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By
Khalid Amayreh
The Israeli
policy of divide and conquer has not split Christian and Muslim
Palestinians despite attempts to sow discord between the two
communities.
According to Palestinian Christian
leaders, Israeli military authorities have tried repeatedly to
foster an atmosphere of mistrust between the two communities, for
the purpose of eroding Palestinian national unity and crushing
Palestinian aspirations for freedom and liberation.
Christians, though a minority, have always been an integral part of
the Palestinian social, cultural and political fabric.
As Talal Sidr, a Hebron community leader and a religious affairs
adviser to President Yasir Arafat, points out, the Christian
community in Palestine predates Islam by several centuries.
They were here first, this is a
historical fact. They belong here as much as we do, says Sidr.
United in
conflict
Sidr reminds people that Palestinian
Christians, like many Christians of the Near East, fought the Franks or Crusaders alongside their Muslim countrymen.
In modern times,
especially since the Nakba or catastrophe in 1948, when the bulk of
the Palestinian people were uprooted from their ancestral homeland
in what is now Israel, Christians as well as Muslims suffered the
agony of homelessness and exile.
Moreover, like other Palestinians, Christians have actively joined
the national struggle against the Israeli occupation, with some
occupying leading positions in the various factions of the Palestine
Liberation Organisation (PLO).
Christian figures as George Habash, Nayif Hawatmah, Edward Said, to
mention a few, have loomed large in the web of Palestinian National
struggle.
Today, Christian Palestinian figures such as Dr Hanan Ashrawi
continue to speak eloquently in defence of the Palestinian national
cause.
Moreover, Christian religious leaders such
Archimandrite Ata Allah Hanna, spokesman of the Orthodox Patriarchy
in Jerusalem, use every opportunity to condemn and expose the
Israeli oppression, often inviting Israel's anger, pressure and
occasionally threats of expulsion.
Common goal
Unlike other countries in the region, such as Lebanon, Palestinian
Christians and Muslims have always acted as one community rather
than two sects, according to Professor Hanna Issa, an expert on
international law.
Issa, a Christian, says it is a taboo even to ask Palestinians if
they are Muslim or Christian.
If you go to a Palestinian village
where Muslims and Christians live and ask people in the street what
religion they adhere to, they will look strangely at you.?
Issa does not like to ascribe the term ?national unity? to
Christian-Muslim relations in the West Bank.
?We're one people; it's a timeless fraternity that has proved itself
throughout history.?
Issa does not seem to be
exaggerating. In Bethlehem, the traditional birth place of Jesus, it
would be difficult to distinguish between Muslims and Christians by
appearance.
Interfaith
celebrations
Moreover, many Muslims share with Christians their Christmas holiday
and many Christians celebrate with Muslims the joy of occasions such
Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
Symbolically, the Mosque of Umar ibn al-Khattab (named after the
second caliph or successor of the Prophet Muhammad) stands on the
western side of the Manger Square, embracing the Church of the
Nativity in a solemn harmony unseen and unfelt in many other lands.
Here the mutual respect is neither superficial nor artificial. It
comes from the heart and is the result of deep conviction, says
Hanna al-Bandak, a Christian shopkeeper.
In the villages of Beit Arik near Ram Allah, this harmony takes on a
cordial partnership.
According to Hanna Issa, when the Muslim community at the village
sought to build a larger mosque to accommodate the growing number of
worshipers, Christians at the village insisted on paying our share
of the costs.
Eventually, the two communities shared equally the costs of the new
mosque, a testimony and example of inter-religious harmony.
Dwindling
community
But against this rosy picture of
Christian-Muslim harmony stands a community dwindling because
of steady emigration to South and
Central America, Australia and,
increasingly, Sweden.
According to Bernard
Sabella, Professor of Sociology at Bethlehem University, Christians
in Palestine now make up less than 2% of the population. In 1893,
Christians made up 13% of Palestinians.
Sabella says the trend toward emigration among indigenous Christians
poses special challenges at a time when their skills, knowledge and
perspective are needed in the efforts of state and institution
building.
He calls on the Churches of Palestine to formulate a common strategy
to ensure that Palestinian Christians will not end up forming
expatriate communities in such distant lands as Australia, Chile,
USA, and Canada.
It is indeed sad when there are more Palestinian Christians from
Jerusalem celebrating Easter in Sydney than in Jerusalem. This
break-up spells the possible end of community life as it has been
known and experienced in the Holy Land for countless generations.
'No Muslim
harassment'
According to Bishara Awad, dean of the Bible College in Bethlehem, Israeli
persecution is first and foremost to blame for Christian (and
Muslim) emigration.
We, Muslims and Christians alike,
have been on the receiving end of oppression since 1967. The
occupation is the root cause of economic deterioration. Some people
can?t live under constant pressure for a long time; so they emigrate
when they are no longer able or willing to withstand oppression.
Awad denies Israeli allegations that
many Christians leave because of harassment by Muslims.
I haven't seen any attack on our
churches or institutions. We're like brothers here. We share and
attend each others social occasions. We're one people, he told
Aljazeera.net.
Education
Awad, whose five brothers emigrated,
believes the key to stemming the tide of Christian emigration to the
holy land lies in education. He cites recent statistics showing that
young people with a university degree were less likely to emigrate.
We noticed only 20% of college graduates showed an inclination to
emigrate while as many as 80% of people with a high school diploma
or below showed a desire to emigrate.
Awad points out the Bethlehem and Beir Zeit Universities were playing a
significant role in reducing Christian emigration.
Most educated people don’t leave
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