Dialogue and Citizenship following footsteps of al-Azhar: Lebanese Muslims commitment to Christians
The goal is to ensure a collective and national follow-up to the final declaration of the Conference. To explore the possibilities to invite the imam Ahmad el-Tayyeb to Lebanon. After the inter-Muslim summit a(national) Islamic-Christian meeting also planned. The Lebanese model a message for the Arab region and the world.
Beirut (AsiaNews) - In order to ensure a collective and national follow-up to the al-Azhar Declaration on liberty, citizenship, diversity and complementarity, adopted at the end of the Cairo Conference (Egypt), Lebanon is scheduled to host an inter-Islamic summit .
Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora announced the meeting would incorporate the topics addressed at the conference held between 28 February and March 1, attended by 600 personalities including Christian and Muslim religious leaders from around the world . Among them there was also a strong presence of Lebanese delegates which included the Maronite patriarchs and Greek-catholic and Greek-Orthodox Metropolitan of Beirut.
Preparatory meetings are planned over the next few days, especially at home of former Prime Minister, to discuss the agenda and fix the date of the summit itself.
Meanwhile, well-informed sources reveal that work is underway to explore the possibility to officially invite Imam of al-Azhar, Ahmad el-Tayyeb, under whose authority the Cairo conference was held to Lebanon. The National Committee for Islamic-Christian dialogue, which coordinates actions with all Christian and Muslim religious communities, has been commissioned to launch the invitation.
The Committee will, however, wait first for Pope Francis’ apostolic visit to Cairo, scheduled on April 28 and 29, at the invitation of Egypt’s civil and religious, Christian and Muslim leaders.
Fouad Siniora paid a visit March 30 to the Druze Sheikh Naim Hassan, to discuss the issue. Sensitive to the exasperation of sectarian tensions that characterize the current phase, the former prime minister want to give the al-Azhar statement "global impact". He underlined that the statement in particular notes that "non-Muslims and Muslims share the same rights and the same duties" in the context of a "national constitutional state."
He said, therefore, that all are called upon to replace the traditional discrimination between Muslims and non-Muslims, with a perfect equality in terms of civil status, in the context of a citizenry that knows how to embrace diversity.
The inter-Muslim summit in preparation must be completed by a Lebanese Islamic-Christian meeting, called to discuss the same issues, in order to "strengthen the bonds of solidarity between the different components of Lebanon".
The commitment of the Mufti of the Republic
Strongly committed to the cause of unity under the umbrella of citizenship in defense of al-Azhar, the Mufti of the Republic (Sunni) Sheikh Abdellatif Deriane, went to the Druze House and the Higher Islamic Shiite Council to discuss this topic. For the occasion, Sheikh Naïm Hassan paid tribute to the role al-Azhar "in the service of Islamic unity and dialogue between religions."
After visiting the Higher Islamic Shiite Council, the mufti noted that "the Lebanese have a special responsibility with regard to the declaration of al-Azhar, because of the nature of their country based on these freedoms and openness to the point that serve as a model for others". "This is what the pope said [John Paul II] - concluded the mufti of the Republic - stressing that Lebanon is more than a country, it is a message not only for its inhabitants, but for the entire Arab region and whole world".
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04/01/2019 10:01
