Amman – The final document approved at the conclusion of the Conference on Christians and “Arab Springs”, organized on 22 and 23 November in Amman, by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Al-Quds Center for Political Studies is called “Amman Declaration”. The meeting was attended by parliamentarians and politicians of different nations of the Middle East, along with representatives of churches and Christian communities, such as the Chaldean Archbishop of Kirkuk, Mgr. Yousif Thomas Mirkis.
“The final document – refers the Jordanian priest Rifat Bader to Agenzia Fides, director of the Catholic Center for Studies and Media – represents a road map to try to outline a better future for Christians in the Middle East, in which violence and sectarian crimes are stopped, it puts a stop to the harassment of political and religious tyranny, and strengthens a true rule of law”.
In his speech, Fr. Bader highlighted the urgency of tackling the serious deficiencies of school curricula, which ignores the presence and history of Christians in Middle Eastern countries, and thus do not favor the new young generation to know each other, which is essential to foster peaceful and collaborative coexistence. “In school programs – explains Fr. Bader – there is a total removal of the presence and history of the indigenous Christian communities present in the Middle East since apostolic times. How can one teach children to respect each other, if the other is not even mentioned in school books?”.
Regarding the general judgment on the so-called “Arab Springs”, in their remarks at the conference it was possible to record the total disappearance of the emphatic tones with which that phenomenon was hailed in its infancy”, now – says Fr. Bader – everyone talks about it as a passed historical phase, and the focus is on how to deal with emergencies and the negative consequences that followed”.
By: Agenzia Fides
