(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Former Lebanese president and Kataeb leader Amin Gemayel said Thursday that extremist takfiri groups are harmful to both Muslims and Christians, and called for all sects to combat the extremism sweeping the Middle East.
“The whole Middle East region is going through a very difficult phase, especially with the extremist takfiri thought, which not only tarnishes Islam but harms Arabs and humanity as a whole,” he said.
Gemayel said that the bid to combat terrorism was a responsibility of all parties and factions, regardless of religious leanings. He added that the initiative of the heads of Eastern churches, led by Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai, should be supported by all factions in Lebanon and the Middle East.
He said an initiative by the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Egypt’s highest Sunni religious authority, to hold a Muslim-Christian spiritual summit was taking shape with the support of other religious parties.
“The responsibility [to fight extremism] is not restricted to one patriarch or to one sect, but it is the responsibility of all us who feel how dangerous the situation is and must act,” Gemayel added.