“After the Arab Spring the number of Christians in the Middle East and in North Africa has decreased; there are also struggles between the various components of Islam. This shows the fragility of coexistence ", said Ghabel Bader, the archbishop of Algiers, during his speech in the panel dedicated to coexistence between Christians and Muslims at the International Meeting "The Courage to Hope" organized in Rome by the Community of Sant'Egidio.
The Archbishop added that "well-established coexistences in the minds and hearts for centuries have been questioned in recent times in the countries present in that the region. The culture of violence replaced the culture of living together”.
According to Archbishop Bader "we must separate religion from politics because politics dirties religion." According to the Archbishop the relationship between populations within countries in North Africa and the Middle East must be based on common citizenship and not on religious affiliation”. |