Imam of Nîmes: Islam must rebel against Christianophobia
Christians continue to suffer persecution and pay the price for wars they never asked for. Intolerance against them increases in contemporary Islamist discourse. The Nimes imam comments on the attacks in Sri Lanka and challenges "the silent majority": "You will be accused of complicity, if you do not declare a holy war against extremism and hatred".
Paris (AsiaNews) - The Colombo Easter massacre "is not the first and unfortunately it will not be the last, because the Muslim authorities do not want to face extremist terrorist thinking in a courageous and firm manner," affirms Prof. Hocine Drouiche, imam of Nîmes and vice-president of the Conference of imams of France. The religious sent AsiaNews a reflection on the terrorist attacks that sowed death among the Christian community of Sri Lanka at Easter. We publish his considerations in full.
Christians in the world, especially Catholics, continue to suffer persecution, terrorist attacks and massacres. In Syria, Iraq, Egypt and elsewhere they pay the price for wars they never asked for.
The terrorist massacre in Sri Lanka is very significant. In the world, hatred against Christians continues to increase despite them defending peace, supporting the poor, caring for the sick. Every year Catholics spend billions to save lives and build schools for needy children. This has not prevented some from making Christians pay the consequences of the policies of Western countries, which are generally secular. Neither the Vatican nor the Church has power over these secular countries. If the place of Christians is important in the texts of Islam (including the Koran), it is time for the Muslim world to ask questions about the rise of Christianophobia within the contemporary Islamist discourse.
The Colombo massacre is not the first and unfortunately it will not be the last, because the Muslim authorities do not want to face extremist terrorist thinking in a courageous and firm manner. Today the fearful are accomplices. The reform of Islam will come from the brave. It is not enough to repeat that Islam is a religion of peace. Muslims must act if they want to protect Islam from this extremist Islamist minority that kills in the name of hatred.
The silent majority will have no excuse because it will be accused of complicity if it does not declare a holy war against extremism and the hatred that almost dominates the discourse of the imams and Muslim preachers. Contemporary Islam is closer to hatred and violence than to the notions of human love and brotherhood. This hateful interpretation produces human bombs that kill everything that is different, including Muslims who don't think like them. All my condolences to the families of the victims and all my support to the Christians persecuted in all over the world.
18/01/2018 12:42