CWNews.com - Maronite Catholic Patriarch Bechara Rai has renewed his warnings that the “Arab Spring” uprisings in the Middle East could lead to the emergence of more militant Islamic regimes.
While welcoming some aspects of the “Arab Spring” phenomenon, such as the demands for an end to corruption, and the revival of national pride, the Lebanese prelate voiced his fear that the popular movements “may lead to confessional conflicts, the rise of harsher regimes, and a confessional division of the region.”
The Maronite Patriarch said that nations should not be defined in terms of religious identity. “We must oppose Islamic exclusivism in the identity of our countries as much as Israel’s Jewishness,” he said.
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