What is the Place of a Christian/the Church/Religion in General in the Palestinian Society

A letter from Ashraf K. Tannous from Palestine

(Copyright by Ashraf K. Tannous)

What is the Place of a Christian/the Church/Religion in General in the Palestinian Society

What is the role of the Christians, the One Church and the Religion in Palestine? First, I have to admit that some people think that the Christians, the Churches, and even Christianity don’t exist in the Middle East, the reason I say this because when I meet some tourists and guests even Arabs and I tell them that I am a Palestinian Christian, the first question I face “when did you convert to Christianity?” it is Really a bothering question for me as Christian because Christianity emerged from here from the Heart of Palestine. Therefore, it is untrue that Christians don’t exist in Palestine.

Christians are very few in Palestine; we are less than 2% of the total population, but we play an active role in the society by being living witnesses in our daily life, moreover we have a very strong relation with our Muslims colleagues we live here as brothers and sisters, holding one case our Palestinian case because first we are Palestinian then we are Christians and Muslims. For instance, on Easter I was walking with My Bishop, the German Propst, and some other pastors from my Church the Evangelical Luther Church in Jordan and the Holy Land in the old city of Jerusalem, going to congratulate the Roman Catholic Patriarch for the Easter Feast, when a Jewish Settler Spat on the Cross of the German Propst; when our Muslim friends saw What happened they wanted to fight this settler because they were too insulted from this action, but the Bishop Prevented them from doing so because he has a very strong relation with the Muslims Community, and he solved the problem wisely and peacefully.

Now, the Church has an important role in Palestine, it is encouraging all Christians to stay in their land; to study, work, marry, give birth to children and not to migrate to the west where there are a lot of attractions especially in the issue of freedom and employment. And it urges them to seek the freedom of their souls and spirit not their bodies (the spiritual freedom not the materialistic one).

According to some studies done in Bethlehem University, Palestinians migrate due to three reasons: the first and the major reason is the occupation and its daily demeaning and humiliating actions against the Palestinians, Christians and Muslims alike; the second reason is unemployment due to occupation too; and the last is education because the occupation always aims to make us illiterate people to make it easy for IT to take whatever they want from us by violence not by education and negotiation, because this occupation prefers violence because it doesn’t know how to do negotiations; but fortunately we are holding to study and get education in this hard suffocating, and unbearable situation. So Churches are trying their best to provide Christians and Muslims with most of the things to keep them in this Holy Land; they provide them with education by supplying them with schools and helping those who are in real need by paying part of the School fees; furthermore, Churches provide with Diakonial work where they take care of old people such as (Meals on Wheels) program which is supported by some Western Churches such as the Finish Evangelical Lutheran Mission (FELM), in addition to supply them with medicines and accesses to hospitals; moreover, they involve in planting the seed of justice and reconciliation in the hearts of all the believers; and finally they work seriously in interfaith dialogue with the Muslims and Jewish.

Finally, I would like to insist that I am a Palestinian Christian born in Jerusalem-Palestine, and born Christian in a Christian family who did not convert to Christianity but was here since Christianity emerged almost 2000 years ago from the heart of the Holy Land from Jerusalem. And I would like to urge all the churches and the communities in the whole world to look to our Palestinian Church and Palestinian case seriously and help us in re-migrate all the Palestinians who live in countries other than Palestine and support the Palestinian Church in supporting these people in different ways specially the mentioned above: Education, Diakonial work, Hospitals, Justice and reconciliation, and interfaith dialogue, in order to spread peace all over the world.

And with hope and optimism I say:

“No Matter How Dark and Long the Night is the Sun will Rise in the Next Morning”.

From the heart of the Holy Land from Jerusalem I send you this letter,

Your Brother in Christ,

Ashraf K. Tannous