I am an Arab
I am a Christian.
I will not give up my right to be in my home because of fear of defective fundamentalist groups and militias rampaging the streets, threatening by rule of subjugation and masking it as the righteous path!
I will not give up my God to stay in my home. I will not cease from entering a church and worshiping God in fear of being ostracized just to preserve my Arabness.
From the bellowing streets of Baghdad to the Sudanese deserts, Christians are fleeing to the west- not out of choice but circumstance.
What if the same were to happen in the beautiful mountains and cities of Lebanon, to the grand cities and farm villages of Syria? What will happen then? I shudder just thinking about it.
I want my God and I want my home- I don’t want to be told that one day I have to leave the Middle East and seek refuge- I don’t want to have to live in fear.
Everyone has to learn to adapt, not by the sword but by the desire to coexist. All religions promote worshipping the goodness in life, worshipping God and being fair to others.
So if I was told to give up one or the other- I would tell that person to fuck off- because I am an Arab and I am a Christian- and I would never give up either one.
2 comments:
I know I'm a month late, but I just wanted to say thank you for visiting my blog and taking the time to comment. It's like this sparkling treasure whenever someone from the vast sea of the internet reads something I've written, and there's a moment of connection where the barriers of time and space fall away, leaving two wonderfully unique human beings seeing a small window into each others' lives.
I'm glad you're filling this little corner of the internet with the bravery, honesty, and integrity I have glimpsed in your writing.
Thank you for putting the thoughts of most of the Arab-Christians into words, It is relieving to find people having the same stand towards their religious and their identity. Nobody can make me change my Christianity and I will not let anybody take my home or push me to desert it even if this will cost me my life.
Thanks Celine for your “daring answer” to the one who even indicates that we should give-up or replace one of the two (my religion or my home)
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