LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِSeptember
11/2010
Bible Of the Day
The Letter to the Hebrews
6/1-8: "6:1 Therefore leaving the teaching of the first principles of Christ,
let us press on to perfection—not laying again a foundation of repentance from
dead works, of faith toward God, 6:2 of the teaching of baptisms, of laying on
of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 6:3 This will we
do, if God permits. 6:4 For concerning those who were once enlightened and
tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 6:5 and
tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come, 6:6 and then
fell away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance; seeing they
crucify the Son of God for themselves again, and put him to open shame. 6:7 For
the land which has drunk the rain that comes often on it, and brings forth a
crop suitable for them for whose sake it is also tilled, receives blessing from
God; 6:8 but if it bears thorns and thistles, it is rejected and near being
cursed, whose end is to be burned". /Naharnet
Free
Opinions, Releases, letters, Interviews & Special Reports
Fast, effective and beyond
question, Why Lebanon likes military justice/By: Ana Maria Luca/September 10/10
Pakistani Christians are more
active than you think/By Haroon Nasir/September 10/10
No, the US is not shifting on
Hizbullah/By Bilal Y. Saab/September 10/10
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for
September 10/10
Pastor Puts Koran-burning on
Hold, Eyes NY Mosque Deal/Naharnet
Ayatollah Khamenei: Peace talks a
cover up for Israeli 'crimes'/Haaretz
Israeli Army strikes Hamas Gaza
training facility in wake of Qassam, mortar attacks/Haaretz
Report: Ahmadinejad to visit
Lebanon's border with Israel/Haaretz
Report: French envoy to meet with
Assad on renewal of Israel-Syria peace talks/Haaretz
Qabbani during Eid al-Fitr
Prayers: Arms Used in Streets Have No Legitimacy/Naharnet
Report: Assad Called Hariri to
Praise him for Saying Accusations Against Syria Were Mistake/Naharnet
Hariri Prays with Saudi King
Abdullah in Mecca/Naharnet
Five Family Members Killed in
Damour Accident/Naharnet
Report: French envoy to visit
Damascus to promote Israel-Syria peace track/Haaretz
Baroud, Rifi at Loggerheads Over Statement Issued without Minister's Consent/Naharnet
Report: Assad Called
Hariri to Praise him for Saying Accusations Against Syria Were Mistake/Naharnet
7 Injured in Baalbek
Gunfight/Naharnet
Legislation Committee Says
Judiciary Has Authority to Prosecute False Witnesses/Naharnet
Hizbullah Seeking to
Mediate between Suleiman, Aoun/Naharnet
Hizbullah Defends Aoun ...
Keen on President Seat/Naharnet
Gemayel: All Parties
Interested in Supporting State Efforts to Maintain Security/Naharnet
Nadim Gemayel: Hizbullah's
Militia Existence Aimed at Imposing Decisions on the State/Naharnet
Qomati: Hariri's Positions
Put STL Debate on Right Track/Naharnet
Baroud, Rifi at Loggerheads Over
Statement Issued without Minister's Consent/Naharnet
7 Injured in Baalbek Gunfight/Naharnet
Soueid: March 14 not irritated by
Hariri’s statement/Now Lebanon
LBCI reports “surprising” STL
indictment/Now Lebanon
Fast,
effective and beyond question
Why Lebanon likes military justice
Ana Maria Luca, September 10, 2010
Because of a law from 1958, not only military personnel, but also civilians, can
be court-martialed in Lebanon. (AFP/Ramzi Haidar)
Nour Merheb, 24, is a Lebanese civilian who got sentenced on September 1 to two
months in prison for getting in a fight with a neighbor, who happened to be an
off-duty military officer. He says the sentence is wrong, as he never threatened
his opponent with a knife, as he was accused of. There was no proper
investigation into the incident, although the officer confessed in a recorded
statement that his initial accusations were false. In a civilian justice system,
Merheb would file an appeal and would get the chance to clear his name. But he
can’t appeal the sentence because he was court-martialed.
In Lebanon military courts have had extended jurisdiction since 1958, when a
decree also known as the Military Sentences Law gave such courts power over
cases involving civilians in the wake of armed clashes between Christians and
Muslims in the country that year. Although the decree was supposed to be
temporary, it is still enforced to this day.
By definition, military courts were designed to try military personnel. In
Lebanon this should apply to members of the army, the Internal Security Forces (ISF),
the General Security, and officials in the Ministry of Defense and military
courts, if they committed a crime during working hours.
But because of their extended jurisdiction, Lebanese military courts can try
civilians accused of espionage, treason, weapons possession and draft evasion,
as well as any conflict between a civilian and a member of the military.
Therefore, civilians may be tried for security offenses, and military personnel
may be tried for civil offenses.
In Lebanese military courts, sessions take place behind closed doors, defendants
don’t have the right to an attorney during the investigation, and their families
are not allowed to attend the hearings. Moreover, unlike in civilian courts, the
sentences can’t be questioned, and the military judge is not obliged to provide
arguments for his or her decisions. The secrecy of the procedures raises
questions over the correctness of the investigations, and there have been
allegations of confessions obtained under torture, Human Rights Watch director
and lawyer Nadim Houry told NOW Lebanon.
Additionally, “Sometimes justice is dropped for the sake of expediency,” Houry
said.
This summer, Lebanon’s military courts received a wave of espionage and
terrorism cases, after the military intelligence and the Internal Security
Forces arrested dozens of people accused of spying for Israel. Some suspects
were or had been military personnel at the time of their arrest, but many were
civilians. None of the apprehended suspects have been in contact with their
families since they were arrested or have had assistance from a lawyer during
the investigations.
According to a source in the Lebanese army who spoke on condition of anonymity
as he is not allowed to talk to the press, the military magistrates are either
high-ranking army officers or civilians with a degree in law who are appointed
by the Lebanese government. The officers who become magistrates are not required
to have law degrees. “They are usually very high-ranking officers: colonels and
above. They can’t just appoint anybody. They have more chances if they do have a
degree in law, but usually no training in law is provided, as they can have
advisors who brief them on the regulations,” the source said.
Houry points out that there is an international tendency to use military courts
in order to deal with terrorism or espionage cases, and he gave the example of
the widely-criticized Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba, where the US
imprisoned terrorism suspects. “It is fast, it is effective, but it’s also a
dangerous tendency to rely on military tribunals,” he said. “Lebanon has been
criticized for this aspect several times by international institutions. Several
international NGOs and even the UN recommended that jurisdiction of the military
courts be abolished in Lebanon. It needs to be at least integrated in a justice
system in order to have more control over its decisions and the due process,” he
added.
But there is little chance that anything will change in Lebanon any time soon,
as the entire justice system needs reform, activists say.
Merheb established the organization Case 2769 to advocate for the end of the
extended jurisdiction of military courts and to limit such courts’ mandate to
purely military cases. Several Lebanese NGOs support him in his advocacy.
Almost two weeks after he was sentenced to prison, he says he is still in his
house waiting for the military police to arrest him. He says he is determined to
use non-violent means to resist arrest. “The military court will have to assign
someone to move me around whenever any movement is asked from me, and I will go
on a hunger strike the minute I am taken in,” he said in a press release.
Qabbani during Eid al-Fitr Prayers: Arms Used in Streets Have No Legitimacy
Naharnet/Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani said during Eid al-Fitr prayers on
Friday that arms used in streets and alleyways have no legitimacy.
"It is unacceptable to resort to weapons to solve our problems … and for arms to
be the arbiter in solving our problems," Qabbani said at al-Amin mosque in
downtown Beirut.
"I say it out loud. There is no legitimacy to arms used by a Lebanese against
another Lebanese … and used in streets and alleyways," he told believers,
including MPs and cabinet members.
Qabbani was referring to the deadly clashes between Hizbullah and al-Ahbash
gunmen in Borj Abi Haidar last month. "There is no legitimacy to any weapon that
is not targeted against the Israeli enemy," Qabbani said, adding that bickering
among Lebanese threatens national unity. He called for "unity to defend our
dignity" and hailed Prime Minister Saad Hariri who sought to end strife. Beirut,
10 Sep 10, 08:34
Hariri Prays with Saudi King Abdullah in Mecca
Naharnet/Prime Minister Saad Hariri attended Eid al-Fitr prayers along with
Saudi King Abdullah in Mecca on Friday. On Thursday, Hariri said that the
Lebanese are capable of overcoming dangers by holding onto coexistence and vowed
to keep the people united. In a message to the Lebanese on the occasion of Eid
al-Fitr, Hariri said: "The Lebanese are capable of overcoming all dangers,
whether in the interior our outside, by holding onto the truth, justice and
coexistence."The Lebanese also have the ability "to consolidate their national
unity, overcome all sensitivities and unite to abort all plans and attempts to
target Lebanon and harm civil peace," the premier said in his statement. "We
won't save any effort to keep the Lebanese united," he added. In his Eid al-Fitr
message, Hariri said the Arab nation needs the consolidation of its leadership
to help the Palestinian people establish their independent state with Jerusalem
as its capital. He also stressed on the right of the Palestinians to return to
their homeland. Beirut, 10 Sep 10, 13:09
LBCI reports “surprising” STL indictment
September 9, 2010 /LBCI television reported on Thursday that it has information
that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL)’s pending indictment will be
surprising in its content at the time of its issue. The indictment itself might
affect the current atmosphere of “truce” between the Lebanese parties when
issued, LBCI added. The report did not elaborate further. In a recent interview
with NOW Lebanon, STL Prosecutor General Daniel Bellemare said that the
indictment will not be issued in September. Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed
Hassan Nasrallah said last month that the STL will indict Hezbollah members in
the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.-NOW Lebanon
Soueid: March 14 not irritated by Hariri’s statement
September 9, 2010 /March 14 General Coordinator Fares Soueid told LBCI
television on Thursday that the March 14 alliance is not irritated by Prime
Minister Saad Hariri’s statements to As-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper this week, in
which the PM said that the accusations of Syria’s involvement in the 2005
assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri were political in nature.“We
were not upset with Hariri’s statements, but we are assessing the circumstances
that led him to voice such remarks,” Soueid said. He also said that the parties
who want to end March 14 are hoping for a cold war between the Lebanese.
Al-Liwaa newspaper reported on Thursday that the March 14 General Secretariat
understands Hariri’s statements, adding that it considered his position to be a
political one, which does not indicate that there might be changes related to
the STL. -NOW Lebanon
Baroud, Rifi at Loggerheads Over Statement Issued without Minister's Consent
Naharnet/Interior Minister Ziad Baroud and Internal Security Forces chief Maj.
Gen. Ashraf Rifi were at loggerheads on Friday after the ISF issued a statement
without prior approval by Baroud. Baroud said Thursday that he did not give
approval to a statement issued by the ISF defending its Information Bureau and
claimed the statement was beyond the ISF's prerogatives.
Earlier in the day, the ISF said criticism of the Information Bureau was aimed
at diverting attention from the fact that senior Free Patriotic Movement
official Fayez Karam had been found to be collaborating with Israel. Baroud said
he would take the necessary disciplinary action after the statement was issued
without his prior consent in accordance with applicable laws.
"The issue is tied to principles and to the work of institutions, whose role I
am keen on (preserving)," Baroud said. After extending Eid al-Fitr greetings to
Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani on Friday, Baroud denied there were
personal differences between him and Rifi. "I have nothing personal against him.
I carry out institutional work and I expect everyone to work within the
institutions," he said. The bickering between Baroud and Rifi erupted after FPM
leader Michel Aoun criticized the Information Bureau in conducting the
questioning of Karam.
"The Information Bureau is working within legal norms and exercising its
prerogatives under the supervision of the concerned judiciary," the ISF
statement said after Aoun's press office raised doubts over the branch's
legitimacy and criticized Rifi's praise of the Bureau. Rifi surpassed his
prerogative and that of the interior minister by making public statements, the
press office said. Beirut, 10 Sep 10, 09:15
Report: Assad Called Hariri to Praise him for Saying Accusations Against Syria
Were Mistake
Naharnet/Syrian President Bashar Assad has reportedly telephoned Premier Saad
Hariri praising him for saying he was wrong to accuse Syria of killing his
father in 2005.
Pan-Arab daily al-Hayat said that Assad called Hariri on Monday night. In
remarks to Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, published Monday, Hariri said: "We
assessed the mistakes that we made with Syria, that harmed the Syrian people and
relations between the two countries." "At a certain stage we made mistakes and
accused Syria of assassinating the martyred premier. This was a political
accusation, and this political accusation has finished," he said. Beirut, 10 Sep
10, 08:49
7 Injured
in Baalbek Gunfight
Naharnet/Seven people were injured in a gunfight between two people in the
eastern city of Baalbek at dawn Friday, the National News Agency reported. NNA
said that a 20-year-old from the Solh family and another 33-year-old who has the
same family name exchanged fire over vehicle noises. Internal Security Forces
opened an investigation into the incident, NNA added. Beirut, 10 Sep 10, 14:29
Nawwaf al-Moussawi
September 8, 2010
On September 7, the Lebanese National News Agency carried the following report:
Member in the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc Deputy Nawwaf al-Moussawi held a
press conference in his office in Tyre and responded to the recent statement of
Deputy Sami Gemayel. He said:
“What we heard yesterday reveals that some are still insisting on committing the
sins they have previously committed, and instead of feeling shame, remorse and
regret, they are going even further in their second sin after we and the
Lebanese thought that this dark page was turned once and for all. The statements
that were issued yesterday clearly give the impression that this dark page was
not turned and that this deputy who is new to political life revealed underlying
secrets in the team to which he belongs.
“The statements of a certain deputy, who is supposed to be monitoring the
ratification and implementation of the laws and respecting the constitution, go
against the Lebanese laws in place and are in violation of this constitution.
The statements featured the flaunting of collaboration with Israel that is an
enemy in accordance with the Lebanese constitution and the National Pact, [and
this] represented a blow to this Pact and undermined coexistence. It also
confirmed that the person who issued these statements, the side he represents
and those behind him, cannot be trusted to issue a decision or be part of the
national decision, not to mention that the Lebanese law stipulated the
sanctioning of the collaborators with Israel. How should the Lebanese people who
were subjected to the Israeli crimes in terms of massacres, killings,
kidnappings, arrests and the ongoing occupation of their land feel when they see
a deputy bragging about his collaboration with Israel and about receiving
support from it, as though the enemy was a charity offering aid to those
affected by natural disasters?
“This talk aims at justifying collaboration with Israel under the pretext of
receiving support to face a rival or an enemy. Any agent among those arrested
today can therefore defend himself and justify his collaboration by saying he
wanted to achieve a specific goal or purpose to defend the Lebanese national
interests. What this deputy said is a justification of the logic of
collaboration, and this is what we meant when we talked about an environment
that harbors collaboration in Lebanon, not what others among the members of this
deputy’s party tried to portray by twisting the facts, falsifying what was
stated and turning it into a sectarian conflict.
“The environment harboring collaboration with Israel is the one that is based on
two foundations: non-hostility toward [Israel] and a hatred of the Resistance.
These two foundations are seen in the political thinking of this deputy and the
political forces standing behind him. How did the known media machine which
exaggerates every small incident deal with this dangerous development? Why did
it not give it the sufficient importance, especially since it is a dangerous
statement that cannot be disregarded? [I wonder about] the role of the Lebanese
security apparatuses that are pursuing Israel’s agents at the level of this
talk. Are these apparatuses not concerned with the monitoring of this deputy and
the political team behind him, as the announcement of the absence of any shame
in collaborating with Israel concealed an existing or possible collaboration and
not a previous one?...
“The Lebanese judiciary which is investigating the spies and agents and trying
them in court also has a responsibility to pursue the person who issued these
statements. Immunity does not cover the crimes stipulated by the law and it is
known that if a deputy is caught red-handed, his immunity is lifted. The danger
posed by the deputy’s statements also lies in the fact that he compared the
Palestinian situation in 1975 and the Resistance in Lebanon, thus justifying the
reception of support from Israel in the face of the Palestinian situation and
Syria. He is talking about his total commitment in the face of the Resistance,
and it is only natural for us to expect him to repeat his sin by receiving
support from Israel under the pretext of confronting the Resistance and the
headline of supporting Lebanon.
“This requires the utmost mobilization by the entire Lebanese political class,
while the silence of the political team to which he belongs means that this team
approves all that the deputy said and adopts all its elements, whether in terms
of the flaunting of the collaboration with Israel, the establishment of an
environment favoring collaboration, justifying it and being willing to do it
once again while wagering on a new Israeli attack.”
No, the US is not shifting on Hizbullah
By Bilal Y. Saab /Daily Star/Friday, September 10, 2010
In a June 30 article on the Foreign Policy website, Mark Perry argued that an
intelligence unit inside the US Central Command (CENTCOM) known as the “Red
Team” was thinking outside the box about the Middle East and recommending
strategies for Hizbullah and Hamas that are “at odds with current US policy.”
Perry’s thesis was that there is an important divide in the US government over
how to deal with these militant groups, as evidenced by the apparent rift
between “senior officers at CENTCOM headquarters” and everyone else. For Perry,
a prominent advocate of negotiating with radical Islamist groups, this
institutional discrepancy over Middle East policy proved that his ideas had
achieved credibility at high levels within the US policymaking community.
I recently returned from CENTCOM’s headquarters in Tampa, Florida, where I had
the pleasure to brief senior CENTCOM and Special Operations Command (SOCOM)
officers, Joint Intelligence Operations Center analysts, and several strategic
planners on the strategic calculus of Hizbullah and Iran. Also present at the
meetings were a few members of the Red Team and authors of the May 7 report to
which Perry referred.
After the briefings, I spoke at length to several Red Team members and inquired
into the nature of their work. My hosts clarified many of the lingering
questions that remained from Perry’s article.
Contrary to what Perry’s account of the Red Team’s work implied, there is no
special significance or mystery to the unit. After the 9/11 attacks, every US
intelligence agency was mandated to have a Red Team – an alternative analysis
component – so that people in the government could imagine the unthinkable. The
CENTCOM unit was established in April 2006 following an order by then-Secretary
of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, with a charter to provide the CENTCOM commander,
leadership, and staff with alternative viewpoints, challenge common assumptions,
and anticipate unintended consequences of events and actions.
“It’s just another four to six analysts writing many different papers on
different subjects. The fun of Red Team is that it has a little more flexibility
than other analysts to play with ‘what if’ scenarios – and do some wishful
thinking or doomsday scenarios,” one senior Red Team member told me. Another
strategic planner agreed with me that Perry’s article, for whatever reason,
created a mystique around the team that is undeserved.
The “Managing Hezbollah and Hamas” report was written around the time President
Barack Obama nominated an ambassador to Syria. The report, as one of its authors
told me, was “just an analyst’s idea.”
Indeed, I learned that it was not tasked by CENTCOM leaders or any of their
superiors. General David Petraeus, then CENTCOM commander, read it, and he even
wrote on a hard copy of the report that it was “thoughtful” – though he offered
no further evaluation and did not say whether he agreed or disagreed with its
conclusions.
And that’s where the discussion of the paper ended, according to the Red Team
report’s author. There was no follow-up or debate about the report’s analysis.
No Red Team member had a conversation with Petraeus about his thoughts on the
subject. “We haven’t a clue about that,” the author concluded.
Perry’s article was more or less accurate about the content of the Red Team
report, but not about its purpose. The article made it sound like CENTCOM was
considering making a policy recommendation to the Obama administration based on
the report. It was only written for several CENTCOM branches and for the CENTCOM
commander – not Washington policymakers. One might say a Red Team paper is
floated like a self-generated trial balloon to sharpen American analytical
skills and keep everybody on their toes.
By design, Red Team products are often controversial, as rightly stated by
Perry, and the resulting debate encourages intellectual integrity and improves
the quality of US policymakers’ decisions. But what Perry failed to acknowledge
was that Red Team products, as suggested above, are designed for internal use
only and are not intended in any way to represent the collective view of CENTCOM.
Just as importantly, Red Team products are not “position papers.” Contrary to
what Perry implied, they do not make recommendations for changes in policy.
These products, instead, reflect the personal views of analysts who may or may
not have been involved in the actual Red Team review of whatever issue was at
hand.
Such a paper, one senior intelligence analyst mentioned to me, is just “trying
on ideas for size.” As the analyst put it, “We’re not here to second-guess the
president or Department of State on foreign policy. Our concern is military
operations and planning.” So when a paper like this is leaked, it looks like
CENTCOM is advocating a particular foreign-policy track, thus making life
difficult for the commander, who is not (and should not be) a political figure.
One can understand why top CENTCOM officers were so concerned that the report
got leaked.
At a time when we should be having a transparent and reality-based debate about
US Middle East policy, Perry’s article undermined this goal by creating a
distorted view of US collective thinking toward Hizbullah and Hamas.
Irrespective of whether one agrees or disagrees with US policy, there is a risk
associated with creating a false impression among these groups that Washington
is confused or divided over policy, when in fact it is not.
Hizbullah pays attention to Western and American reports about it, and I have no
doubt party officials read Perry’s article. Hizbullah will use any inconsistent
US government rhetoric to prove to its constituencies that Washington has an
incoherent counterterrorism policy (regardless whether that is true or not).
Moreover, it will base its posture toward Israel off the assumption that
Washington is unsure of how to approach the organization, when US policymakers
actually remain resolute in confronting Hizbullah on this front.
While Perry portrayed the Red Team report as an indication that CENTCOM was
pushing US foreign policy in a direction that – in his view – would make
Americans safer, his article created illusions about complex politico-military
organizations that want nothing to do with the United States and that, despite
enjoying a certain level of independent action in local politics, still firmly
operate in Iran’s strategic orbit.
**Bilal Y. Saab is a doctoral student and teaching assistant at the Department
of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is
the author of the Brookings analysis paper “Levantine Reset: Toward a More
Viable US Strategy for Lebanon.” This commentary first appeared at the Foreign
Policy website, and is published by permission from the author.
Pakistani Christians are more active than you think
By Haroon Nasir /Daily Star
Friday, September 10, 2010
Where do you think Muslims and Christians celebrate Jesus Christ’s birth
together? One of the answers is, where it is least expected: in Pakistan.
In December last year, the Gulshan Center for the Study of Islam and
Christianity in Mansehra partnered with local Islamic scholars to hold a
well-attended carol service with local Christians and Muslims celebrating the
birth of Christ – together. And during this Ramadan, the two have organized an
iftar dinner, where Christians and Muslims broke the fast together. The center,
which was established by Pakistani Christians in 2009, serves as a platform for
Christians and Muslims to discuss both theological issues and everyday ones.
As a Muslim-majority country, Pakistan is often criticized for not caring enough
about minority rights or ensuring minorities’ equal participation in political
and social processes. There have even been incidents of discrimination, violence
and hate against minorities.
But this is not the only reality in Pakistan. There have always been people and
organizations from many religious communities working for communal harmony and
interfaith understanding. Christians might represent less than 2 percent of the
total population of Pakistan, for example, but they have undertaken many
initiatives to promote interfaith dialogue in the country, especially between
themselves and the majority Muslim population.
In 1935, when Pakistan was still a part of India, Jesuit missionaries used
Loyola Hall in the eastern city of Lahore as a center for interfaith dialogue.
Another prominent ecumenical institution, the Christian Study Center, was formed
in 1968 in the city of Rawalpindi to provide a platform for Christian and Muslim
academics to discuss religious and theological issues, and for people of
different religions to converse and coexist on the basis of mutual friendship,
understanding and cooperation.
More recently in 1998, the Christian Study Center started a project called
Social Harmony at the Grassroots Level after buildings and churches in a
Christian village, Shanti Nagar in Punjab, were burned and destroyed by a group
of religious fanatics. This highly successful program trains people from
different religious communities to resolve conflict peacefully.
Another important partner in religious dialogue is the World Council of
Religions (WCR) of Lahore. WCR connects Christian priests and Muslim religious
leaders to carry out joint projects focusing on eradicating hate speech and
violence in the country by first helping to break down their own stereotypes
about one another. They learn about each other and visit each other’s places of
worship, discussing common problems they face instead of simply claiming
superiority over people of other faiths and encouraging their Christian or
Muslim followers to do the same.
These efforts are also being recognized by educational institutions in Pakistan,
where there is a growing interest among the student population to learn about
other faiths directly from their representatives. For instance, Punjab
University in Lahore and Peshawar University have recently started inviting
Christian leaders to give talks for graduate students about Christian beliefs
and practices.
As a Christian leader, I too have also been asked to be part of the faculty of
Islamic and Religious Studies at Peshawar University’s Sheikh Zayed Islamic
Center, as well as a faculty member for Islamic and Religious Studies at Hazara
University in the newly named Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Such initiatives are helpful in correcting misperceptions and creating a
peaceful environment for Muslim and Christian coexistence in Pakistan.
Interfaith efforts are also present outside of academic or religious
institutions. For instance, the Akash Christian Society works toward interfaith
harmony by providing medical services, along with other projects, to people in
different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Their Kunhar Christian Hospital (KCH) and
Cirin Christian Clinic in the Mansehra District, both of which have Christian
staff, provide medical services to their patients – mostly Muslims – on a
non-profit basis.
These organizations, educational institutions and religious leaders are trying
to educate people so that prejudices are removed, making increased interaction
possible at every level. Christians, alongside their Muslim brothers, are trying
to bring about peace, harmony and love in this beautiful country. Success may
come slowly, but if we work hard and work together with sincerity, it will
surely come.
Haroon Nasir is director of the Gulshan Center for the Study of Islam &
Christianity in Mansehra and a Fulbright alumnus. THE DAILY STAR publishes this
commentary in collaboration with the Common Ground News Service (www.commongroundnews.org).