Arab Christians

[ezerdi2]

 

[Arabian Stallion]

Here below is a very informative video showing Arab Christian personalities from all across the Arab world. Mainly from the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq and Sham. Ancient as well as modern ones.

Even more similar to Kabala.

What is that?

A sad development indeed but I believe that the current situation can be reversed. Also I did not know that Christianity was growing in KSA. It must be the Christian expatriate community. If Christian expatriates (Europeans, Ethiopian and other African, Filipino etc.) who have been born in KSA and lived there their entire lives, one day will become citizens of KSA, the country could indeed have one of the largest Christian communities in the Muslim world.

How is the situation in Algeria, brother? All I know is this.

https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/المسيحية_في_الجزائر

 

[ezerdi2]

Here below is a very informative video showing Arab Christian personalities from all across the Arab world. Mainly from the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq and Sham. Ancient as well as modern ones.

What is that?



A sad development indeed but I believe that the current situation can be reversed. Also I did not know that Christianity was growing in KSA. It must be the Christian expatriate community. If Christian expatriates (Europeans, Ethiopian and other African, Filipino etc.) who have been born in KSA and lived there their entire lives, one day will become citizens of KSA, the country could indeed have one of the largest Christian communities in the Muslim world.

How is the situation in Algeria, brother? All I know is this.

https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/المسيحية_في_الجزائر

They are a minority 90% live in Kabylie region the number of Christians is estimated to be around half milion , Algeria has many churches, some of which are still active, while others have been converted into schools and mosques.

 

[Kraitcorp]

According to 2011 census data Christianity is on the rise in India. In 2001 census we only had 2.3% Christians in India. Now its more than 5%

 

[Sinnerman108]

@Arabian Stallion

It's the Jewish equivalent to Sufi in Islam.

Both are "engineered" version, made for regional and cultural goals in mind.

 

[Arabian Stallion]

Why was my thread moved from the Arab section to this one? Well, as long as there will be no trolling that will destroy my informative thread.

They are a minority 90% live in Kabylie region the number of Christians is estimated to be around half milion , Algeria has many churches, some of which are still active, while others have been converted into schools and mosques.

I did not know that the Christian community mostly lived in Kabylie. As for churches, they were probably built by the French during their rule. That's a good thing indeed if inactive.

@Arabian Stallion

It's the Jewish equivalent to Sufi in Islam.

Both are "engineered" version, made for regional and cultural goals in mind.

Can you show an example of it? Just curious.

 

[Arabian Stallion]

Middle Eastern people before Islam 'were not' Arab.

AND here comes the first troll that blabbers about topics that do not concern him and that he has absolutely no clue about. "Middle Eastern people"? What is that? A new ethnicity? This thread is about ARAB Christians.

Did you even bother to read this thread or the information provided? Or do you prefer to bullshitt due to your obsession about Arabs? This thread is solely about Christian Arabs and not any non-Arab Semitic minorities (very closely related people to Arabs - same origin) such as Assyrians, Druze, Copts and others.

If you actually had bothered to read and study this thread you would know but of course that is too much to be expected, right?

 

[Saif al-Arab]

How Christians in Jordan and America Have a Role in Middle-East Peace

Father Nabil Haddad (Greg Tarczynski)
​

Father Nabil Haddad, a Melkite Greek Catholic priest, spoke with the Register and other religious writers after the inauguration of the new Pope Francis Center in Amman.

Peter Jesserer Smith

SWEIMEH, Jordan — Amid the chaos of the Middle East, the Kingdom of Jordan is an oasis of peace and a land of prophets — and not just Abraham, Moses, Elijah and St. John the Baptist.

In modern times, the Holy Land’s eastern bank provides a prophetic vision of the Middle East, where Christians and Muslims live together in harmony, building a civil society that upholds the rights and dignity of all. A powerful icon of Jordan’s integrated Christian-Muslim society is found in King Abdullah II, a direct descendent of the Prophet Muhammad, who has commissioned the building of 11 churches at the Baptismal Site of Jesus in Bethany Beyond the Jordan, which is revered by Christians and Muslims alike.

Father Nabil Haddad, a leading figure of interfaith dialogue in Jordan, who runs the Jordanian Interfaith Coexistence Research Center, met with the Register and other Christian writers at the Dead Sea Marriott hotel on Oct. 14 after the inauguration of the new Pope Francis Center in Amman. The Melkite Greek Catholic priest fielded questions from the group about Jordan’s mission of peace in the Middle East, the role of the new center and how Christians in the U.S. can support Jordan’s Christians and learn from their witness of Christian-Muslim coexistence.

Father Nabil, what do you believe is the solution to the Middle East’s suffering?

You come at a time when you see Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Libya continuing to face crimes on their soil. Aleppo, an old city, a very beautiful old city in the north of Syria, is being bombarded; killing is all over; ISIS is on our northern borders; Mosul in northern Iraq, the plateau of Nineveh, cradle of the culture and civilization of humankind, is being threatened because of hatred.

This region has been in turmoil, and everything is justified by religion. The solution for our problems starts with using religion as a solution, and this is where all our interfaith work starts. We need to realize that religion must be the solution — it’s not the cause of conflict. Those who use religion to justify their hatred must be stopped. And this could not be done by one country, one nation or one continent. I think this is a global threat, and it will take a global effort.

What we need to do is first to realize that religion must be used to build peace and understanding in this part of the world. The people of the Middle East deserve to live in peace. Unfortunately, this region has always been pregnant with pain, blood and hatred. And, unfortunately, when we talk about this region as a holy land, we see that the land — the geography — is holy, but the mentalities and minds are not the minds of peace and change.

Father Nabil, you just inaugurated the Pope Francis Center in Amman. Can you talk about what the center’s mission will be in Jordan?

This will be a forum that will bring a Christian voice to the community and society and make it known not only in Jordan, but in the region. I don’t ask my Muslim neighbors to give me a good-conduct certificate. Being a Christian, I want to reach out to them and give them my message of love. And this institution is going to do this.

Our main target is youth. We cannot afford to wait; we have to work as of yesterday, because of extremism. We cannot just sit back and watch things worsen more and more. As a Christian community, we have to take the lead — if not the lead, we have to take a part at least, in doing this. And when we do this, trust me, we are not serving Jordanian society only. We are serving the region, and we are serving globally.

Why is this new center for interreligious dialogue named after Pope Francis?

We believe that it is very timely to start a center and couldn’t find a better namesake than Pope Francis. … We were so grateful that God sent a holy man like Pope Francis because we felt the difference here and the echo of his speeches, his great initiative, when he reminds people that they are children of God. This is what the problem of the Middle East is all about: People do not realize that religion is a way to teach them that they are children of God, not only themselves, but also others, and that every other human being is a child of God.

We start with this new institution, where we want to give the voice of Christianity — I’m not saying the Catholic voice; I’m saying the voice of Christianity — a platform. We want to use this center as a platform that brings the Good News and hope at a time when there is so much blood, so much killing, and every crime is justified by a certain religious agenda.

Why do you believe Christianity and Islam can live together in the Middle East?

As an Arab Christian, I can tell you I have lived with Islam for 1,400 years. We are the experts on Islam; we are the experts on living and coexisting with Islam. Unfortunately, in this world, nobody is considering our vast and successful experience. We have grown as wise as serpents in this part of the world. We have lived with Islam, and we can teach others about how to live amicably with the Muslims.

We believe as Arab Christians we have a role to play. You have been to Petra: I tell you that Petra is an Arab Christian city. … You are in the east bank of the Jordan [River], where 80% of the biblical geography is. How could we talk about biblical geography without Christians? The Christian community continues to exist on this land after 2,000 years, and when Islam came in the seventh century, Christians coexisted with Muslims. We believe that it is our calling, our mission, our holy task that we continue to live here: to be the witnesses for the Lord Jesus Christ. Although we are small in number, I assure you our voice is loud, and the Good News that we give you is the Christian Good News. We are the salt of this Holy Land — salt is “this much” in any dish you have, but I believe we count on the flavor that we have to give to our society.

How do Jordanian Christians coexist peacefully with Muslims? Not all Christians in the Middle East have this experience.

I tell you that we have enjoyed the kind of coexistence that we have had because we wanted to be a part of our own community. We refuse to live in isolation. I will not accept to live in isolation or to be isolated. I am an integral part of the community; I am part of the history; I am part of the past, of the present, and I want to be, with my children, part of the future. This is how I look at it, how Christians look at it. This is the best way, when we call for a civil society that is built on human rights, on democracy, on respect for human dignity, on equal citizenship, on social justice. How could we talk about this if we don’t believe that we have to take part in our community and to contribute to the general good of society? This is the calling of the Church. This is what Pope Francis said when he gave a speech at the royal palace in 2014, when he came as a pilgrim.

How do you live as a witness to your faith in a Muslim community?

My calling here is to be a Christian witness in a Muslim community. If I were to be a Catholic priest in Japan, it would be my calling to be a witness in a Japanese society. We need to live and give the message. You can’t give the message if you don’t communicate with people. You don’t give your witness if you don’t interact with people, if you live in isolation. I think it is very suicidal.

I said once to [Coptic Orthodox] Pope Shenouda, may God rest his soul in peace, there are 10 million Copts [Egyptian Christians] in Egypt, compared to 160,000-170,000 Christian here — and we have more of an active presence here! We have to stop being the disgruntled group. We have to make the change, and we cannot do that if we always complain about being isolated. I tell you, from my own experience, as I told your colleague, that I refuse this isolation. I can’t! How could we be witnesses, how could we carry our testimony, if we live behind closed doors? It is very suicidal.

What do Christians in Jordan expect from Christian churches in America?

We want to see you here. That’s why I feel so proud when I see my fellow American Christians come to my church, come to our land, come to Jordan — as pilgrims who show solidarity. Solidarity cannot be shown by sending a check or in-kind aid. That’s needed, to help the poor Jordanians, not only the Christians, but all Jordanians, and to help Iraqi and Syrian refugees. But the solidarity that we need is to see you with us. I always call on our American brothers and sisters: We want to see you worship with us, eat with us, talk to us and live with us. We want to see you walk with us downtown in Amman, in our villages, in our streets. I want people to see that these Christians come here to Jordan because they believe in this land; they believe that Christianity was birthed here. Our Lord Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, but in our theology, the proclamation of the one God and the Holy Trinity took place 10 minutes from here, right at Bethany Beyond the Jordan. This is the legacy that we have, and we will continue to carry that legacy and live here.

What message would the Christians of Jordan like to send to America’s Christians and churches?

We are called upon as Christians to carry the Christian message and to be witnesses. We are the children of the first Church. Your Arab Christian brothers and sisters have been the Christian voice in this part of the world since the day of Pentecost. This is the message that we want to give and the message we ask you to give when you go back to beautiful America, the good people of America. Tell them that these Christians have lived and will continue to live here. They need your solidarity.

We also expect from the Christians and Christian churches in America support of every peace initiative here. The people of this region deserve to live in peace, and we expect them to encourage us to live amicably with our Muslim neighbors. We cannot continue to live here if we don’t learn the lesson that the Christian minority must reach out to the Muslim majority. Life is like that: Usually, the majority doesn’t reach out to the minority.

We are a small community — small in numbers, but we have a role, a mission, and that is to prove that Muslims and Christians can live together. The model we have in Jordan, the model of Christian-Muslim coexistence, is something that we cherish, but it does not belong to us. It’s not just our property; it’s the property for the whole world. If we want to solve the problem of extremism and terrorism, I think we need Jordan. We need the Jordanian model of coexistence.

Peter Jesserer Smith is a Register staff writer.

He was in Jordan from Oct. 7-15 on a pilgrimage for

religious writers sponsored by the Jordanian Tourism Board

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-new...-and-america-have-a-role-in-middle-east-peace

Jordan is the example to follow in the Arab world. I cannot stress how much I respect the work of the Jordanian government and people despite the enormous challenges they face be it due to hosting 1.5 million Syrians (almost 25% of their entire population), an similar (if not a bigger) number of Palestinians (hosting them almost since their birth as a country), 500.000 Iraqis, lack of resources, vulnerable economy, etc.
I will always have unconditional affinity for the Jordanian state and people, Hijazi Hashemite or not. Jordan is geographically, historically, ethnically and in every other imaginable aspect an extension of neighboring Hijaz and Northern Arabia. A shame that modern-day KSA and Jordan do not belong to the same country. Could still happen in the future of course.

 

[Saif al-Arab]

Jordan’s Prophetic Vision of the Middle East: A Land of Muslim-Christian Harmony

Above, at the Mother of Mercy Clinic in Zarqa, Dominican sisters work with Muslim doctors and nurses to care for patients; below, the baptismal site of Jesus and children studying at the Pontifical Mission Library in Amman. (Peter Jesserer Smith photos)​

Christians and Muslims in Jordan believe that their country — the Holy Land’s east bank — provides a vision of what the Middle East could become again.

Peter Jesserer Smith

NOV. 14, 2016

AL-MAGTAS, Jordan — A massive ancient stone baptistery, built into the ground in the shape of a cross, marks the spot in Jordan where Jesus was baptized.

Surrounded by Christian pilgrims, Rustom Mkhjian, the assistant director of the Baptism Site, with the affection more akin to a devoted son introducing his family than a caretaker, recounted how Christian pilgrims would descend the stone steps into the baptistery, still fed by the Jordan River.

Sacred stillness and peace permeate the air around the site, where the remains of churches and basilicas stand sentinel, as Mkhjian described how the early Christians fought over and over with the forces of nature, both floods and earthquakes, in order to establish houses of worship for pilgrims in a place that served no Christian community.

“And why? Because this is the place where Jesus was baptized and Christianity was started,” he said, gesturing toward the holy site.

But Mkhjian, a Jordanian Catholic of Armenian descent, draws his audience’s attention to another dimension of the baptismal site: the “human mosaic” that reveals the prophetic mission of Jordan, a land of prophets that can give the Middle East a new vision of religious harmony and peace.

Christian-Muslim cooperation has revived the baptismal site and turned it into a place of living faith — not a museum piece — where 12 churches will be built thanks to land donations from Jordan’s King Abdullah II, a direct descendent of the Prophet Muhammad. Mkhjian points toward the hillside above the baptistery where new churches, including a Catholic church, are under construction, complementing the Russian pilgrim house and the Greek Orthodox church nearer to the sacred river.

Prince Ghazi bin Mohammed, the king’s cousin, led the restoration of the site and has encouraged its revival as a place where monks, nuns and priests can pray and minister to pilgrims. Thanks to this vision, popes since St. John Paul II have come as pilgrims — this past Epiphany, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem led 5,000 pilgrims in a procession culminating in Mass here.

“Here, the cross and the crescent live in harmony together,” Mkhjian said. “Let’s hope it continues that way.”

The Cross and Crescent Together

Christian-Muslim cooperation and harmony permeates Jordanian society at all levels. Jordan has a lively Christian presence that not only serves the Muslim majority, but closely collaborates with Muslims.

“We are the experts on living with Islam,” Father Nabil Haddad, a Melkite Greek Catholic priest and leader of interfaith dialogue in Jordan, told the Register.

The new Pope Francis Center erected on the complex of the St. Peter and Paul old Melkite cathedral, his parish in Amman, opened on time on Oct. 14, he said, thanks to his Muslim engineer. Father Haddad said the man personally believed in the need for the center and worked overtime to bring the project to completion. He added that many Muslims, including the kingdom’s minister of Islamic affairs, came to the inauguration to offer congratulations.

“We need to work together, and I think this is the only way to stop the worsening situation [in the Middle East],” he said.

In the north of Jordan, at the Mother of Mercy Clinic in Zarqa, Dominican sisters work with Muslim doctors and nurses to provide general health care services, as well as health care for pregnant women and babies; the center is primarily for people who cannot afford regular clinics.

“We serve everyone here,” said Sister Miriam, one of the three Dominican sisters at the clinic, adding that patients feel “safe and comfortable here.”

“They feel treated like a person,” she said. The charge per visit is 3 Jordanian dinars (or $4.20), and drugs are provided at discounted rates. But patients pay what they can, and if they have no money at all, she said, “We treat them for free.”

From 8am until 2pm, Dr. Hanin Mohammed sees 75 to 100 patients a day. Most are poor Jordanians, but she also sees refugees from Syria and Iraq, as well as Palestinians and even Bangladeshi migrant workers. She told the Register that she enjoys working with the sisters at the clinic.

“When the patient says, ‘I get better,’ this makes us happy,” she said.

In Amman, the sisters of the Teresian Association run the Pontifical Mission Library, serving both the local population as well as the Christian community. The library functions as a community center hosting public lectures, prayer sessions, Christian formation classes and English grammar lessons.

A given day at the library might have Muslim and Christian schoolgirls doing their homework and Iraqi Christian refugees learning English or just coming together as a community to meet and pray.

“We study music in the library,” Rose, a 12-year-old Christian girl from Iraq, told the Register. “The sisters are very good to us.”

Amman-Philadelphia: City of Brotherly Love

Jordan is an ancient land with a rich heritage of civilization that provide its identity as “the sunrise of faith.”

“The three Abrahamic religions started here, and that is why we call it the sunrise of faith,” said Amman’s mayor, Aqel Biltaji. He pointed to the travels of Abraham, Moses, St. John the Baptist and Jesus, adding that, for Muslims, “Muhammad received his prophecy in Jordan.”

Originally built on seven hills, the 9,000-year-old city once occupied an important stop on a trading route known as the King’s Highway and was known first in biblical times as “Rabbath Ammon,” the capital of the Ammonite kingdom. It later was named by its Egyptian Ptolemaic conquerors as “Philadelphia,” until Muslim Arabs conquered the region in the 630s and named the city “Amman.”

Arab Christians and Muslims, he pointed out, are both the descendants of Ishmael. He said Jordan is celebrating the centennial of the 1916 Arab revolt, but explained that King Hussein, the sharif of Mecca, had initiated the uprising in part to “come to the rescue of the Armenians” and protect the Christians facing genocide from the nationalist Ottoman Turks.

The mayor said the sharif, whose son Abdullah founded the Hashemite dynasty in Jordan, issued a decree to his sons saying that Christians in their lands were “the protected people of the Muslims” and that defending them as they would themselves was “among the most important things we require of you to do and expect you to accomplish”

The Christian presence, he said, enriches Jordanian society. The mayor, who attended a Quaker school as a youth, said most educated Muslims in Jordan “go to Roman Catholic schools.” Most of the Catholic schools’ pupils are Muslim, he added, and likely have a Muslim headmaster or headmistress teaching alongside Catholic nuns.

The mayor said the present challenge in the Middle East is that Muslims once again have to confront the “Kwariji” — the “outlaws of Islam.” Back in the seventh and eighth centuries, this fanatical sect arose following the death of the Prophet Muhammad, carried out mass slaughters, particularly of Muslims they regarded as not true Muslims. Muslims back then had to set aside theological differences and unite to put down this violent, bloodthirsty sect. And the sect had reared its head once again with the rise of the Islamic State group, al-Qaida and other such groups, according to the mayor.

He said, for them, jihad is “a suicidal attempt,” but for Muslims like himself, it is “a fight within oneself” to overcome those faults and sins that offend God. “That is proper Islam,” he said.

“Yours truly is a target,” the mayor said. “I am on the [kill] list of ISIS for what I say and who I am.”

Complex Religious Landscape

Jordan’s constitution declares that Islam is the state religion in Jordan, and the king must be Muslim. The law and the constitution allow a person to practice religion freely, provided it does not violate “public order or morality.” However, the picture becomes more complicated in regard to converts from Islam to Christianity or Christianity to Islam, as well as for unrecognized religious groups, such as U.S. evangelicals, Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses.

The U.S. State Department’s “Jordan 2015 International Religious Freedom Report” stated the constitution and civil law do not forbid conversion, but the proselytizing of Muslims and conversion from Islam is effectively prohibited because civil law does not extend to all personal matters. The report explains that, in personal matters such as religion, family law or inheritance, a person falls under the jurisdiction of religious courts. Muslims fall under the jurisdiction of sharia (Islamic law) courts, which forbid conversion from Islam. At the same time, the sharia courts bar mixed marriages between a non-Muslim man and a Muslim woman and will not recognize the validity of a Christian woman’s marriage if she converts to Islam without her husband.

The government also monitors Christian conversions to Islam over concerns that some Christians use them as a backdoor way to get a divorce, because most of the recognized Christian religious courts, such as the Latin and Melkite Catholic tribunals, do not recognize divorce in their canon law.

The report also said that the State Security Court can prosecute proselytizing individuals for violating “the public order,” noting that one foreign national was deported.

Mayor Biltaji explained that Jordan is a tribal-based — not individual-based — society, and while conversions do occur, the laws are designed to minimize religious friction within tribes and between tribes. He said one of the problems with mixed marriages is that they create conflict: Islamic laws require children to take the religion of the mother, whereas the historical churches require children to be baptized and raised in the faith of the Christian parent. At the same time, he said, the main problems in Jordan with proselytization do not actually involve Muslims, but unrecognized U.S.-based Christian groups aggressively proselytizing the members of “the historical Christian churches,” who have complained loudly about this to the government.

A Model for Peace

Jordan offers an alternative to many Western nations, where increasingly religion is viewed as a problem and no religion is viewed as the solution. The kingdom tries to set an example of religious harmony: Members of the royal family and the king’s ministers were on hand with other foreign dignitaries to celebrate the renovation of the newly re-opened Memorial of Moses on Mount Nebo and emphasized how it was a place holy to Jews, Muslims and Christians.

Father Haddad told the Register Jordanian society continues to be “anti-hatred” in its mentality, but cannot afford to take it for granted. He said the country showed solidarity to Christians, and particularly King Abdullah II, after a Muslim fundamentalist came back from pilgrimage to Mecca and shot dead a man from a Christian tribe who had been just acquitted of charges of slandering the Prophet Muhammad.

Islamist extremists have tried to infiltrate Jordanian society and subvert the country’s traditional Islam by targeting the youth, 30% of whom are unemployed, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Father Haddad said keeping Jordan as a symbol of hope takes work between Muslims and Christians of goodwill and building stronger bonds. He said the Pope Francis Center aims to promote that interreligious dialogue, particularly among youth.

The priest believes Jordan’s society can provide a model of coexistence, not only for Syria and Iraq, embittered by sectarian strife, but also for the Israelis and Palestinians on the other side of the Jordan River.

“The destiny of the people of this region is to live side by side,” he said. “If we believe this is our destiny, then we can move to the next step.”

Peter Jesserer Smith is a Register staff reporter.

He traveled on pilgrimage to Jordan with a group of

religious writers sponsored by the Jordanian Tourism Board from Oct. 7-15.

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-new...e-middle-east-a-land-of-muslim-christian-harm

Arab Christians integral to region, King reiterates​

His Majesty receives apostolic administrator of Patriarchate of Jerusalem

By JT - Oct 19,2016 - Last updated at Oct 19,2016

His Majesty King Abdullah holds talks with Pierre Batista Pizzaballa, the apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, in Amman on Wednesday (Photo courtesy of Royal Court)​

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday received Pierre Batista Pizzaballa, who was appointed by Pope Francis as apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

During the meeting at Al Husseiniya Palace, the King said Arab Christians are a main component of the region, adding to its diversity.

His Majesty highlighted Arab Christians’ role and contributions in safeguarding holy sites in Jerusalem, a Royal Court statement said.

Therefore, King Abdullah highlighted the importance of sustaining dialogue among followers of different religions to boost the values of tolerance and harmonious living, commending the efforts of Pope Francis in the field.

The King also highlighted the “unique case” of coexistence in Jordan, which boasts a number of Christian pilgrimage sites of religious and historical importance.

He also praised the efforts that went into renovating the church on Mount Nebo, which is a major site for religious tourism in Jordan.

Pizzaballa commended His Majesty’s efforts in boosting global peace and stability, and promoting dialogue, tolerance and respect among nations.

He said Jordan represents an “advanced model” of coexistence.

HRH Prince Ghazi, the King’s personal envoy and adviser for religious and cultural affairs, Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh, King’s Office Director Jafar Hassan, Catholic Bishop of Jordan Maroun Lahham, and Father George Ayoub attended the meeting, the statement said.

http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/arab-christians-integral-region-king-reiterates

 

[Sargon of Akkad]

All Things Assyrian
4th Century Assyrian Church in Saudi Arabia

Entrance to the 4th century Assyrian Church in Saudi Arabia.​

(AINA) -- Bordering the Arabian Gulf and containing the towns of Dhahran, Al-Khobar, Dammam, Qatif, Hofuf and Jubail, the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia is where oil was first discovered in Saudi Arabia in the 1930s.

Near Jubail are the ruins of what was unearthed in the mid-1980s by a group of people attempting to dig their vehicle out of the sand. The ruins are known as the Jubail Church and are acknowledged by the Saudi government, who will not issue permits to visit it because 'the site is being excavated.' In any case, the original ruins contained four stone crosses, which later went missing, though the marks where the crosses were are still visible. The ruins are thought to date from the 4th century, which make them older than any known church in Europe. Not much else is known but speculation is that it was in some way connected to one of the five Assyrian Church of the East bishoprics which are known to have existed in this area of the Gulf in the 4th century.

The following photographs were taken in 1986 shortly after the ruins were partially excavated and protected by the Saudi Department of Antiquities.

Decorated stucco at 4th century Assyrian church in Saudi Arbaia.

Cross design at the 4th century Assyrian church in Saudi Arabia. The recessed outline may have originally contained a stone or wood cross.

http://www.aina.org/ata/20080828165925.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jubail_Church

Christian community of Najran

The existence of a Christian community in Najran is attested by several historical sources of the Arabian peninsula, where it recorded as having been created in the 5th century CE or perhaps a century earlier. According to the Arab Muslim historian, Ibn Ishaq, Najran was the first place where Christianity took root in South Arabia.
Contents
1Prior to Christianity

• 2Economic, political and religious center

• 3Persecution of Christians

• 4Book of Himyarites

• 5Letter of Simeon of Beth Arsham

• 6Martyrs of Najran

• 7Church in Najran

• 8Najran pact

• 9Resistance to the rise of Islam

• 10Najran accord of 897

• 11Disappearance of the Christian community

• 12See also

• 13Citations

• 14References

Prior to Christianity
Prior to the rise of Christianity, the people of Najran were polytheists and worshipped a tall date-palm tree, for which also they had an annual festival when they hung upon it the finest garments they could find, and female ornaments. Then they would come and dance around it the whole day. During this period, they had a Chief named Abdullah ibn ath-Thamir who became the first Najranite to embrace Christianity. A pious Christian builder and bricklayer named Phemion settled among them and led them to his religion and its religious laws, which they adopted.

Economic, political and religious center
Before the advent of Islam, it appears from indications in the Qur'an it would appear that the Jews to the West of the Himyarite kingdom, in western Arabia, maintained some form of rabbinical organisation, possibly connected to late antique Judaism, and were not wholly cut off from their brethren elsewhere in the Middle East.[1] On source speaks of rabbis from Tiberias itself enjoying the hospitality of Dhu Nuwas's court.[2] The apparent conversion of local Himyarite rulers to Judaism, or some form of a Judaic monotheism,[2] as early as the late fourth century under the Tabbāi'a dynasty,[2] is indirect evidence that suggests appear to have been effective Jewish proselytization was active in the region.[1]

The Christians of Najran were divided into two sects. One drew on a variety of Nestorianism[citation needed], which a local merchant had acquired during a sojourn in al-Hira, and took back to Najran sometime during the reign of the Sassanid ruler Yazdegerd II. The other was a form of anti-Chalcedonianism.[3] had suffered an earlier, but brief, stint of persecution with the advent of the new dynasty under the Himyarite ruler Shurihbi'īl Yakkuf (c.468-480).[2] The Jewish faith had strong roots within the Himyarite kingdom when Dhu Nuwas rose to power, and not only in Zafar but Najran also, it seems that several synagogues had been built.[2]

Najran was an oasis, with a large population of Christian Arabs, and a significant community of Jews,[4] unlike most Ṣayhadic people of that zone, had only come under the authority of the Himyarite kingdom in the early fifth century, more or less around the time that a local merchant, one Hayyān by name, had visited Constantinople and underwent conversion at al-Hīra, near Mecca, during a later journey. On his return to his native town, he began to proseyltise on behalf of the new religion.[2]

and the seat of a Bishopric (?). It sheltered an oligarchy of Christian merchants which were as rich as any in Edessa or Alexandria (?). It had been an important stop on the spice route from Hadhramaut. Najran had been an important centre of Christianity in South Arabia and the focus of international intrigues in which economics, politics, and religion were all entangled.

Persecution of Christians
Commercial reasons probably induced Christians to explore the possibilities in the area at an early period but the first attested Christian mission dates to that of Theophilos the Indian, a Christian of the Arian persuasion, who was active during the reign of Constantius II, and who was reported to have converted the Himyarites around 354/5.[5]

In the first quarter of the 6th century, a variety of records refer to a tragic episode in which a local king, Yusuf As'ar Dhu Nuwas, who had converted to Judaism and subjected the local Christian community to persecution, reportedly in retribution for the burning of a synagogue.[1] The events comprised episodes involving a massacre of Ethiopians in a Yemen garrison, the destruction of churches, punitive expeditions in a number of regions, and attempts to constrain communities to undergo conversion to Judaism. The most celebrated episode concerns the martyrdom of the Christian denizens in the great oasis of Najrān, culminating in the execution of Arethas,[6] an incident alluded to in the Qur'an, in Sura 85:4-8, where however the Christians are described as Believers martyred for their faith[7] These circumstances have a geopolitical dimension as well, in that there are indications that these Jewish communities had connections with the Iranian Sassanid kingdom, while the Christians, though Monophysites, were linked to Byzantine interests.[1]

After coming to the throne through a coup d'état, Dhu Nuwas launched a campaign which swept away an Aksumite garrison in Zafar, where a church was put to the torch, and then invaded the Tihāma coastal lowlands where a partially Christianized population dwelt, and where he took over key centres as far as the Bab el-Mandeb.He sent one of his generals, a Jewish prince, north to Najran in order to impose an economic blockade on the oasis by cutting off the trade route to Qaryat al-Faw in eastern Arabia.[8] The Christians of Najran were massacred in 524 by the Himyarite king, Yusuf As'ar Dhu Nuwas. The Najranite Christians, like other Southern Arabian Christian communities, had close connections with the ecclesiastical authorities in Byzantium and Abyssinia. They were identified by virtue of their religion as "pro-Axumite" and "pro-Byzantine".[citation needed]

Dhu Nuwas hoped to create, in the rich lands of Southern Arabia, a "Davidic" kingship which was independent of the Christian powers. He also considered Najran to be a Byzantine base that controlled the Red Sea trade route and did harm to the economic situation of Himyar.[citation needed]

When Dhu Nuwas invaded, he called upon its people to abandon Christianity and embrace Judaism. When they refused, he had them thrown into burning ditches alive. Estimates of the death toll from this event range up to 20,000 in some sources.[who?] Some sources[who?] say that Dus Dhu Tha'laban from the Saba tribe was the only man able to escape the massacre of Najran, who fled to Constantinople to seek help and promptly reported everything. This brought about the wrath of emperor of Byzantium, Justin I who, as protector of Christianity encouraged his ally, the Abyssinian king Ella-Asbeha of Aksum, to invade the country, kill Dhu-Nuwas, and annex Himyar in 525.[citation needed]

Book of Himyarites
However, according to the "Book of Himyarites", the instigation to action was not caused by a request from Constantinople but, more plausibly, the arrival at the court of the Abyssinian king of a refugee from Najran by the name of Umayya. Later, an army of 7,000 men led by Abraha al-Ashram, the Christian viceroy of the Negus of Abyssinia defeated Dhu Nuwas's forces and restored Christian rule in Najran.

In his 524 C.E letter describing the Najran persecutions in detail, the West-Syrian debater Simeon, the bishop of Beth Arsham describes how female martyrs rushed in to join "our parents and brothers and sisters who have died for the sake of Christ our lord".

In one exchange, reminiscent of the Acts of Marta and her father Pusai, a freeborn woman of Najran named Habsa bint Hayyan taunts Dhu Nuwas with the memory of her father:[9]

Habsa told him, "I am the daughter of Hayyan, of the family of Hayyan, the teacher by whose hand our lord sowed Christianity in this land. My father is Hayyan who once burned your synagogues". Masruq the Crucifier (Dhu Nuwas), said to her, "So, you have the same ideas as your father? I suppose you too would be ready to burn our synagogues just as your father did." Habsa told him, "No! I am not going to burn it down because i am prepared to follow quickly this path of martyrdom in the footsteps of my brothers in Christ. But we have confidence in the justice of Jesus Christ our Lord and our God, that he will swiftly bring an end to your rule and make it disappear from amongst mankind: he will bring low your pride and your life, and he will uproot your synagogues from our lands, and build there holy churches. Christianity will increase and rule here, through the grace of our Lord and through the prayers of our parents and brothers and sisters who have died for the sake of Christ our Lord. Whereas you and all who belong to your people will become a byword that will cause future generations to wonder, because of all that you, a godless and merciless man, have wrought upon the holy churches and upon those who worship Christ God."

Letter of Simeon of Beth Arsham
Simeon of Beth Arsham's Second letter preserves yet another memorably gruesome episode. After seeing her Christian kinsmen burned alive, Ruhm, a great noblewoman of Najran, brings her daughter before the Himyarite king and instructs him: "Cut off our heads, so that we may go join our brothers and my daughter's father." The executioners comply, slaughtering her daughter and granddaughter before Ruhm's eyes and forcing her to drink her blood. The king then asks, "How does your daughter's blood taste to you?" The martyr replies, "Like a pure spotless offering: that is what it tasted like in my mouth and in my soul."[10]

Martyrs of Najran
The martyrs of Najran are remembered in the Christian calendars and are even mentioned in the Surat al-Buruj of the Q'uran 85:4–8, where the persecutions are condemned and the steadfast believers are praised:

...slain were the men of the pit (Al-Ukhdood),

the fire abounding in fuel, when they were seated over it, and were themselves witnesses of what they did with the believers. They took revenge on them because they believed in God the All-mighty, the All-laudable...

The stories of the Najran deaths spread quickly to other Christian realms, where they were recounted in terms of heroic martyrdom for the cause of Christ. Their martyrdom led to Najran becoming a major pilgrimage centre that, for a time, rivaled Mecca to the north. The leader of the Arabs of Najran who was executed during the period of persection, Al-Harith, was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church as St. Aretas.[11]

The Martyrdom of the Christians of Najran is celebrated in the Roman Calendar on the 24 October; in the Jacobite Menologies on 31 December; in the Arabic Feasts of the Melkites on 2 October; in the Armenian Synaxarium on the 20 October, and in the Ethiopian Senkesar on November 22.

Church in Najran
The bishops of Najran, who were probably Nestorians, came to the great fairs of Mina and Ukaz, and preached Christianity, each seated on a camel as in a pulpit. The Church of Najran was called the Ka'bat Najran. (Note that several other shrines in Arabia were also called Ka'aba meaning square like building). The Ka'aba Najran at Jabal Taslal drew worshippers for some 40 years during the pre-Islamic era. The Arabian sources single out Khath'am, as a Christian tribe which used to perform the pilgrimage to the Christian Ka'aba of Najran. When Najran was occupied by Dhu Nuwas, the Ka'aba Najran was burned together with the bones of its martyrs and some 2,000 live Christians within it.

Najran pact
In the tenth year of the Hijrah, a delegation of fourteen Christian Chiefs from Najran; among them Abdul Masih of Bani Kinda, their chief, and Abdul Harith, bishop of Bani Harith, came to Medina to make a treaty with the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and were permitted by him to pray in his mosque, which they did turning towards the east.[12]

Resistance to the rise of Islam
They were ordered by Umar ibn al-Khattab to vacate the city and emigrate out of the Arabian peninsula, or accept a money payment.[13] Some migrated to Syria; but the greater part settled in the vicinity of Al-Kufa in predominantly Christian Southern Iraq, where the colony of Al-Najraniyyah long maintained the memory of their expatriation.

However, the historicity of these events is not absolutely reliably established.[13] It appears that the orders of Umar were not fully carried out and might have applied only to Christians living in Najran itself, not to those settled round about. This is because there is some evidence of a continuing Christian presence in Najran for at least 200 years after the expulsion.[13] Some sources also state that the Christian community of Najran still had considerable political weight in the late ninth century.[13]

Najran accord of 897
According to a Yemeni Arab source, the first Zaydite Imam of Yemen, al-Hadi Ila l-Haqq Yahya ibn al-Hussain (897–911) concluded an accord with the Christians and the Jews of the oasis on 897, at the time of the foundation of the Zaydite principality.[14]

A second Yemeni source alludes to the Christians of Najran in muharram 390 (999–1000). The oasis was still one third Christian and one third Jewish, according to the testimony of the Persian traveller, Ibn al-Mujawir.[15] The last evidence of the presence of Christianity in Northern Yemen of which Najran used to belong to, dates back to the 13th century.[15]

Disappearance of the Christian community
Eventually the Old Najran which was Christian disappeared, and is now represented by Al-Ukhdood, a desolate village, while another the Najran which is Islamic, has now appeared in its vicinity.[16]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_community_of_Najran

Write "MYSTAGOGY: Saint Arethas the Great Martyr and the Christian Martyrs of Najran" to know more on Google.

 

[Sargon of Akkad]

Many outsiders are unaware of this fact but Arabs were among the very first people in the world to adopt Christianity. To this day Arab Christians remain one of the largest Christian minorities among majority Muslim ethnic groups in the world.

Abo of Tiflis is the Patron Saint of Tbilisi (capital of Georgia) and he was an Arab Muslim who converted to Christianity. He died in Tbilisi in 786.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abo_of_Tiflis

Christian Arabs of Mosul some 100 years ago:

In pre-Islamic times there were quite a few Christian-majority and Christian-ruled Arab Kingdoms.

220-638






Ruled by 38 distinctive kings.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghassanids



Lakhmid Kingdom

300-602



Ruled by 19 distinctive kings.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakhmids

A significnat portion of Nabateans were also Christians.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabataeans







The Nabataeans, also Nabateans (/ˌnæbəˈtiːənz/; Arabic: الأنباط‎‎ al-ʾAnbāṭ , compare to Ancient Greek: Ναβαταίος, Latin: Nabatæus), were an Arab[1] people who inhabited northern Arabia and the Southern Levant, and whose settlements, most prominently the assumed capital city of Raqmu, now called Petra,[1] in CE 37 – c. 100, gave the name of Nabatene to the borderland between Arabia and Syria, from the Euphrates to the Red Sea. Their loosely controlled trading network, which centered on strings of oases that they controlled, where agriculture was intensively practiced in limited areas, and on the routes that linked them, had no securely defined boundaries in the surrounding desert. Trajan conquered the Nabataean kingdom, annexing it to the Roman Empire, where their individual culture, easily identified by their characteristic finely potted painted ceramics, was adopted into the larger Greco-Roman culture. They were later converted to Christianity. Jane Taylor, a writer, describes them as "one of the most gifted peoples of the ancient world".[2]

Bedouin Christians of Palestine and Jordan:





















Two of the most famous Christian Arab tribes of Jordan and Palestine are the Hijazeen and 'Akasheh. The first, as the name gives away, is from Hijaz.

http://en.abouna.org/en/holylands/mass-celebrated-late-fr-hijazeen

 

[Saif al-Arab]

Palestinian Christians marching in Al-Quds/Jerusalem during Palm Sunday:

Mount of Olives:



Jordanian Christians:



Kuwaiti Christians:



An inside look at the native Christian community of Kuwait

Kuwait's first Christian pastor Amanuel Benjamin Ghareeb sits in his office at the National Evangelical Church of Kuwait 27 January 2001 in Kuwait City. (AFP)


By Ismaeel Naar
Al Arabiya EnglishTuesday, 27 December 2016


First Christian pastor Amanuel Benjamin Ghareeb prays on January 8, 1999 while his wife and children stand in the church pews behind him. (Reuters)

“Most of the Christian families in Kuwait and Bahrain have their roots from southeastern Turkey while some came from either Iraq or Palestine. The numbers decreased since there was a change in Kuwait’s citizenship law in 1982 after they excluded Christians from naturalization,” Ghareeb told Al Arabiya English.

By some estimates, there are 12 families who identify as Christian-born Kuwaitis and are believed to have had equal rights compared to their Muslim countrymen.

Christian-Gulf social, political representation
Still, it is rare for there to be talk about the trials and tribulations of non-Muslim minorities who are citizens of the Arab Gulf states as the widely-portrayed image of Gulf citizens is usually as either Sunni or Shiite Muslims.

A landmark event in Kuwait’s Christian community took place on January 8, 1999 when Ghareeb himself was ordained as priest and pastor of the country’s National Evangelical Church, making him the first and only Gulf-Arab Christian with that title.

“We all feel proud of being Kuwaitis,” he said at the time. “We were among those who stayed here during the Iraqi occupation [in 1990].”




Kuwaiti Christians inter the National Evangelical Church in Kuwait City 25 December 2004. (AFP)

But for Christian representation in Kuwait’s political scene, the same cannot be said. No Christian has ever been elected to the country’s National Assembly, which recently saw the return of the country’s Muslim Brotherhood group after years of boycott.

Still, Ghareeb said Kuwaiti Christians deny that their community is barred from enjoying certain civil and political rights.

When asked whether the idea of implementing a quota of Christian representation should be allowed in parliament, similar to Lebanon, Ghareeb replied with a resounding rejection.

“Our constitution clearly states that any Kuwaiti Christian is free to nominate him or herself and run for local elections. And if one day the general population accepts to elect one of us, then great. But we do not want an enforced representation without an election,” Ghareeb said.

Do Kuwaiti Christians feel safe?
Muslim-Christian relationships have been tested in recent years given the rise of Islamophobia in the west amid extremist attacks by groups such as ISIS targeting Christians in the east.

Earlier this month, a bombing at Cairo’s largest Coptic cathedral killed at least 25 people and wounded 49, many of them women and children attending Sunday mass, in the deadliest attack on Egypt’s Christian minority in years.

This event has caused some concerns for Kuwaiti Christians, the pastor said.

“With the latest developments in the region in regards to the religious polarization, some of us have been affected obviously. But we thank God that we have wise leadership that understands and protects the internal situation in Kuwait. We’ve seen our ministry of interior increase protection around our churches during Christmas and soon for New Year’s as well.”




Christians immigrants living in Kuwait arrive to the Holy Family Cathedral to attend Christmas mass, in Kuwait City, on December 25, 2014. (AFP)

Under educational laws in Kuwait, non-Muslim students at both government and private schools in Kuwait are exempt from attending Islamic classes.

Should Kuwaiti Christians have equal opportunities to study their religion as part of education?

Ghareeb doesn’t think so: “Under the current situation, both in Kuwait and in the region, the answer is ‘no.’ This is unfavorable at the moment.”

Last Update: Friday, 6 January 2017 KSA 23:27 - GMT 20:27

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/fe...nside-look-at-a-Gulf-Christian-community.html

Although Egyptian Copts are not Arabs they are closely related with us and we extend our deep-felt condolences to them after today's cowardly and anti-Islamic terrorist attacks against them in Egypt.

 

[Saif al-Arab]

Arab Christians Partake in Easter Traditions Around the World
POSTED ON: APR 12, 2017



BY: Yara Jouzy/Contributing Writer

This week, Arab Christians all over the world are celebrating Holy Week, one of the most significant holidays for the community. It is a week that brings Lent to an end, while the Easter festivities begin. It is a time for Arab Christians to celebrate their religion, culture, and heritage with their families and friends.

Christians of the Arab world hail from all parts of the region, and today, their descendants celebrate Easter with the same traditions throughout the US.

Who are Arab Christians?
What many may not know is that Arab Christians are everywhere throughout the region, however, the largest populations are in Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon. Egyptians are usually Copts, whom are a part of the Coptic Orthodox Churches. Other denominations of Christianity that Arabs make up include Greek or Antiochian Orthodox, Greek Catholic, Oriental Orthodoxy, and Melkite rites, as well as Maronite and Roman Catholicism.

Protestantism is not as pervasive in the Arab world as it is in the West, but Arab Christians celebrate Easter for the same reason: to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from death, which is ultimately the foundation of Christianity.



Lent
There are many ways Arab Christians partake in the celebration, and Lent is a major part of it. The Lenten season lasts for 40 days prior to Easter, where Arab Christians abstain from all animal-based food products, such as meat and dairy. This is to honor the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert as a sacrifice for all Christians’ sins.

During Lent, Arab Christians mostly sacrifice all animal products, however, Arab Americans have also adopted the Protestant method of fasting, which including giving up one indulgent food product or habit, such as chocolate, potato chips, smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, or doing more to help out the community. Depending on the sacrifice an individual chooses, every form of Lent is different.

Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter and the last Sunday of Lent, which is when Jesus entered Jerusalem, Palestine. It is celebrated by all Arab Christian denominations, which use palm fronds to portray the reenactment of Christ’s arrival. These palm fronds are a symbolism of peace and victory. They are blessed and parishioners will make small crosses out of them to pin onto their clothing.



This is a tradition that many Christians do on this holy Sunday before Easter. Children gather to learn how to make crosses out of palms from their older family members. Typically, parishioners keep their cross palms at home, in their cars, at work, or other places, where they can be seen.

Good Friday
Following Palm Sunday is Good Friday. On this day, the Friday before Easter, Christians commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Service in the evening usually takes place on Good Friday, where Christians remember Christ and his sacrifice for our sins through prayers.

Good Friday is also known as Easter Friday, Great Friday, Holy Friday and more depending on the region in which the day is celebrated. The origins of the word are unknown, however, it is appropriate to label it as a “good” day where Jesus is remembered and the roots of the Christian faith are respected.

Arab Easter Traditions – Ma’maoul
Ma’amoul, also known as Easter shortbread cakes, are a foremost part of the Arab Christian Easter celebrations. This is a type of pastry stuffed with dates, pistachios, walnuts, almonds, figs and other fillings of the cook’s choice. Ma’amoul can be in two generic shapes, a ball or a flattened cookie. The cookie is then decorated either by hand or by wooden molds, which are patterned with traditional designs.

Ma’amoul has a lot of symbolic meanings to Arab Christians. The wooden mold is a representation of the cross Jesus was crucified to, while the shape of the pastry acts as a metaphor for the sponge, which Jesus used to drink vinegar from.



Sometimes, ma’amoul is sprinkled with powdered sugar, however, when it is not, the crust has no sugar because Jesus’s death was a time of morning and sadness. The naturally sweet filling acts as a symbolism of happiness for when Jesus was resurrected. This treat is not a Christian religious pastry only, but also a Muslim treat during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Arab Easter Traditions – Egg Cracking
Other Easter traditions for Arab Christians involve the egg cracking game. This is something children get the most excited for throughout the holiday’s build-up. To begin with, eggs are boiled, dyed and decorated as an Easter tradition. These eggs are then used as decoration around the house until the Sunday of Easter. On this day, each person has the chance to pick an egg. The key is to choose wisely and assess which egg you think will be the strongest. Once you have chosen your egg, you hold your egg in your hand and crack your egg on another persons egg. The idea is for your egg to remain hard while the opponents’ egg cracks. The cracking of the egg symbolizes the resurrection of Christ and new life into the world. This game is called tsougrisma in Greek.

Easter Sunday
Easter Sunday is a day filled with happiness, love and laughter, where the Arab American community gathers together with family and friends. This day begins with going to church service, followed by lunch with the family and a continuation of the holiday traditions.

Many Arab Americans celebrate with Easter egg hunts, bunny cookie decorating, and more. No matter where Arab Christians are in the world, Easter will definitely involve ma’moul, cracking eggs, and preparing a feast for the family.

Arab America wishes all Christians in the world a Happy Easter and a wonderful Sunday with loved ones.

https://www.arabamerica.com/arab-christians-partake-easter-traditions-around-world/

A happy Easter to all Christian Arabs celebrating it out there. Have a blessed one.

 

[Saif al-Arab]

Lebanese Patriarch to meet King Salman in first visit by Church leader

The upcoming visit of the Head of the Council of Catholic Patriarchs of the East will be the first visit by a church leader to the kingdom. (Al Arabiya)

Staff writer, Al Arabiya English
Friday, 3 November 2017

Saudi Minister of State for Gulf Affairs, Thamer al-Sabhan announced the upcoming visit of the Head of the Council of Catholic Patriarchs of the East, Lebanese Patriarch, Beshara al-Ra'i, to Saudi Arabia.

Al-Sabhan added that the visit, which is expected in the next few weeks, confirms the openness of the Kingdom.

"The visit of Patriarch Bishara al-Ra'i to the Kingdom affirms the Kingdom's approach to understanding, openness and peaceful coexistence with all the constituents of the Arab peoples," Sabhan said on Friday.

Al-Ra'i received an invitation to to meet King Salman bin Abdul Aziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, recently according to the Charge d'Affaires of the Saudi Embassy in Lebanon, Ambassador Walid al-Bukhari.

Bukhari described the visit as one of the most important official visits as he will be the first church leader to visit the kingdom.

Last Update: Friday, 3 November 2017 KSA 17:33 - GMT 14:33

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/Ne...first-visit-by-church-leader-to-Kingdom-.html

A welcome step. There is a quite significant community of Christian Lebanese in KSA. I have met a few. Great people by large.

 

[Saif al-Arab]

Young Saudi author’s journey to meet pope
NOOR NUGALI | Published — Tuesday 9 January 2018

Sultan Al-Mousa with the Saudi delegation at a meeting in the Vatican.

JEDDAH: Author of three books and a leading light on social media, Sultan Al-Mousa has accomplished much in the field of anthropology through his love of history and ancient civilizations. Also a member of the Vatican religious dialogue committee, Al-Mousa is working to bridge religions through his work.
In November, a Saudi delegation visited the Vatican, led by the head of the Muslim World League (MWL), Dr. Muhammed Al-Issa, and Sultan Al-Mousa, to meet the pope.
This was the third visit to the Vatican in Saudi history. The first took place during the reign of King Faisal, the second in King Abdullah’s reign and the third during King Salman’s. “I was honored and delighted to be part of this delegation,” said Al-Mousa. “We visited the Vatican three times in a month for the joint committee of interfaith dialogue.
“Saudi Arabia is considered the center of Islam, as is the Vatican for the Catholic faith. In order for there to be a continued understanding and common dialogue between the two states, a joint committee was established, with representatives from each country. Representatives from the Vatican included three cardinals, and from Saudi Arabia, Dr. Mohammed Al-Issa, Dr. Abdul Aziz Sarhan, the office director of the MWL in Italy, and myself.”
Al-Mousa was presented with a gift from the pope, and snapchatted it. One of his followers commented that 15 years ago this would have been unacceptable.
“We now have awareness, we live in a time of globalization. Now more than ever we need enlightenment, to have an open mind and to develop a deep knowledge of history,” Al-Mousa explained.
Al-Mousa was chosen to be part of the delegation not only for his knowledge of cultures, ancient history and religions, but also because he speaks fluent Italian.
He has taken part in many dialogues at various centers, such as the King Abdullah Center for Interfaith Dialogue, the King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue, and other interfaith dialogues worldwide.
The joint committee of the interfaith dialogue committee’s initiative is to bridge the gap between the two religions and form a better understanding of them globally, while helping to prevent extremism and hate. One of their goals is for peace to prosper and thrive.
Al-Mousa said: “All religions have been hurt by extremism, hate and racism. We are trying to find a middle ground on the basis of humanity.”
Young people are encouraged to take part in activities that the committee will oversee, which are aimed at promoting better understanding of religions, “such as visiting the Vatican, which is part of history and considered a human legacy.”
One of the many points that Al-Mousa consistently emphasizes is the importance of learning and understanding history. “History is not only secluded to a certain country, it is our human legacy,” he said.
Many have criticized him for speaking on and admiring other nations’ legacies and history, and for not focusing on the Arabian Gulf’s history. But Al-Mousa said: “If the Qur’an mentioned all these vivid cultures and religions, and we are rewarded with each word we recite from the holy book, then who are we to erase them?”

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1221671/saudi-arabia

SAUDI ARABIA
Muslim World League, Vatican to set up permanent liaison body
Mohammed Al-Sulami | Published — Tuesday 26 September 2017

Pope Francis meets Muhammad al-Issa, Secretary General of the Muslim World League, at the Vatican, Wednesday, on Sept. 20, 2017. (L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP)

Pope Francis greets Mohammad bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa, Secretary General of the Muslim World League, during a meeting at the Vatican on September 20, 2017. (Osservatore Romano/Handout via Reuters)

Pope Francis poses with Mohammad bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa, Secretary General of the Muslim World League, and members of theirs staff during a meeting at the Vatican on September 20, 2017. (Osservatore Romano/Handout via Reuters)

JEDDAH: Following his meeting with Pope Francis in Vatican City, Muslim World League (MWL) Secretary-General Mohammed Al-Issa met with the head of the Pontifical Council of the Vatican, Cardinal Jean-Laurent Tauran.
The latter meeting was held in the presence of the secretary of the Council of Archbishops, Miguel Isosu, and Archbishop Khalid Akasha.
The meeting established a permanent liaison committee between the Vatican, represented by the Pontifical Council, and the MWL, to discuss various initiatives.
Tauran welcomed Al-Issa and his accompanying delegation, and said the meeting with the pope opened a new chapter of friendship and cooperation between the Vatican and the Islamic world in the face of global challenges and risks.
Al-Issa thanked the Vatican and Tauran, and expressed appreciation for the work undertaken by the Pontifical Council, which he said enhances coexistence and cooperation.
The MWL chief lauded the historic meeting with the pope, and his rejection of claims that Islam is linked to extremism and terrorism. Al-Issa said no religion espouses extremism, but none is free from extremist elements.
He said the MWL has communicated and cooperated with the Vatican via the Pontifical Council in all areas to achieve common goals, notably the spread of peace and harmony.
The MWL delegation visited the headquarters of the Community of Sant’Egidio, an international Catholic organization based in Rome.
The president and secretary of the dialogue committee briefed Al-Issa on the humanitarian work carried out by the organization inside and outside Italy.
The president expressed pleasure over the MWL’s historic visit, which he said carries a new vision of peace and coexistence.
He said the Community of Sant’Egidio looks forward to opening new horizons with the East in religious and cultural spheres.
Al-Issa said the MWL is fully prepared to cooperate with the organization in all areas that serve cultural communication. In this context, he called for more cooperation between the two organizations.

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1167621/saudi-arabia

Good.