Syria - In the Muslim world, the genius of Christianity - Aid to the Church in Need

"We can live together. When Christians and Muslims live together in a particular region, it is not Christians who close up but Muslims who open up."

 

Maronite Bishop Elias Sleman heads the Eparchy of Latakia, a coastal region that is home to Alawite Muslims, who run the country, and who continue to live peacefully beside a Christian population of some 45,000.

The  area is a destination for Syrians fleeing the fighting, Muslims as well as Christians, the latter having fled Damascus, Aleppo and Homs (which is part of the Latakia Eparchy) in great numbers, the majority of them currently stranded in Lebanon.

Bishop Sleman is on a visit to the US to rally support for his local community, not only to help him cope with the needs of the internally displaced—whose status, unlike that of refugees, make them ineligible for UN aid—but to give local Christians a chance to sustain a livelihood through farming. He is aiming to buy livestock and machinery for agricultural production, such as cheese-making.
”If Christians cannot make a living here, they will leave, and most of those who leave—particularly for the West—do not return,“ the prelate said, adding that “their enduring presence here and throughout the Middle East is vital for the well-being of Muslim society,“ serving as an indispensable antidote to fanaticism and extremism.

Also high on the bishop’s wishlist is the establishment of a residence for young women attending school and college in Latakia, a haven that will ensure parents of the safety of their daughters, whose education is critical to the future of Syria. The bishop spoke with Aid to the Church in Need, a Catholic charity, on Oct. 11, during a stop in New York.

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