Lebanon: a message of conviviality

(Vatican Radio) Dr Mohammed Sammak is adviser to the Grand Mufti of Lebanon and secretary of the Committee for Muslim-Christian Dialogue in the nation.
He is also the author of more than 20 books on Arab affairs, interreligious dialogue and politics and religion and was one of the guests at the 2010 Synod of Bishops for the Middle East.
Speaking to Vatican Radio's Susy Hodges, he expressed his hopes regarding the legacy of Pope Benedict's visit to Lebanon and spoke of the advantages of conviviality between Christians and Muslims.
Listen to the extended interview with Mohammad Sammak:
Sammak has long been in favour of peaceful conviviality between Christians and Muslims and reiterates that "Christians should remain in the Middle East" , saying he hopes the Pope's visit will "encourage this line." Asked if peaceful conviviality can survive amidst all the current turmoil in the Middle East, Sammak says it must as "there is no other way (for Christians and Muslims) to live together except by respecting each other and their differences. The only way to deal with these differences, he continues, is to "accept them and respect them and live with them."
Referring specifically to the issue of the ongoing emigration of Christians from the Middle East, Sammak believes that this phenomenon "is very dangerous for Christian Muslim relations because it indicates that Islam does not accept the other." He says it is the duty of Muslims to prove that this perception is "not true" and adds that Lebanon's model of conviviality should "be followed" by others.