It is truly unfortunate that entering a place of worship can make one feel uneasy or unsafe due to heightened security checks. These measures have become common in recent decades, especially following attacks on churches, mosques and Hussainiyas. One recent example is the bombing of Saint Elias Church on the outskirts of Damascus. In Kuwait, the Ministry of Interior decided to relocate Ashura rituals to school premises instead of traditional Hussainiyas, citing security concerns. Similar examples can be found elsewhere across the region.
For centuries, Arab societies have coexisted horizontally across their diverse components. It has long been a familiar sight to see mosques and churches side by side in Egypt, Iraq, the Levant and Sudan. Christians of various denominations lived among Muslims, sharing in their joys and sorrows, business ventures and daily lives. Muslims were accustomed to the sound of church bells and took part in Christian celebrations. Likewise, Christians lived with the sound of the call to prayer and joined their Muslim neighbours in festivities. Even today, the keys to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre — among the most sacred Christian sites in the world — remain in the custody of two Muslim families. Despite their numerical majority, Muslims have never sought to damage or desecrate it. On the contrary, they have contributed to its preservation and upkeep.
While in Djerba, Tunisia, I visited Shaikh Mahfoudh Dahman in his workshop dedicated to bookbinding and restoration. Among his collection was a Hebrew manuscript. When I asked about it, he explained: “We have Jews in Djerba who need copies of their religious texts for prayers and supplications. They come to us for transcription and binding. This particular manuscript is a copy of the Psalms of David. Half of it is written in Arabic using Hebrew script, and the other half is in Hebrew. It’s about 150 years old. The Jewish community here numbers around 1,500 people, comprising roughly 150 to 200 families. Each group freely practises its faith and rituals.” Mariwan Naqshbandi, Director of Interfaith Relations at the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs in Iraqi Kurdistan, shared a powerful story: “During IS assault on the Yazidi town of Sinjar, a Muslim soldier from Kurdistan was selected by lottery to perform Haj. He had already paid $4,000 for the pilgrimage. But four days before his departure, IS attacked Sinjar. He gave up his Haj and went to defend the Yazidis. He died in the battle.” This reflects the natural human solidarity that emerges from long-standing coexistence.
The Holy Quran states: “Were it not that Allah repels some people by means of others, monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques — wherein Allah’s name is often mentioned — would surely have been destroyed” (Al Hajj: 40). According to Father Hanna Iskandar, a Maronite priest, the term “biya” in this verse refers to churches with dome-shaped ceilings, the word being derived from Syriac, meaning “egg", referring to the rounded architecture.
Abu Bakr al Siddiq is also reported to have said during military campaigns: “Do not betray, do not steal, do not mutilate the dead, do not kill children or those in monasteries.” Today, unfortunately, we occasionally witness attacks on churches, mosques, Hussainiyas, and other places of worship. These acts raise troubling questions: Are they part of a political scheme to incite sectarian unrest? Or do they stem from ideological extremism that justifies such violence? Or are they a result of inflammatory rhetoric that fuels division and undermines peaceful coexistence? We need serious reflection — not just to protect sacred sites but to guarantee individual freedoms. Every Arab country should be spacious enough to accommodate its diverse religious expressions, dealing with citizens on the basis of shared humanity. Only then can true security and belonging emerge from within, not merely from state authorities, and withstand political or security upheaval.
Translated by Badr al Dahfri. The original version of this article was published in the print edition of the Oman Arabic on July 9
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