"The invitation to Mecca that Saudi Arabia has made to the three monotheistic religions, for them to talk to each other, is an important ‘first’ to be kept into account". This is the belief of mgr. Maroun Lahham, Bishop of Tunis, who spoke today at the Scientific Committee of the International Study and Research Centre Oasis, taking place in Amman, Jordan. The prelate listed several upsides to the relationship between Christians and Muslims: "a mentality is coming up in the latter which accepts in principle the fact a believer may change religion, provided there are no material, political, ethnic or propaganda reasons behind such conversion. This results in a small number of violent events, in which one breaks or burns everything down. Christians he added seem to be experiencing a clear transition from formal dialogue to true dialogue. In other words, we must speak of what unites us as well as of what separates us". There are however a few challenges, such as "the reappearance of cartoons and caricatures which make people bitter against Christians in a way that can hardly be made up for". Finally, what worries the Bishop of Tunis is Algeria: "the Algerian official policy is getting harder and is starting to express political and ethnic concerns, and the small Catholic community is lumped in with the rest. A worrisome situation for the North African Churches".
