An Open Letter from Rodrigue Khoury to the ISIS Caliph

Arabic original here.


An Open Letter to the Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi from the President of the Party of the Levant, the Lawyer Rodrigue Khoury

Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?

This is what our God called out to Paul when he was devoting himself completely to tormenting Christians... And this call ushered in his transformation into a Christian and his guiding many souls to the right path.

O Caliph, so far as I can tell you are striving to build a state that pleases God.

So which does God favor: Stoning an adulteress to death and handing her soul over to Satan or caring for her in mercy and giving her good advice so that she becomes pious and righteous and guides other souls to repentance, thus winning her own soul and the souls of many others?

Which does God favor: Cutting off the hand of a thief or caring for him with reform and forgiveness so that he might become righteous and use that hand of his to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, or write a testimony of his being rightly guided and so profit his soul and guide others to repentance?

Which does God favor: Crucifying an "apostate" who has left your religion or leaving him to search with his reason for the true religion?

I bear witness to the truth of my faith that is different for yours. Is this not better than me falsely witnessing to your faith when I do not believe it with true conviction? Would that not be a lie and false witness? Which pleases God more, that I bear false witness and proclaim a lie or that I bear witness to the truth, to the truth of what I believe?

O Caliph,

Put yourself in the place of those who have sinned once, while you are subject to many sins: If you committed adultery. If you stole. If you changed your religion...

Would you ask the judges to stone you or to have mercy on you? [translator's note: the difference between "to stone" and "to have mercy" in Arabic is a single diacritic dot]

If you were a Christian in "the lands governed by Islam", would you accept that they drive you off, slaughter you and deny you the most basic human rights?

And so, who are you to judge by fire? Are you not subject to human nature? Are you not subject to weaknesses?

O Caliph,

I call call upon you to imagine a state ruled by the Law of Christ, a state of peace, a state of love and freedom!

A state where a woman does not commit adultery because she loves her husband, not because she is afraid of being stoned to death.

A state where someone does not steal because of his love for his neighbor, not because he is afraid of having his hand cut off.

A state where someone does not murder because he considers his brother's life to be holy, not because he is afraid of being executed.

A state where believers pray and fast because of their attachment to their God, not because of the policeman's baton.

O Caliph,

I call upon you to fully contemplate the law of mercy, love and freedom established by our God incarnate, Jesus Christ, and to compare it to the laws of the gentiles. I call upon you to judge your state by its standards and to embrace Christianity and in doing so save yourself from torment in this world and in the world to come.

Leave condemning people to God.

Do not say "I am an adulterer", since our God is a God of love who accepts the repentant adulteress just as He accepts the righteous woman.

Do not say "I am a thief", since our God is a merciful God who accepts the reptenant thief just as He accepts the righteous man.

Do not say, "I am a paid traitor", since our God is a kind God who accepts the repentant traitor just as He accepts the honorable.

Do not say, "I am a murderous criminal thug", since our God is a tolerant God who accepts the repentant murderer just as He accepts the upright.

Do not say, "I am an Arab" or "a Turk" or... since for our God there is neither Arab nor non-Arab. He accepts all races in order to give them the light of His peace and  to poor out His love upon the entire world.

Do not say "I am a corrupt sinner", since our God is a long-suffering God. He has accepted the repentance of many and returned them to the straight path, making them great saints and preparing them for a great mission in His plan of salvation.

O Caliph,

Who knows? The Lord may have chosen you for such a mission. There is still enough time before you to repent and to know the true light, the light of our incarnate God Jesus of Nazareth, the Crucified, the light of the most holy and eternal Trinity.

My love for you drives me to advise you before it's too late. The voice of the conscience cries out to you at all times: Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?

al-Akhbar on the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister's Visit to Beirut

Arabic original here.



"Prince Vladimir's" Emissary forms the "Russian Party"

by Ghassan Saoud


Who loves Russia more than the member of the Orthodox Gathering Samir Naima? He has transferred his whispers from the ear of Cain to that of Abel (or vice-versa), in transferring from the political machine of the candidate for the Orthodox seat in Ashrafiya Michel Toueini to the machine of his brother and candidate for the same seat, Nicholas Toueini. "Nicholas is more honorable," they say in Ashrafiya. 

Naima intones, "Russia, you are our holy country... Russia you are our beloved country... You are an ancient union for brother-nations." As soon as the Russian national anthem ended, the competition began: the president of the Orthodox Scouting Association, Elias Hasbani, loves Russia, naturally as does the president of the Lebanese Greek Orthodox League, Nicholas Ghulam. All those who found it difficult to get up from their chairs on account of their old age were the "League". Not to forget Nicholas Toueini, who yesterday defined himself as the representative of the Orthodox families of Beirut, who does not forget the Russian czar's standing with his forefathers against the Ottomans in 1904 and against the Turkish massacres in the region. As for the president of the municipality of Amioun, Jirji Barakat, he does not mention Russia without following it with the adjective "the great": "Russia the great has not ceased for a day to love the people of Lebanon." Aside from the municipal council of Amioun, Barakat heads the "Imperial Lebanese Cultural Association" and expends more sweat than anyone just thinking about monetary proceeds for the Russian spiritual intentions of reviving the "Imperial Russian Society", which was concerned with countering Ottoman political and educational influence in the region. At the invitation of "Orthodox associations" to a meeting with the Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikhail Bogdanov, the Russian embassy in Beirut has done something unprecedented in terms of sectarian activity that no other embassy has done. The date of the meeting, at the beginning of Bogdanov's visit, which goes until this coming Sunday morning, indicates its importance for the embassy, noting that the only invited group that was absent, under the pretext that they do not participate in political gatherings.

In his speech, Bogdanov revealed aspects of Russian policy and diplomacy that had been hidden for many: "I am the Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and at the same time I am the deputy of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society." This makes clear the weight of the connections between the Russian political position and the feeling of this group of Russian diplomats of a religious duty that requires them to turn to the Middle East. The society, which was founded in 1882, was concerned with countering Ottoman influence in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Jordan, as the Russian Empire was awakened to the danger of Ottoman influence in this region. However, it withdrew when the of the French and British mandates took control over these countries, and it was practically dissolved during the days of the Soviet Union. Today, however, it is under the leadership of former Russian Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin, who is now the chairman of the Accounts Chamber of Russia, and his statements give the impression that "regaining what Russia has lost" in the region is a national duty.

In a statement that Bogdanov addressed to those present, "We are joined by a unity of faith and a unity of purpose and vision." The majority of those present do not understand the Russian language that the the Russian functionary spoke. However some of them, such as Nicholas Ghulam, Salah Rustum, and Gabriel Harmouch nodded their heads in agreement with what he was saying even before it was translated for them. When the translator made an error, Bogdanov corrected him, amidst the laughter of the audience. In the speech, the former Russian ambassador to South Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, and Occupied Palestine noted the worry in Russian society (first) and the Church (second) and leadership (third, in his enumeration) about the kidnapping of the two bishops in Syria. He promised to relay what he heard to his leaders in order to convince them to strengthen bonds, not only between Lebanese organizations and their Russian counterparts, or between the organizations and the Church, but also between the organizations and the diplomatic apparatus.

In the hotel overlooking the Bay of Saint George, a Roman military leader that the Orthodox Church considers to be one of her chief saints, it was clear that Russian diplomacy should be numbered as one of the pillars of Russian influence in the region, in addition to the military apparatus in Syria. In the opinion one of observer, there are many friendships between Russia and Lebanon, but the Russian state is no longer content to support its relations through a party that owes ultimate allegiance to a regional state or to another state. It must have a special group that understands Russian interests very well and that works to deal with them by applying the Russian line first and last. They are Orthodox interests before anything else, based on fear of an Islamic blockade around Moscow.

In that hall at the Phoenicia, the characteristics of the "Russian party" in Lebanon became clear, after the characteristics of the other parties had already been known: Saudi, Iranian, Syrian, and American. It became clear that there are two chief forces that Russia can count on, the Party of the Levant, which is a group of young activists led by Rodrigue Khoury recalling the Orthodox Youth Movement of fifty years ago; and the Orthodox Gathering, which includes the majority of Orthodox former ministers and deputies, among whom Nicholas Saba plays the role of secretary-general. Khoury grabbed the first photo-opportunity, by entering the hall accompanying Bogdanov, without it being known whether this was coincidental or if he had really arrived with him. The second photo-opportunity was taken by Saba, when he embraced the Russian guest and gave him an icon of his patron, the Archangel Michael, who bears in his right hand the sword of justice and in his left hand the whole world. In his speech, Saba recalled the long history of Christian-Muslim coexistence in this region, bringing up "the Islam of tolerance, mercy, and love." In contrast to others who were content with generalities and flattery, Saba defined the requests of the Gathering: scholarships for Lebanese University students in Russia, support for relations between the Russian and Antiochian Orthodox Churches, encouraging the Russian state to purchase substantial land in Beirut a major Russian church educational facility. As for Khoury, he distinguished himself from the other speakers by his calm voice, precise expression, and looking up from his papers to make eye-contact with Bogdanov. Khoury recalled the spread of Orthodoxy in Russia, after "Michael the Syrian" in the year 988 convinced "Prince Vladimir" of it and he thanked "Vladimir the Russian" for sending in the year 2013 "Michael the Russian" to the Middle East. Khoury outidid himself and all the others in his courtship of the Russian embassy by recalling the testimony of a Russian visitor to Lebanon in 1896: "The love of the residents and their children for Russia almost reaches the point of madness. There are children who start to cry if anyone curses the Russians in front of them," without making it clear whether this Russian was distributing money or sitting behind a canon so that "the residents and children" would love him that much. After that, Khoury took a half-step back, making eye-contact with Bogdanov, and said, "Beloved, we here are the sons and grandsons of those children.  It is up to you to assess how we have grown up and what collective memory we bear." The Russian ambassador and the Deputy Foreign Minister were almost crying, they were so strongly affected. As for Ferzli's tears, they were ready to confirm Khoury's words: curse the Russians and you will make the former deputy prime minister cry.
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 And from an-Nahar, here.

Bogdanov after his meeting with Audi: We will work to free the two bishops

After his meeting with Metropolitan Elias Audi, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov declared: "We are greatly affected by the His Eminence's assessment of what is occurring in the region, especially with regard to the situation of the Christian community. These problems raise the concern of Russian citizens and Orthodox Church circles... We in the Russian political leadership seek to strengthen the bonds that tie us to the Christian communities in the Middle East." Bogdanov condemned the kidnapping of the two bishops, affirming that "we will make the utmost effort to learn the fate of the two bishops and to secure their release."

An-Nahar Interviews Rodrigue Khoury

Arabic original here (at least for the week).

Rodrigue Khoury Speaks to an-Nahar: 
The Party of the Levant is Byzantine Orthodox, Not Nazi

An attractive rhetorical tone, teetering between enthusiasm and clarity inflames listeners with an intense impulse. A regular gesture rises and threatens, striking the podium and giving the impression of power. A radical tone mimics instincts and the subconscious, which within seconds produces a clear identification between the speaker and his audience. They become one, united by bonds of sect, roots, identity, and presence under the flag of the "Byzantine emblem."

The scene is not a passing rhetorical moment in the life of the Byzantine Empire, but rather a scene from current Lebanese reality, as made by Rodrigue Khoury, founder of the "Party of the Levant," this rhetorical phenomenon that leads you to recall the speeches of Hitler right before the Second World War. The ideological inheritance of the Byzantine Empire makes is most clearly manifest in Khoury's speeches through his making the sign of the cross and closing his words with "amen." This ideologized discourse immediately places you in the presence of the Fuhrer. As you see him at the podium exchanging the famous greeting with his audience, you completely realize that you are before a Lebanese copy of Hitler.

However, Khoury's propensity to Hitlerian rhetoric is not a factor of weakness, but of strength. As for the content, it is no less radical than Nazi rhetoric. Many regard the positions of the youth, of an extremist Orthodox cast, as rejecting openness and the civil state, but he rejects the idea that his party-- the only Orthodox party in Lebanon-- is extremist. Is he attempting, through his rhetoric that mimics instincts by playing the sectarian card, to fill this void on the Orthodox stage and seize its politican reins? What about his party's plans for Lebanon and the region and the community's position toward its existence?

Khoury explains that "the party began out of the reality that the Orthodox community is living, on account of the pressure put upon it to forget its historical identity and to marginalize it from political life. There is an absence of Christian-- and not only Orthodox-- discourse in the region on account of the Christian subservience to either political Sunnism or political Shi'ism. What caused us to establish this party is the absence of youth from leadership and the absence of an Orthodox political party."


Belief and Identity

According to Khoury, the party starts off from the basis of "a pluralistic vision of the society Lebanese society and of all the Levant. Our society is made up of various cultures and each culture must be represented in the government. Lebanon has come to have the Arabic language, but it does not have an Arab culture. Rather, it is a melting-pot incorporating different cultures. There is no problem in saying that Lebanon is Arab with regard to language, but there is in saying that its culture is Arab because Arab culture is generally Islamic and Lebanon, like the rest of the Middle East, does not belong to Islamic culture, but rather to a diversity of cultures." He dismisses accusations of sectarianism by saying, "This is openness. It is very important that we be familiar with our own culture and cooperate with others on the basis of knowing our roots. On this basis we will establish better forms of dialogue with others. Cultural exchange must take place effectively. We do not want to return the region to Byzantine culture. However, it is important that Arabs do not cover over the entire region in their image, ignoring the other culture that was present in the region." He adds, "The constitution must affirm that Lebanon is a multicultural state in the same manner that it affirms Lebanon's Arab identity and affiliation. If we want to change the face of the region, the Arab Spring must recognize the rights of all cultures and minorities."


"The Levant" in the Region and the World

Khoury states that "the Levant" is in contact with Orthodox youth in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine and that "through Facebook it has been possible to form relations with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Patriarchates of Alexandria and Russia, and all the patriarchates. The Patriarch of Jerusalem encouraged us after we sent him our party's emblem, which is a two-headed eagle." As for the reason for choosing the Byzantine symbol as the party's emblem, Khoury explains, "This was formerly the symbol of the entire region, so why regard it as a sectarian symbol?"

Khoury describes Turkey as "a state built on the ruins of the cultures and peoples it exterminated. It must confess to the crimes it committed against Armenians and Christians and return the Church of Aya Sofya and other monuments in order for us to establish better relations with it." He adds that "These holy places are the concern of the Christians of the world and consequently a comprehensive Christian policy should be put in place to secure their return. Here lies the importance of our relationships with Orthodox parties, organizations, and personalities in the world, in coordinating shared concerns."

"The Levant" and the Church

There have been reports of opposition to the new party from some priests, and with regard this Khoury says, "Some priests support us openly, and some secretly. The Church does not have a unified position."

As for the position of Patriarch Ignatius IV Hazim, Khoury explains, "Patriarch Hazim is neither supportive nor opposed. In principle, we have not yet organized to visit him and present a complete agenda." As to his ties with Russian parties and personalities, he states that "they are concerned with helping the Christians of the Middle East." As for the position of Metropolitan Elias Audi, he says, "I do not know."

Lebanon and "the Levant"

On the level of Lebanon, Khoury explains that he is "for any system that preserves the concerns and rights of the sects. I am for anything that protects the political existence of the sects, in all this word means." He emphasized that federalism is not part of "the Levant"'s plan, explaining that will study the question of participating in the coming elections.

Khoury described his relations with March 14 as being good, "We are in agreement with the call for the sovereignty of the state, limiting weapons to the army, Lebanon's openness to the United Nations, and involvement in legitimate global issues." Regarding March 8, "I agree with them in terms of the basic position towards Israel, however we disagree with them with regard to [Hezbollah's] weapons."

He criticized the naming of Orthodox deputies by non-Orthodox, "In order for the law to be correct, it must allow for the Orthodox to name their own candidates, but not the Church because its role is to guide from a distance, not to turn into a political party."

The party is still a newborn and it finances itself through what the youth can collect among themselves. According to Khoury, "We are currently holding meetings to lay out a clear structure and to hand leadership within the party over to young people from all the Christian communities. We will work to lay out a comprehensive national vision that treats the various issues  in the nation and the Middle East, which we will release over the course of the year."

More on the Party of the Levant

Arabic original here. All very curious, still....




The Rum Now Have a Party to Represent Them!

The leader of the Orthodox Party of the Levant, Rodrigue Khoury, explained the party to Lebanon Debate as "a new party with youth leadership, whose discourse is Christian and whose goals are to work to ensure a better future for the Christians of the Levant through keeping them in their land and preventing their emigration on the one hand, and making sure that they are not second class citizens used as fodder in others' conflicts on the other hand."

As to the idea of establishing the party, Khoury said that, "The idea has been there for a long time. The basic motivation was that the Rum do not have a party that works for their interest, only individuals who are beholden to political parties. We began three months ago by looking for young people with the same concerns and we discovered that social networking sites are the best way to do this, so we set up a page under the name 'Orthodox Party' on Facebook. From there we held a number of meetings to get to know each other and afterwards formed a committee to set out a political plan for the party. Afterwards, we informed the Ministry of the Interior and on October 15 we were registered officially."

Khoury made it clear that "the party's discourse is a Christian discourse, inspired by Christian principles that we harness for the service of mankind and the service of society in general, on a Christian ideological basis."

He said, "The Christian Rum do not have a political party that makes their presence effective. Such a party is a political necessity in light of the dependence of Maronite parties on political Shi'ism and political Sunnism. Thus we need a political alternative that is beholden to no one and that advocates the discourse of the Christians of the Levant." He indicated that "the parties combines the concerns of March 8 and March 14 in order to create a single Christian discourse emanating from youth leadership with the goal of change, so that Christians will become active rather than passive, as they are accustomed to being."

Regarding the party's future plans, Khoury indicated that the party's goals will focus on: "ensuring a better future though: first of all, an apparatus within the party for ensuring job opportunities for the youth through social networks; second, establishing social aid organizations; third, establishing organizations for preserving Christian heritage and Christian monuments which have no one to defend them; finally and most importantly, preventing the sale of Christians' lands in the Levant by coordination with various Christian organizations in the world."

It should be noted that the Orthodox Party of the Levant recently undertook a political-media campaign and sit-in against the Turkish film "Fetih 1453" which in their opinion falsified history and insulted the Christian religion. With the cooperation of the Catholic center, Orthodox priests, and security officials, they succeeded in stopping the film from being shown.

An Odd Sub-Plot to the Lebanese Orthodox Search for a Political Identity

So, aside from the major story of the rise and fall of the idea for a "Civil Commission", we have this unexpected news item today, in English here at the Daily Star:


  
Lebanon Bans 'Fetih 1453' from Theaters

BEIRUT: Turkish director Faruk Aksoy’s “Fetih 1453” has been banned from Lebanon’s theaters because it is offensive to Orthodox Christians.

“Fetih 1453” tells the story of Mehmet II, who ascends to the Ottoman throne after the deaths of his father Murat II and brother Osman Erciyes. More powerful than ever, he inherits the throne with the conquest of Constantinople as his main priority.

With a phenomenal budget estimated at $18 million, Aksoy’s film was well-received in Turkey, but Greece accused it of obscuring key facts.

That same negative perspective has been felt by the Orthodox community in Lebanon, where a sit-in was held on Sept. 29 in Sassine Square to denounce the film’s “offense to Christian civilization” – a reaction which calls to mind recent protests in the Muslim world due to the anti-Islam film.

Local media said the film was banned over its falsification of dates and insults to Christianity. A few days ago, Rodrigue Khoury, a member of the “Al-Machreq” party, said on a local television channel that “the message behind the movie is to bring conflict between cultures.”

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Lebanese law basically allows for the banning of any media that anyone could construe as religiously offensive, and it would be hard not to see Fetih 1453's portrayal of Christians as deliberately offensive. The interesting thing, though, is that the impetus for banning the film seems to follow this protest, organized by a group that until recently was called the 'Orthodox Party' but which, as of October 4 of this year is officially registered in Lebanon as Hizb el-Machreq, "Party of the Levant". This group seemed until recently to have largely only had existence on Facebook as a longstanding pet project of a lawyer named Rodrigue Khoury, and so managing to get the film banned is quite a significant public relations victory. Interviews with Khoury about his party can be read here and here. A strong rebuke of the party's principles by Fr. Georges Massouh, originally published in the magazine of the Orthodox Youth Movement, can be read here.