ISLAM-CHRISTIAN DIALOGUE

216 CHRISTIANS IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD Dear Dr. Romano: There are difficulties invisible to Wester- ners that push Christians to emigrate to the West: ten million in the last century! Data was even published by Magdi Cristiano Allam. I follow her column carefully and it saddens me that with her diplomatic lan- guage she avoided the root of the problem and the examples she cited do not reflect reality. I understand that her contacts re- main at a certain level which does not reflect the substance that would come to light if she could contact the people con- cerned. The presence of churches built for the most part in pre-war periods conceals social oppression and the discriminatory laws in force. For example, there is a ban in Egypt on the building of temples and chur- ches, unless 10 conditions have been met that are difficult to implement. An edict by Caliph Omar 639 A.D. still regulates rela- tions between Muslims and Christians and the permission to build places of Christian worship. This was confirmed by a decree of the Ministry of the Interior in Egypt in February 1934, which cites the 10 requi- rements which must be fulfilled before is- suing a building permit. Repairing a church wall requires the authorization of the Presi- dent of the Republic. In most cases prohibi- tions are diverted by the good will of local officials, but they are always susceptible to blackmail. Religious worship must, howe- ver, remain discreet. At the core of the contrasts between the West and the Islamic world, contrasts ap- parently invisible to the eye of an uninfor- med Italian, are the rights and duties of non-Muslim citizens as codified by the law on personal status. In fact, the divine sour- ce of the Koranic law, freedom of religious choice, equality between citizens, and wo- men's rights are the most striking points of contrast of all Arab countries with Western culture. Personally, I believe that the real cultural revolution in the Arab world should pass through women and that we immi- grants in the West have a duty to draw the public’s attention to these contrasts which are invisible to the naked eye. Dr. Romano, given the resonance of your column, I hope that on your return you will be able to raise or rather highlight the situation of human rights in the Arab wor- ld, not so much the building of churches or reciprocity, but human rights. Thank you. P.S. I would like to inform you of an article of mine on the subject published by Popoli in POPOLI in February 2005: http://www. ildialogo.org/dialogofedi/patriarcaticristia- ni21022005.htm LETTER OF THE DAY: CHRISTIANS IN ISLAMRESPONSIBILITY OF ITALY La lettera del giorno: I cristiani nell’islam responsabilità dell’italia 3 August 2008 The statement that there are Christian churches in Islamic countries can be true, as it is true that there are bishops, apostolic legacies, and priests. What you have omit- ted to specify, however, are the living con- 2008