ISLAM-CHRISTIAN DIALOGUE

217 ditions that Christians in most Islamic coun- tries are forced to endure, especially in the Middle East. Some examples are worth more than long speeches. In Aleppo, Syria, over a few short years Christians were re- duced to a few thousand and, because of the persistence of present oppression, they are destined to disappear. In Lebanon, as declared by the current Patriarch of the Church of that country, the exodus of Ma- ronites, Orthodox and Catholics continues incessantly. The Christians of Iraq are con- tinually persecuted and sentenced to death according to Sharia law, as the many Iraqi refugees living in Italy constantly testify. Even Egypt, a country that has made progress, has made the survival of Coptic Christians difficult. They must hide their faith, otherwise they are marginalized and as a result they cannot work for a living. I was able to see this for myself through di- rect testimony during a stay in Sharm el- Sheikh. I could continue listing examples about the same subject, always with an- ti-Christian facts and actions ascertained in Iran, Turkey, Algeria, Pakistan, Sudan and so on. It is not building churches, as your response shows, that characterizes Islamic countries as tolerant. When these churches are empty becau- se attending them can cost one his or her life, perhaps it's better not to build them. Gabriele Murra, Bolzano Dear Murra, I didn't say that Islamic countries are to- lerant. I limited myself to explaining why the principle of reciprocity is difficult to apply in the circumstances I described. And I added that a democratic country, founded on tolerance, cannot fail in its principles without betraying itself. There are, however, arguments in your letter that prompt reflection. It is certainly true that Christians, in some Muslim countries, are victims of unjust treatment and deprived of some funda- mental freedoms. But the cases you listed are very heterogeneous. In Syria, a few months ago, I was very favourably struck by two factors: the hospitality granted by the Syrian authorities to Iraqi refugees (many of whom are Christians) and the existence of a neighbourhood in Aleppo in which there are churches representing all the Christian cults of the Levant. In Le- banon, I recently met the Patriarch of the Maronites, Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, in his palace in Bkirki on the slopes of the hills that rise towards Mount Lebanon. From him I learned that a million Maronites left the country during the long years of the civil war. They did not leave, however, because they were affected by discrimi- nation and persecution. They left a country at war because, unlike other religious groups, they could count on the solidarity of a large Maronite dia- spora (about eight million people), now happily settled in Europe, the Americas and Australia. I remind you that in Lebanon, despite the sharp fall in the Christian population, the material constitution still provides for the President of the Republic (the last was elected by Parliament two months ago) to be a Maronite. The Iraqi case is certainly the most painful. I met Assyrian and Chaldean refugees in Damascus who were mistrea- ted, blackmailed, forced to choose between exile and death. But it is worth remembering that in Saddam Hussein's Iraq these same Christians could freely profess their faith and exercise their economic activities. The dra- ma of the Iraqi Christian communities began with the American invasion of the country in the spring of 2003. In Egypt the Copts represent roughly 6% of a population that includes 71 million people. There have been incidents and bloody cla- shes with radical Islamist groups, especially during the election campaign for renewal