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Al-Liqa’ Center for Religious and Heritage Studies in the Holy Land The Message of Christmas December 2016
Dr. Yousef Zaknoun Christmas comes and we are still living in the world of tearing, divisions and ethnical, religious and sectarian strife in the Middle East and in several countries. Christmas comes again under the ordeals, pains and severe suffering by many peoples in nearby and remote homelands. Christmas comes and we are still seeing violations of man’s dignity such as killing human beings and evacuating them from their homes and homelands. We are still witnessing the killing of the innocent persons praying in places of worship and churches. What is going on in this world might lead us to pessimism, frustration and loss of hope. This contradicts the message of Christmas, the message of hope and wish for a better world and for a better and more human man. The message of Christmas calls us for social sense towards the weak in the earth and towards the subjugated and those who are deprived of rights and dignity. The message of Christmas calls us for coming together, cooperation and dialogue despite distinction, difference and contrast. The message of Christmas calls us for discarding violence, subjugation, exclusionism and enslavement faced by the woman. The message of Christmas calls us to resist all kinds of despotism and hegemony and to reject all kinds of racial, religious and ethnic fanaticism or excluding or concealing the others. The message of Christmas motivates us to work on finding educational and ethical models which focus on respecting pluralism in its different forms and images. The message of Christmas calls us to renounce selfishness and pride which lurk in the hearts and are implanted in the minds. The message of Christmas calls us to discard violence which is spread in the corners of the houses and the alleys of the neighborhoods and streets. Merry Christmas to All of You
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