Arab West Report Egyptian press summaries and media research for dialogue

The impact of the "Islam is the Solution" slogan raised by some religious and political groups in the Arab region and the Middle East has extended outside the area and helped emphasize Islamophobia. Pope Benedict XVI of the Roman Catholic Church even expressed "grave concerns" over the future of the Middle East's Christians in light of a growing current of political Islam.

 

The Pontiff, in a working paper he forwarded at the end of his visit to Cyprus on June 6, 2010, said he was concerned over the status of Christians in the region in light of "Islamic theocracy" and the domination of religious ideologies in the ruling political strata.

 

The paper, to be discussed by senior heads of churches during a meeting in Rome in October, asserted that the countries of the region, with the exception of Turkey, "consider Islam as a resource for legislation and consequently apply Muslim teachings on the private and public lives of non-Muslims which would in turn deprive Christians from their basic rights".

 

The 51-page paper noted that the hard-line powers that work under the "Islam is the Solution" motto would not hesitate about inclination to violence.

 

"Relations between Muslims and Christians have been difficult most of the time, mainly because Muslims do not draw a definite line between religion and politics, which prompts them not to regard Christians as citizens who enjoy full-fledged rights," it added.

 

However, Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), condemned the paper and said it would not help build better relations between the Christians and the Muslim communities in which they live.

 

"Sharī‘ah (Islamic law) respects Christians as the Prophet Muhammad himself had good ties with them," Hooper said.

 

* Reports about this story were published by al-Hayāt of June 6, 7 (pp. 8, 8); al-Sharq al-Awsat of June 6, 7 (pp. 15, 14)