Where God Weeps - the suffering church in focus
How you can help » Support for the work of the Al Liqa Centre in Jerusalem
Israel and Palestine: Support for the work of the Al Liqa Centre in Jerusalem
Dr Geries Khoury in the library of the Al Liqa centre, Jerusalem. @ACN
„I believe that this group of Christian and Muslim believers who are working for peace and dialogue are a shining example of a religious necessity which will strengthen the faith of every believer", writes His Beatitude Archbishop Michael Sabbah, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
"Al-Liqa", an Arabic word, means "encounter". It is an Association founded in 1982 in Jerusalem by Palestinian Muslims and Christians. Via a range of activities, the association works for dialogue between Christians, Jews and Arabs. Despite the difficult circumstances surrounding the life of believers in the Holy Land, which make a peaceful life all but impossible for everyone, the founders of the Al-Liqa Centre believe that the help given them by ACN for their programmes and publications will confirm them in their faith. "We believe that dialogue between religions is a vital element for attaining peace and justice between the Palestinians and Israelis and for strengthening the bridges of good relations between East and West, and especially between the Islamic and the Western nations", writes the director of the Al-Liqa Centre, Dr. Geries S. Khoury, who formerly studied theology, philosophy and comparative religion in Rome.
In an interview given in 2007 to the international Catholic pastoral charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Dr Khoury described the Christians of the Holy Land as a bridge between the West and the East, since they embody both the Arab and the Western tradition. Should it one day happen at there were no Christians left living in the Middle East, this would mean that the lifeboat of the Muslims and of the Western countries would be rendered more difficult. And so Khoury is pinning his faith in interreligious dialogue in order to achieve a situation of peaceful coexistence between the various religious communities in the Holy Land. One of the real problems in the Middle East, he believes, is the fact that the various different faith communities know too little about one another. People are always hostile towards what they do not know, he adds.
The Al-Liqa Centre runs a variety of different courses, round table discussions and other meetings, all aimed at achieving greater mutual understanding between the different parties. In one evening course, for example, a group discussed the electoral victory of Hamas and the future of the Fatah movement and the other remaining Palestinians. Ever since the Al-Liqa group was founded, Christians, Muslims and Jews reads together annually on three days. A conference was also held on the subject of "Challenges to the Arab-Christian identity in the Holy Land". In 2005 Al Liqa began activities in Galilee, where representatives of all the main religions live. Here the group focuses on young people, school pupils and students, including Jews, Muslims, Druzes and Christians. In addition to these activities, the centre also publishes two periodicals.
ACN has already helped the centre in its varied range of activities with a grant of €10,000. And its director, Dr Khoury has written to thank us: "Once again we wanted to thank you for your efforts on our behalf. We pray for you, for your benefactors and for all who help you in your mission and in your vitally important work. Greetings and best wishes, and may the Lord bless you and keep you in good health. You are always in our prayers".
To know about this and many other similar projects in favour of the pastoral needs of the suffering Church, please contact our national offices.