ISLAM-CHRISTIAN DIALOGUE

75 ANNEX: There is no shortage of practical exam- ples of discrimination in the Arab world: • the construction of a Church must be authorised by the President of the Re- public. • renouncing the Islamic faith is puni- shable by death. • A Muslim woman can't marry a Chri- stian man. The civil rights of women are halved com- pared to men’s in the Personal Status Act: Testimony, inheritance, repudiation, chosen polygamy of the groom, unable to marry a non-Muslim, in their freedom of movement (permits to visit, passports, etc.), in the practise of certain profes- sions, such as being a magistrate: be- cause a woman is less than a man, she cannot judge him. Other constraints to equality between citi- zens at the dawn of the 21st century are: the prohibition to non-Muslims to teach Arabic language and literature and to gra- duate in gynaecology, the access to public offices, (in Egypt, out of 300 central P.A. 400 dir. generals of public companies, only 15 are C.). Prohibition of freedom of interpretation of the Shariah (Hesba case underway in Egypt) to testify in court against a Muslim Even if it is not the case to detail all the differences between Islamic teaching and Christianity, these are some examples that we find in Islamic teaching, also in Italy. • The Torah and the Gospel are accused of being falsified. • Judas died on the cross in place of Christ. • Christians are Polytheists because of the Trinity. • Islam is the best religion, source of law and socio-political order. The Koran contains all the knowledge related to religion, to the relationship with God; they refuse to refer to other sources. • They do not conceive: Incarnation, Re- demption, and Trinity. • They do not accept mediation between man and God. Dear Eid, you reveal with delicacy and without animosity the fig leaf with whi- ch cover the ignorant and imbecilic su- perficiality (of which Santoro is the un- surpassed champion) of the dominant mentality that informs a large part of our media (not excluding our "Christian families"). We are at the catastrophe of education and reason, in every sector of civil life. But let's not despair. We know that, also thanks to suffering and in the atrocious martyrdom of our Arab Chri- stian brothers on Muslim soil, there is the dawn of a new civilization. Yes, we are the empire at the end of decadence, the seed of Christ's victory in the world. Victory that, as our beloved persecuted brothers and sisters show, wins needs no sword, no violence, no prevarication. For in our flesh He, our dear joy, shows His Lordship over reality. Que viva el pueblo cristiano! European Community Corriere - 13-12-2002 EUROPEAN COMMUNITY Turkey's entry in the EU. Great publicity is underway to prepare public opinion for Turkey's entry into the United Europe. Little has been said about the fate inflicted on Christians in general, and Armenians in particular, a century ago. The European Community should verify that the situations that favoured the crimes of the last century no longer exist. What matters is that no genocide should be forgotten and underestimated: for the respect of the dead and for the honour of humanity. Turkey should take the first step.