Prelate: Muslim refugees place future of Lebanon’s Christians in jeopardy

August 21, 2015

The flight of Syrian refugees into neighboring Lebanon could upset the delicate balance between Christianity and Islam in Lebanon, a Lebanese bishop told Aid to the Church in Need.

“We have two million Syrians in the country as refugees,” said Bishop Simon Atallah, the retired Maronite bishop of Baalbek-Deir El-Ahmar. “Many will return to their homeland when the war is over. But many refugees will remain and apply for Lebanese citizenship in ten years.”

He continued, “What will become of us Christians then? … They defile crosses, statues of the Virgin Mary.”

“We want to act in solidarity,” he added. “But we have obvious problems before our eyes. A question mark hangs over our future.”

 

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Further information:

• Influx of Muslim refugees worries Lebanese prelate, stirs bitter memories (Aid to the Church in Need)