wfn.org | Presiding bishop finds growing pess

[ENS.parti@ecunet.org]

April 3, 1997
Episcopal News Service
Jim Solheim, Director
212-922-5385
ens@ecunet.org

97-1728
Presiding bishop finds growing pessimism over future of Mideast peace
process

by James Solheim
      (ENS) Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning returned from a
sobering mid-March trip through the Middle East with a message for
American political leaders--U.S. policies are now perceived as the
obstacle in a rapidly deteriorating peace process.
      In a statement released April 3, and in correspondence with
President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright,
Browning said that he was bombarded with "the perception that the
United States is completely one-sided" in the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
      "Time and time again," Browning said, "respected religious
leaders--Christian and Muslim--in Israel, Cyprus, Lebanon and Syria
spoke to me of the sole U.S. veto of (United Nations) Security Council
resolutions condemning behavior that every other nation found abhorrent
and provocative," the decision by the Israeli government to proceed with
new housing settlements in traditionally Arab East Jerusalem. That
decision was cited as the most serious threat to the peace process.
      Browning warned that "this one-sided relationship... will continue
to frustrate a durable and just settlement."
      Browning was in the Middle East to attend a meeting of Anglican
Communion primates at St. George's College in Jerusalem. Accompanied
by his wife Patti, as well as Dr. Dale Bishop, a Middle East expert on
the staff of the United Church of Christ, and the Rev. Patrick Mauney,
the Episcopal Church's director for Anglican and Global Relations, he
spent 10 days meeting with political and religious leaders in the region.

Greetings to Evangelicals in Cyprus
      In his last official visit to the region as presiding bishop,
Browning told the Fourth Assembly of the Fellowship of Middle East
Evangelical Churches in Cyprus that he remembers especially "some
churches in the region that suffer persecution and martyrdom, even as
they continue their courageous witness to the One who by his death and
resurrection has made all things new and reconciled the world to
himself."
      Browning had hoped to visit Iran and its Anglican bishop Iraj
Mottahedeh. According to Mauney, the bishop's role there has been to
"lead his church in difficult and dangerous times" yet he done so with
"gentle tenacity and great personal courage and integrity," adding that
"there is no cheap grace in Iran. Being a member of a minority religious
community is costly and risky."

Peace process being bulldozed
      Greeting Browning as "a venerable brother," Imam Shamseddine,
head of the Muslim Shi'ites Council in Lebanon, was quite open about
his anxiety over the future of the peace process. He called the bias of the
Clinton Administration "very disturbing" and contended that the
Palestinians, Lebanon and Syria are "being totally ignored." As a result,
"the Arab people have lost confidence in the U.S. government" and the
only appeal is to the "moral strength of the American people and the
churches."
      In response, Browning floated the idea of a meeting of religious
leaders from the area, both Muslim and Christian, to help educate the
American public to the real issues and to add a more urgent tone to the
peace process. The imam said it was "a very important idea" and he
promised to "take counsel with other leaders" to see if they would
support it. "The situation in Lebanon and the Middle East has become
much too dangerous to leave to politicians and the military," he said. 
      "As the bulldozers begin the housing settlement in East Jerusalem,
it is the peace process that is being bulldozed," he lamented.
      He pointed out that the Lebanese conflict "was not a war of
religions but a civil war, fueled by local and regional politics,
complicated by the presence of Palestinian refugees. The relations
between Christians and Muslims here is sound." Yet the Lebanese face a
difficult attempt to rebuild their society, to reclaim national sovereignty
while under occupation by both Syrians and Israelis.

There is no American policy 
      Foreign Minister Fares Boueiz complained that those making
decisions for small countries like Lebanon "don't understand our
problems." He added, "There is no American policy in the Middle East--
other than support for Israel. Why aren't United Nations policies
implemented in this part of the world? This is the real crisis between us
and the U.S."
      The foreign minister is convinced that "the U.S. wants Lebanon
to sign a peace treaty with Israel, at all costs. And they are using the ban
on visits and trade to pressure us to sign."
      As a participant in the Madrid conference to help establish a
peace process, the foreign minister said that the role of the U.S. as "the
driving force and the honest power-broker" was crucial in convincing the
Israelis to participate. "The election of Netanyahu effectively cancelled
the policy of land for peace," he said. "There is no more peace process
now. Netanyahu doesn't really want peace, he wants to solve a security
problem.... It is not possible to restart the peace process unless Israeli
politics changes or the role of the U.S. does."

Outside influences against peace
      With 40,000 Syrian soldiers and half a million Palestinian
refugees inside of Lebanon "we can't say we are at peace," the Maronite
Patriarch of Lebanon, Cardinal Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, told his
guests. "We have been waiting 20 years for implementation of the UN
resolutions." 
      With 19 different cultural/religious communities in Lebanon,
"each trying to maintain its identity," Lebanon faces a delicate balancing
act in its efforts to reestablish some kind of national identity.
"Equilibrium of these communities is the reason Lebanon exists," the
patriarch observed. "The role of Christians is to witness to Christian
values in a society that is not Christian. We are here, and have been here
for 1300 years, and we will stay here, but we need moral help" since
Syrians are in control and there is always the threat of annexation to
Syria. "That would be the end of the Christian presence."Like
other Christian leaders he is deeply worried about the emigration of
Christians and fears the paradox that a day might come "when there are
no Christians in the land of Christ."

Lebanon at a turning point
      "The Lebanese are good at both destruction and construction,"
said Catholicos Aram of the Armenian Orthodox Church. "We are in the
midst of reconstruction, including spiritual... We are at a turning point."
      While he described the situation in Lebanon as "unstable," full of
"uncertainties and ambiguities," he warned that the process of
reconciliation will be slow. He repeated the charge that "the United
States has no policy towards Lebanon because it's not very important."
When he met with President Clinton last summer he told him that
"supporting Israel should not be at the expense of others."
      Aram would like to see the issue of Jerusalem moved to the top of
the peace agenda "because we would be dealing not with a city but with
a holy place deeply rooted in the heart and culture of these people--all
people of the region." He said that he liked the idea of a conference of
church leaders because he sensed that "churches around the world are
becoming more interested in the Middle East, especially the future of
Christian churches in the area."

Christians losing Lebanon
      "Deep down any Christian or Muslim loves Lebanon,"
Metropolitan Elias Audi of the Greek Orthodox Church told the group in
trying to explain what holds the society together. "But Christians came
out of the war as losers so they can't be strong collaborators in the
decisions of the country. So many of them leave." 
      He is worried that Christians, who fear the Islamization of
Lebanon and the weak economic climate, will conclude that they have no
stake in the future. "Christians are asking, What is our future?" If left
alone, the Lebanese might be able to work things out but that is no
longer likely, given the politics of the region. "Both Christians and
Muslims still want to live together in peace."
      "God's plan for Lebanon is not clear," said Greek Orthodox
Patriarch Hazim in Damascus. "The simple fact is that Lebanon is 75
percent occupied.... And when you are inhabited you soon don't begin to
recognize yourself, you lose your identity. Yet we hope for some
unexpected light." In the meantime, the relationship among the churches
"has never been better. We have created a spirit of fellowship and
cooperation; we feel at home with each other."
      Although clearly worried about the dwindling Christian presence,
he added, "We shall continue to witness as much as we can. We shall not
help those who want Christ to disappear from this area." 
      After a meeting with faculty and students at the Near East School
of Theology, the party traveled south to Sidon to view projects of the
Middle East Council of Churches and visit a Palestinian refugee camp of
70,000 people. Teachers at an elementary school said in their
conversations that they and their families had never known another life
and that, with a cut in funds from the United Nations, it was becoming
more difficult to escape and build another life.

Christians in Damascus enjoy tolerance
      Christians in Syria said that they are enjoying a period of
tolerance because "President Assad respects all the churches," according
to Melkite Patriarch Hakim. He expressed deep concern over the future
of Jerusalem, however. "As the pope has said, if we lose Jerusalem our
holy places will become museums," he said, adding that one-third of his
church members have left in the last 30 years and several of his churches
are already museums. "If the churches cooperated to build housing I'm
sure the people would remain."
      "We are mirrors that reflect the spirit of Jesus Christ and
Mohammed," said 85-year-old Sheikh Ahmed Kuftano, Grand Mufti of
the Syrian Arab Republic, in welcoming the party. In a long and cordial
conversation between friends who met on a previous trip, he added, "We
consider Jesus Christ our uncle so that means you are our cousins."
      While he was optimistic about relations between Christians and
Muslims, his demeanor turned gloomy when he talked about the peace
process, especially the future of Jerusalem. "The victim here is justice,
as well as human rights," he said. "What Netanyahu is doing is not
pleasing to any of our prophets--and those who help are partners in that
oppression. It is a great wrong to help any party which is unjust and God
will have a punishment for those people."
      "It is useful for us here to help convince people that the Christians
in America do not always agree with their government," Syrian Orthodox
Metropolitan Zakka said with a smile when told that Browning joined
other church leaders in signing an ad in U.S. newspapers that called for a
"shared" Jerusalem. 
      Edmond and Patti Browning, who first visited the Middle East in
1963, returned from the trip with "a renewed commitment to the people
and the churches of the Middle East--and a resolve to work for peace,"
according to the statement.

--James Solheim is director of news and information for the Episcopal
Church.