Christians to fight together extremism. Muslims need
Christians to fight together secularism, a common enemy of all
believers from all religions. Muslims need Christians to fight
together commercialism -- the human being has become a commodity being
sold. We have to come together to restore back the dignity of the
human being as the image of God on earth.
...
I conclude by calling upon the international community to help us
Christians stay in our homelands, in the lands that are forefathers
for two millennia witnessed for Christ and for many millennia lives as
the people, indigenous people of that land.
...
By calling upon them [international community] to help us stay in our
homeland we also want them to work hard to make sure that these
Christians should be protected, should be provided with dignity, with
honor, and should not be subject to attacks such as we are seeing
today.
http://www.aina.org/news/20140913020608.htm
Sept 13 2014
Assyrian Orthodox Patriarch Delivers Keynote Speech At in Defense of
Christians Summit
Posted 2014-09-13 06:06 GMT
Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II.Washington (AINA) --
Yesterday, on the third day of the In Defense of Christians summit,
Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II, Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch,
delivered a keynote address on the persecution of Christians in Iraq
and Syria. The title of the speech was Do Muslims need Christians in
the Middle East?
The Patriarch began by saying "Muslims were welcomed to many major
cities in what is today known as Syria, Lebanon and Iraq by
Christians...Christians had established the infrastructure of the new
[Islamic] state."
The Patriarch said:
Many of the Christians were forced to convert as a result of the
imposition of heavy jizya, poll tax, on them. They often endured many
periods of persecution, especially during the Mongol and Ottoman
times. The Genocide of Armenians and Syriac speaking Christians
unleashed during World War One resulted in the extermination of
millions of Christians. In fact, we all are commemorating this tragic
event throughout next year as the hundredth anniversary of this
atrocity.
...
I believe that Muslims need Christians to challenge themselves to live
in a pluralistic and multi-religious society where they can affirm
their identity without being afraid of the other. Muslims ought to be
able to embrace the values of tolerance and acceptance of the other as
a sign of self confidence to prove that Islam as a religion can
coexist with other religions without the need to absorb others or the
fear that it may be absorbed by others. Living in isolation will keep
Muslims ignorant of the other and ignorance is the mother of all fear.
...
It's high time for Muslim scholars and religious leader to prove to
the world that these groups do not represent true Muslim teachings.
...
Muslims need Christians to fight together extremism. Muslims need
Christians to fight together secularism, a common enemy of all
believers from all religions. Muslims need Christians to fight
together commercialism -- the human being has become a commodity being
sold. We have to come together to restore back the dignity of the
human being as the image of God on earth.
...
I conclude by calling upon the international community to help us
Christians stay in our homelands, in the lands that are forefathers
for two millennia witnessed for Christ and for many millennia lives as
the people, indigenous people of that land.
...
By calling upon them [international community] to help us stay in our
homeland we also want them to work hard to make sure that these
Christians should be protected, should be provided with dignity, with
honor, and should not be subject to attacks such as we are seeing
today.
http://www.aina.org/news/20140913020608.htm