Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Amman (Agenzia Fides) - In order to find effective and lasting solutions to conflicts and sectarian rifts that disrupt the Middle East, it is necessary to break free from the language and the logic that interpret the social life as a mere exercise of "balance of power" between majority communities and Islamic minority religious groups, reaffirming the principle of citizenship as the only guarantee against all forms of discrimination. The proposal, prefigured by sectors of society and political leadership in Jordan, has been authoritatively expressed in the context of the recent International Conference convened in Paris, at the initiative of the governments of France and Jordan, to develop an action plan to the rescue of the victims of ethnic and religious violence in the Middle East.
Before the opening of the Conference - which on September 8 saw the participation of twenty foreign ministers, together with representatives of regional and international bodies - Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh explained that the title of the summit, originally focused on the protection of the "religious and ethnic minorities", was then modified, to focus attention on the necessary "protection of victims of ethnic and religious violence'', without referring to the category of "minority". Nasser Judeh also pointed out that in Jordan one does not use the term "minority" to indicate the components of the Jordanian population who profess and follow religions other than Islam Sunni.
"The 'Work Plan in Paris', says to Fides Father Rifat Bader, director of the Catholic Center for Studies and Media in Amman, who took part in the work as a member of the Jordanian delegation - represents a full contribution of potentiality, and outlines a new approach that can be effectively exploited in our Country, not on the basis of the categories of 'majority-minority', but rather on the basis of the principle of citizenship, with the rights and obligations that derive from it". (GV) (Agenzia Fides 16/09/2015)
