Pope Shenouda: Mideast needs to hold dialogue with West

Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark Diocese underlined on Friday the need to hold dialogue with the West, saying that the West was not of one view as regards Arab issues, especially the Palestinian cause and the Iraqi issue.

In statements on the sidelines of the second Conference on Islamic-Christian Dialogue in session in Doha, the Pope said that Christians in the West hold different ideas as regards the Arab-Israeli conflict and the situation in Iraq.

While the US takes a pro-Israel stance and while it launched war against Iraq, states like France, Germany and Russia were against the war and adopted a balanced position vis-a-vis the conflict in the Middle East region, he elaborated.

The western stance regarding the region is influenced by political considerations and not religious ones, he said. We as Arabs have made a mistake by not penetrating western societies as the Jews have done, he said.

When they (the Jews) entered the US, they made their way upward till they attained citizenship status and, consequently, they became of leverage in the elections, he said.

On Friday the conference resumed its discussions on religious freedom and the relationship between Islam and Christianity.