Spanish original here.
"Those who blow themselves up with explosives are all young," says a prelate.
Affirms Siluan Muci, a bishop of the Orthodox Church of the Patriarchate of Antioch.
Educating for peace is a condition sine qua non for peaceful coexistence in a society of different people. His Eminence Siluan Muci, metropolitan for Argentina and bishop of the Orthodox Church of the Patriarchate of Antioch, promotes education with religious values as an antidote to violence, fanaticism and intolerance.
Metropolitan Muci looks to the youth and to children as the elements of society that most need to be educated in peace. "Today those who blow themselves up with explosives are all young. They are not 50 or 60 year-old men. Recruiting is done among the youth and not among older people," he said in an interview with La Gaceta before the start of his presentation at the National Congress for Interreligious Dialogue. The prelate referred to his own interreligious experience in conflict situations, such as what he lived in Lebanon.
Muci was born in Venezuela to a Lebanese father and a Syrian mother, but he lived his entire childhood and youth in Lebanon. Thus he holds dual nationality. He recounts that when he was a child, he went to a Roman Catholic school but had many Muslim friends. "This experience not only allowed me to get to know other children, but also their cultures and religious holidays," he remembers to point out the importance of education in tolerance in a society where coexistence between Muslims and Christians is a must. "When the dimensions of forgiveness and mercy--as well as hope-- are not transmitted, the minorities are very afraid," he affirms.
"During the Lebanon war, many Christians and Muslims didn't go to fight, but rather went to the Red Cross to sign up as volunteers to save lives. There were moments where it was a question of either taking up arms or healing wounds. During the Lebanon war, when there were no signs of peace, many civil society organizations, including a group for the disabled, did a 130km march to demonstrate for peace." For him, education in religious values and faith placed in God is the lifeline against violence.
"Those who blow themselves up with explosives are all young," says a prelate.
Affirms Siluan Muci, a bishop of the Orthodox Church of the Patriarchate of Antioch.
Educating for peace is a condition sine qua non for peaceful coexistence in a society of different people. His Eminence Siluan Muci, metropolitan for Argentina and bishop of the Orthodox Church of the Patriarchate of Antioch, promotes education with religious values as an antidote to violence, fanaticism and intolerance.
Metropolitan Muci looks to the youth and to children as the elements of society that most need to be educated in peace. "Today those who blow themselves up with explosives are all young. They are not 50 or 60 year-old men. Recruiting is done among the youth and not among older people," he said in an interview with La Gaceta before the start of his presentation at the National Congress for Interreligious Dialogue. The prelate referred to his own interreligious experience in conflict situations, such as what he lived in Lebanon.
Muci was born in Venezuela to a Lebanese father and a Syrian mother, but he lived his entire childhood and youth in Lebanon. Thus he holds dual nationality. He recounts that when he was a child, he went to a Roman Catholic school but had many Muslim friends. "This experience not only allowed me to get to know other children, but also their cultures and religious holidays," he remembers to point out the importance of education in tolerance in a society where coexistence between Muslims and Christians is a must. "When the dimensions of forgiveness and mercy--as well as hope-- are not transmitted, the minorities are very afraid," he affirms.
"During the Lebanon war, many Christians and Muslims didn't go to fight, but rather went to the Red Cross to sign up as volunteers to save lives. There were moments where it was a question of either taking up arms or healing wounds. During the Lebanon war, when there were no signs of peace, many civil society organizations, including a group for the disabled, did a 130km march to demonstrate for peace." For him, education in religious values and faith placed in God is the lifeline against violence.
Practical tip: you have to get the young men wives and jobs so they have a stake in the future.
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