The Current Middle East Crisis Requires a Political Solution – Stated His Holiness Aram I
22 October, 2015. In his address to Christian and Muslim leaders, representatives of different countries and international governmental and non-governmental organizations during the recent conference organized by the Greek authorities in Athens on the “Religious and Cultural Pluralism and Peaceful Coexistence in the Middle East,” His Holiness Aram I said that the blame for the current turmoil in the region can be laid at the doorstep of third-party geopolitical interests. “Only a political solution will end the conflict that has inflamed the region,” stated His Holiness, and “local powers must meet and commit themselves to strengthening Christian-Muslim relations.”
In order to arrive at a sustainable solution to the crisis, the Catholicos continued, local interests should take over third-party interests, historical conflicts within Islam should be resolved, the culture of religious fundamentalism and extremism should be replaced with respect for human dignity and authoritarianism and structural injustices should be replaced with democratic principles of participation. “Only when these problems are resolved, he said, “will Christians stop leaving the region; only then, might the unique model of the Middle East mosaic have its ripple effect in other regions.”
