Note #9091 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:
06049 Feb. 2, 2006
Holy Land Christians urge Hamas to keep teachings of Jesus in mind
by Michele Green Ecumenical News International
JERUSALEM - The leaders of the major Christian denominations in the Holy Land have accepted the results of the Palestinian elections in which Hamas won legislative control by a landslide, but urged the militant Islamic group to use the teachings of Jesus as a guide when it takes over the reins of the Palestinian Authority.
Quoting from the Gospels, the leaders urged Palestinians worried about the Hamas victory in late January to "not let your hearts be troubled or afraid," and to "be strong and stand firm."
The Christian leaders were addressing the anxieties of Palestinian Christians after the victory by Hamas, which appears on European Union and U.S. lists of terror groups, and whose charter calls for the establishment of an Islamic state in all of Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Talk by some Hamas leaders of imposing strict Islamic law, or sharia, in the West Bank and Gaza Strip has heightened these concerns.
The church leaders said in a Feb. 1 statement that they pray that the new Palestinian government will preside over "the cause of justice and peace in a non-violent way ... with full religious freedoms, especially in the social and educational fields."
Hamas has spearheaded a suicide-bombing campaign and is sworn to Israel's destruction. It won the Jan. 25 election on a platform calling for good government and an end to corruption in the Palestinian Authority. Some Hamas leaders have already called for boys and girls to be separated at schools and for the introduction of an Islamic curriculum.
In their message, the church leaders urged Hamas to govern according to the message of Jesus Christ in his Sermon on the Mount: "Blessed are the merciful: they shall have mercy shown them. Blessed are the pure in heart: they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: they shall be recognized as children of God." (Matt. 5:3-10)
The message was signed by leaders of the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Coptic Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, Ethiopian Orthodox, Episcopal (Anglican), Lutheran, Syrian Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Greek Catholic and Maronite churches.
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