Muslims and Christians Build Bonds through War in Lebanon

In the recent war between Israeli forces and Hezbollah around one million Lebanese were forced to flee their homes to "safer" places in Lebanon. The majority of those who fled were Shia Muslims but they were able to receive protection and comfort in largely Christian areas.

|PIC1|When Israeli forces began their bombing on 12 July their campaign was targeted at villages, towns and city areas - mostly populated by Shia Muslims - believed to headquarter Hezbollah militants..

Thousands escaped the bombing by rushing to eastern Beirut, a predominantly Christian area, where they were welcomed by churches, monasteries, schools and private homes which had opened their doors to those who had fled.

"These people are my brothers and sisters. We are Lebanese, regardless of whether we are Christian or Shia Muslim.

"We constitute together one entity, but this war has brought us closer together," said Elie Ajouz, a regional coordinator for the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) in Lebanon.

MECC is a member of the global alliance Action by Churches Together (ACT) International and has been able to provide food, water and other necessities for victims of the conflict through its Inter-church Network for Development and Relief (ICNDR) thanks to funds it obtained from an ACT emergency appeal for Lebanon.

The I Achrafieh School was temporary home to 28 families during the war. While half of them have returned home since the August 14 ceasefire, fifteen families have been forced to remain, either because their homes were destroyed or because sporadic fighting is still taking place where they live.

"Our home is not completely destroyed, but damaged. We will return as soon as possible and repair our house during the days while sleeping at the school at night," said Hassan Hamdan, a father of two children and a resident of Dahiye.

Large parts of Dahiye were demolished during the Israeli attacks. Hezbollah, which also has a social-service branch, has promised to pay for the reconstruction.

"We don't have any contact with Hezbollah, but working together through religious differences ought not to be simply empty words, but reality. Our duty is to help people. That is why the reconstruction and aid must happen with the cooperation of volunteer organisations, the church, the government as well as Muslim charities which have connections with Hezbollah's social branch," Elie said.

Many Christian families opened their homes to Shia Muslims who fled the fighting.

"But there were even Christian families who stayed with Muslim families. There are many Christians who live in villages by the border with Israel. Many of them fled to Shia Muslim friends around the city of Byblos, north of Beirut," explained Suad Hajj Nassif, head of MECC/ICNDR.

Meanwhile, Suad reported that the war has had both negative and positive consequences for the relationships among the 18 Muslim and Christian associations.

"On a political level, relations between Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims have worsened, but on a social level, relations have strengthened between all associations. Masses of Christians have protested loudly against the massacre of Shia Muslims. In this war two clear parties exist. That was not the case during the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), which was in large part a sectarian war," Suad concluded.