Meeting at Rimini: Arab Spring and religious minorities

The Arab Spring, the rise of political Islam, and the protection of religious minorities is one of the issues being discussed at the annual Rimini Meeting, sponsored by the lay movement Communion & Liberation. Thousands of leaders in religion, politics, and culture have descended on the Italian resort town to discuss the issues of the day.


Wael Farouq, a Muslim and a professor at the American University of Cairo, spoke about the effects of the Arab Spring on religious minorities.


“I believe the biggest enemy of religious liberty, and even religiosity, is the stereotypes,” he said. “In Egypt, for example, you can meet some Muslims, and you can meet also some Christians, who simply say ‘I hate Muslims’ or ‘I hate Christians’ but if you ask any of them ‘Give me a name for one of these people whom you hate’, he doesn’t give an answer. The biggest problem…and the biggest threat of religious liberty is the stereotypes which increase the hatred between people in the world.”

Professor Farouq also said the overthrown dictatorships raised sectarian tensions for their own benefit.

“In most countries in the Islamic world, there is a huge division between the government an the people because usually governments are taking advantage of sectarian tension,” he explained. “In Egypt, with every important political event, we got a terrorist attack against a church, and usually this to draw the attention of people away from something in political life. So, in my opinion, the dictatorships in the Middle East, in general, are not protecting the rights of minorities. They are the main threat.”

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