Al-Rahi: Syria's Christians Support Stability, Not Regime
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Syria's Christians do not support the regime of President Bashar Assad, but they do want stability in the war-torn country, Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi told Agence France Presse on Thursday.
"I tell Westerners who say that we (Christians) are with the Syrian regime that we are not with regimes, we are with the state. There is a big difference," al-Rahi said in an exclusive interview, a week before the arrival in Lebanon of Pope Benedict XVI.
"In Iraq, when Saddam Hussein was removed, we lost a million Christians," he said at the patriarchal residence in Diman in northwest Lebanon. "Why? Not because the regime fell, but because there was no more authority, there was a vacuum."
"In Syria, it's the same thing, Christians do not back the regime but they are afraid of what may come next, that is their feeling," said al-Rahi.
The Maronites, who are the largest Christian denomination in Lebanon, are only a minority among fellow believers in neighboring Syria, where their roots originally lie.
The conflict in Syria has spilled over into Lebanon, where both Christians and Muslims alike are divided into supporters and opponents of the Damascus regime.
These differences have sparked deadly sectarian battles, mostly in Tripoli, Lebanon's second city in the north.
"In Lebanon, we must try to build unity... it cannot be done by magic," said the patriarch.
He also hoped that Pope Benedict XVI will insist on delivering a message calling for "coexistence" between Muslims and Christians when he visits Lebanon on September 15-16.
06 September 2012, 16:57
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so that is the reason why the pope is coming to lebanon: SYRIAS CHRISTIANS,they amount to 2.2 millions...it is confirming that assad will be "arranged" very soon(read and understand the latest putin's condition).
there is a big difference monseigneur rahi between loyalty to lebanon and all its components and loyalty to ur tribe in the whole middle east, it is like giving excuse to the druze to unite with their brothers in the middle east and the shia same and the sunni encore...another sykes picot based on religion,that is israeli 100 pct.
06 September 2012, 19:26
114
ya Karim, if you think M14 and in particular the LF are pro wahabis then you need to go back to school and learn the alphabet first because akid akid akid you know nothing about politics...
06 September 2012, 19:34
123
The Patriarch, Russia, even the Hezz are pulling back from a dying mass murderer.
06 September 2012, 20:54
113
The "Million" of Christians, as well as much more Iraqis from different sects, killed or displaced in Iraq were mostly the victims of the extremists that were harbored, fed, armed, trained and sent from Syria by the Assad Regime.
Assad is the main instigator of trouble and no one could feed sectarian divisions better than his regime.
06 September 2012, 21:20
132
I think al-Rahi went to good school (lycee Jumblatt)... He knows when to turn his coat. LOL
07 September 2012, 00:24
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Al-Rahi is right in saying that the Christians of Syria and by extension those of Lebanon are afraid of the unknown after Assad is gone, but I am not with him when he says that the Christians are with the country and not with the regime. when an uprising like the one taking place in Syria erupts, everyone should take sides. You can't be on the isde qaiting until things unfold because then you would be the one to blame and ultimately the main loser. I for one think that deep inside, the Christian community supports the FSA but they can't do that openly of fear for their lives and the lives of their families. I am certain that Syria is unlike Iraq. the Christian community in Syria is large and has the support of the Christians of lebanon. This makes them powerful and immune to retaliation.
07 September 2012, 08:26
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Al Rahi is wrong and first of all he should not make such political statement. With the pops upcoming visit and Al Rahi making such statements is in total contradiction to what the Vatican website http://www.fides.org report and Christians report to UN agencies on arrival to Lebanon and other countries. Christians are most protected under the regime in Syria, and since the terrorist network started the crisis in Syria, Christians has been hunted by Salafist and other extremist in Syria. Al Rahi should stick to facts, not twist them.
