September 8, 2015

His Holiness Aram I Emphasises The Urgency To Counter Religious Fundamentalism at an International Interfaith Conference in Athens

 

5 September 2015. His Holiness Aram I spoke at the International Conference organized by KAICIID Centre in Vienna, which was held in Athens in cooperation with The Ecumenical Patriarchate, on the theme, “Supporting citizenship rights and peaceful coexistence between Christians and Muslims in the Middle East.” Over fifty Christian and Muslim leaders from the Middle East and a number of scholars took part in the conference.

 

Addressing the issue of violence, His Holiness called fundamentalism, “the major threat today not only to the Middle East but also to the world at large.” He said that it must be met by a coordinated action between all nations. “Because globalization has broken down all barriers between cultures, races and religions,” he said, “international and Interreligious dialogue must go beyond the exchange of ideas and interpretations; it must promote cooperation based on mutual trust, without which there can be no peaceful coexistence.”

Referring to the Middle East and Christian-Muslim relations in the region, the Catholicos noted that Muslims and Christians have lived together for centuries, although sometimes with tension and conflict. “Their togetherness,” he said, “defines the local social and political fabric, and it is tragic that Muslim fundamentalism is destroying the long-existing model of coexistence in the region.”

 

Addressing the theme of citizenship, Catholicos Aram I reminded the conference that the Middle East is not only the cradle of Christianity but also a home for Churches. “As citizens of the countries of the Middle East,” he stated, “Christians refused to accept minority status; although religions divided people, citizenship united them by giving the people the full right to participate in and equally contribute to all aspects of societal life.” He invited the Middle Eastern leaders at the conference to reflect further on the concept of co-citizenship as a way of overcoming differences between communities and violence justified in the name of religion.

 

The conference concluded with a statement prepared by the organizers, to which His Holiness Aram I was invited to contribute. Very Rev. Housig Mardirossian, the Ecumenical Officer was also among the participants.

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