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The involment and
participation of Christians in the affairs of their national
community is not
surprising, given the
good relations, which obtain between Christians and Muslims, and the
fact that Palestinian
Christians are indigenous to the land and society. A number of
factors
have contributed to good
Christian-Muslim relations:
1- The modern history of
Palestine with the Arab-Israeli conflict affecting the entire population equally, with
the experience of dispersal and loss of homeland.
2- The contribution
which Christian institutions, mostly Western, have made since the 19th century
to the education, health and other needs of the population
irrespective of religion.
3- The presence of the
Holy Places, and the recognition by Islam of the centrality of Jerusalem, Bethlehem and
Nazareth to Christianity. This recognition is best crystallized
in Khalif’Umar’s al-
‘Uhda al-‘Umariyya, which was his guarantee of the safety of Christians and their
holy places in 638 when Islam entered the country.
4- The urban nature of
the Christian population and its living in religiously mixed neighbourhoods, thus
emphasizing openness and neighbourly relations between Christians and Muslims.
In those instances where the Christians lived in villages and rural areas, friendly
co-operation and communal sharing.
5- Christians take equal
pride in their national and religious rots. Being a good Christian has never detracted
from being a god nationalist Palestinian, and vice versa.
6- The Ottoman millet
system, which recognized the autonomy of the Christian communities to run their
own internal affairs, especially those related to religious and civil matters. The
system allowed Christians of the Ottoman Empire to assume important positions,
especially in certain areas, such as commerce and finance, which were previously frowned
upon by Muslims.
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