ELCA NEWS SERVICE
September 22, 2006
Lutheran Bishop of Jerusalem Visits Damaged Churches in Nablus
06-143-FI
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL),
went Sept. 17 to Nablus, West Bank, from Jerusalem with the heads
of three other Christian churches there. Fire and bullets
scarred four church buildings in Nablus from Sept. 16 attacks
considered to be in reaction to remarks Pope Benedict XVI made
Sept. 12 in Germany.
In a personal account of the visit, Younan said he went to
Nablus with His Beatitude Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah, Bishop
Riah Abu el-Assal of the Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the
Middle East, and Bishop George Bakar, the Greek Catholic Exarch,
"to stand in solidarity with Christian sisters and brothers
there."
Anglican, Greek Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic
church buildings were damaged in the Nablus attacks.
"I viewed the minimal damage mostly on the outside of the
four churches," Younan said. "More serious, however, was the
symbolic meaning of the acts."
"Our aim was to encourage all of the people, Christians and
Muslims, and to discuss events with congregations and officials
in Nablus," he said. "We all -- Christian and Muslim leaders and
government officials of all factions -- denounced the violence
that has occurred."
"At the same time, we asked if the relationship between
Palestinian Christians and Palestinian Muslims was so shallow
that a statement from thousands of miles away should spark such
actions. We know the answer -- for the majority of us -- is no,"
Younan said.
"We concluded that these are the acts of a few irresponsible
people who do not represent Islam or Palestine. These are
extremists trying to drive a wedge between Palestinians --
Christians and Muslims -- and somehow disrupt the long history of
coexistence we have enjoyed until recently, when political
disputes are being made into religious ones," he said.
"We cannot allow (these acts) to distract us from the urgent
issues of justice that we face together. Christian and Muslim
religious leaders here have fully denounced violence -- whoever
the perpetrator -- and stand together against it," Younan said.
"The Pope's comments were understood to be unnecessarily
provocative and offensive, and they were not helpful to either
Christians or Muslims here. However, we must find other ways to
express that," Younan said. "We must confront conflicts in
dialogue at their roots and not let them fester or tempt us into
violence. This is the only path to deepen our ability to live
together as Christian and Muslim neighbors," he said.
"Some elements are trying to portray Islam as a negative,
violent religion. Most of us Palestinian Christians do not
agree. The Islam with which we have lived all our lives has
given us peaceful, good neighbors within Palestine," Younan said.
The Lutheran bishop said he wanted to ask those who attacked
the churches: "Why are you trying to strengthen those who label
you?" He added, "May God forgive you, for you don't know what
you are doing."
Younan said that in Tubas, a village near Jenin, West Bank,
Muslims stopped a man trying to burn a church. He cited the
mayor of Tubas who praised the town's "fraternal relationship"
between Christians and Muslims.
"Our urgent call in this fragile time and place is to join
together as Muslims, Christians and Jews to promote justice,
peace, forgiveness and reconciliation which are the only
foundations of a civilized world," Younan said.
"I again call on Christian and Muslim leaders to sign a code
of conduct that promotes respecting one another's sacred
writings, symbols and places and fosters religious pluralism,
mutual respect and coexistence," Younan concluded.
-- -- --
The home page of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan
and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) is at http://www.holyland-
lutherans.org/ on the Web.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
