By Tom Tracy - Florida Catholic
Amman, JORDAN |A priest with strong interfaith ties in the Middle East said the global superpowers must find a political resolution to the Syrian civil war and humanitarian crisis but cautioned any armed intervention would result in longer-term instability.�What we need is for the Americans to work with the Iranians and the Russians to find a political solution otherwise we will have another Iraq or Afghanistan,� said Father Nabil Haddad, director of the Jordanian Interfaith Coexistence Research Center.
Father Haddad spoke about the Syrian crisis and a wide range of regional concerns Sept. 25 to an ecumenical group of 12 Christian writers and bloggers from the U.S. who were convened at a Marriott Hotel in Amman by the Virginia-based Jordan Tourism Board.
A member of the Melkite Catholic Church in Jordan and of the Middle East Council of Churches in Jordan, Father Haddad was also active in the recent summit on protecting Arab Christianity held earlier in September in Jordan.
Photographer: TOM TRACY | FC
Father Nabil Haddad, director of the Jordanian Interfaith Coexistence Research Center, speaks about the Syrian crisis and a wide range of regional concerns Sept. 25 to an ecumenical group of Christian writers and bloggers from the U.S. who were convened at a Marriott Hotel in Amman.
�We are against any military intervention in Syria because this will increase problems,� he said.
The Jordanian model of interfaith coexistence, mutual support and what he called �an alliance of moderation� among Christianity and Islam can serve as a model for the Arab region, Father Haddad said
He added his Melkite community is very worried the Christians in Syria are �in danger of being wiped out by the extremists.�
He pointed to the mass exodus of Chaldean Christians from Iraq during the last decade.
�My Patriarch is worried and crying out for all people around the world to protect his Christian community � the softest group in Syria and who are being victimized for nothing more than because they are Christians,� he said. �If we only tailor a policy to protect a minority this is suicidal.�
The best way to protect the Arab Christians is by spreading a culture of respect and human dignity � not only of protecting Christians as minorities. �By doing that you don�t need to protect minorities,� Father Haddad said.
Pope Francis, he added, has been making a great change in the image and mindset of the Muslims in the region and around the world.
�I think the Christians were able to make a difference recently in terms of the dangers of (the Syria intervention) and to stop the noise for war in a region where people are fed up with pain, fear and with intervention.�
Established in 2003, the Jordanian Interfaith Coexistence Research Center seeks to directly engage Muslim leadership in the region. Father Haddad said he has worked with imams to denounce religious and sectarian violence.
�We see it as our sacred duty to work with the moderate Muslims who think their religion has been hijacked,� he said. �I say to (Muslims) that �you need me as a witness to your moderation and we Christians need a duty of loyalty to our faith and to give our share in serving society.��
ABOUT THIS STORY
Tom Tracy, a freelance correspondent for the Florida Catholic in Miami, traveled to Jordan Sept 22-29 with a 12-person ecumenical delegation of U.S. based journalists convened by courtesy of the Virginia-based Jordan Travel Board. The group toured several major Biblical and historical sites in Jordan's Holy Land. They also met with the priest-founder of the Jordanian Interfaith Coexistence Research Center in Amman and a head archaeologist of the Baptismal Site Commission at Bethany Beyond the Jordan on the Jordan River.
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�We work with the Muslims by showing our Christian message of love which doesn�t mean to be submissive and na�ve,� Father Haddad continued, �but by a strong message of love as a parent within a family. No one is going to help us better than our neighbors and none better than the Christians.�
Father Haddad also fielded questions on Christian conversions in the region, inter-church relations among Christian denominations and Holy Land tourism development in Jordan.
He said Muslim leadership in Jordan strongly supports and encourages Christian pilgrimage travel in Jordan�s holy sites and providing a safe environment for religious travel.
�I see Jordan as the best place in the region for those interested in Biblical studies, international relations, Mideast, Arab and early Christianity studies, and in peace-building. Where else can you feel as safe arriving in the Middle East as in Jordan?
�There is so much potential for Jordan as a hub for the whole region, with Israel, Turkey and other places right next door,� he said.
