(Translation from French by Unity of Man; passages in italics were spoken in English)

"Unity of Man" Damascus – the peaceful co-existence of three religions and several religious communities

Dear auditors, please first of all allow me to express my homage for the great Dame Biji; and also my respect to the small children who carefully attended (and sang) about the great message of the great Dr. Harbhajan Singh. Thank you.

It is a pleasure and great honour for me to participate in the "World Conference on Unity of Man" and to be able to talk about the subject "the peaceful co-existence of three religions and several religious communities." For my part, I feel honoured to be in Kirpal Sagar in India, the land of the 'great soul' Mahatma Gandhi, the patriot, philosopher and author of India's autonomy, the champion of Indian nationalism and man of reconciliation; not to mention the writer and poet of mystical and patriotic inspiration Rabindranath Tagore, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1913. How could one not be proud to be amongst you?

Daily life in Damascus

Damascus, the oldest capital in the world, is situated in heart of a region where the three monotheistic religions originated, and comprises a unique mosaic of religious communities: there are eleven Christian denominations and it is the seat of three Patriarchates.1 Most of them belong to the Orthodox Church. Damascus is the place where Saint Paul converted to Christianity and started to convey the message of Christ. Damascus, the garden of Islam, is the city I live in and come from.

I live in the middle of mosques and churches. I wake up with call of the Muezzin, which resounds from so many minarets, followed by the sound of the bells and the liturgical hymns (of the Christians).

So I live in a country where religious belief is an integral part of national history, of the past, the present everyday life, and I hope, of the future.

I opened my eyes in one of those Arabic houses; it was the former residence of the French Embassy and situated in a quarter of Damascus where 90 % of the neighbours were Muslims. In this quarter (called "Kaimariyé") I received the most beautiful impressions of my life. It is difficult, even impossible, for me to describe in these few minutes our life as Christian minority amongst a Muslim majority, nor the friendship and affection which dominate our relationship as neighbours. Still I want to mention the unforgettable doctor of our family, Dr. Hassid Bayazid, a believing Muslim wearing the Tarboosh (or Fez, a red felt hat in the shape of a truncated cone) and came to our house when he was called for medical advice or for examining a sick child. He called my mother "Ukthi" (my sister) and we welcomed him like a member of our family. When he was later replaced by Dr. Madani Ali al-Khiami, we confided in him the same way.

Another regular guest of our family was Dr. Ysaak Totah, a Jew, who was respected and loved by everybody. There was an unforgettable scene when he died: it was estimated that 4000 Syrians, in the majority Muslims and Christians, joined the funeral cortege through Damascus. It seemed to me that the whole city of Damascus followed the convoy that day.

I want to close with an incident that happened in the same old quarter. When invited to a dinner at my late father's house, bishop Epiphane Zayed sang a liturgy in praise of the Holy Virgin: "All creatures rejoice over you: Hail, Mary full of grace…" In the calm of night, all the Muslim and Christian neighbours listened attentively to the beautiful hymn and the impressive voice of His Eminence and asked for the name of the "Sheik" who was praising God…

The liturgical hymns and Koranic tales merge - I could cite hundreds of examples.

I recall the school where I spent my childhood with the sisters of Besançon. There were members of all Christian denominations. The Orthodox school where we received our primary and secondary education ever had an ecumenical orientation. The teachers, staff and pupils belonged to all kinds of religions and communities. The Persiado brothers, two Jews, taught French at the same time as native French teachers who were delegated to our school by the French mandate. Respect and friendship were the dominant attitudes between Muslims, Christians and Jews. Nobody was ever discriminated. We used to apply the following motto: "Religion belongs to God and the country belongs to all citizens."

So in this way, in everyday life, there were no problems between Muslims and Christians, no discrimination, a good neighbourhood, good relations, mutual assistance, an enduring friendship.

What about the present situation? First of all I have to make clear that the State of Syria is a secular state which nevertheless respects all religious faiths.

Therefore, religion never served as a guide for the way the machinery of the state functions. The state acknowledged the equality of all religious communities before the law and the administration.

No religion is theoretically or practically favoured or privileged to another. Every religious community has the right to develop without hindrances.

Syria is a tolerant country where everybody, every single human being, feels welcome and accepted, a land of asylum where Armenians, Assyrians, Chaldeans, the Syriacs from Madir and Diarbekir and all those who were persecuted in certain surrounding countries found shelter. The Syrian population has always received such refugees with much sympathy, help and encouragement.

When there are Christian festivities, the religious services are broadcast on the Syrian radio and television in the same way as when there are Muslim festivities, including the sermons of the three patriarchs who reside in the capital, of the Protestant priests and the archbishops and the bishops at the head of the different churches in the muhafazats (provinces) of Syria. On such occasions, the Christian processions through the streets of the large cities are of a much larger scope than those organised in basically Christian European countries.

I would also like to mention that the authorities of my country organise Christian cultural and religious events and art expositions, as e.g. the Symposium and Exposition of Syrian Icons organised by the Ministry of Tourism at the library of El-Assad in October 1987. Seventy Icons from the 17th and 18th century, from the schools of Aleppo, Jerusalem and others, were displayed.

A second exposition was organised in the National Museums of Damascus and Aleppo, from December 1999 to May 2000, showing 121 Icons from churches and monasteries. In view of their inestimable value, these icons were guarded, protected and finally handed over by the persons in charge and by divisions of the national guard.

A symposium on religious brotherhood organised by the ministry of the Waqfs took place in the library El Assad, in which the Sheiks, Ulamas, the Grand Mufti of Syria and the prelates of the churches participated. Verses of the Koran and the Gospel were sung and recited in the same opening session. A book containing all the speeches and lectures was published.

For about eight years, the Syrian state has been offering (and that is nothing new) a piece of land of 3000 m² to the two Christian communities, the Orthodox and the Catholic one, to build a church on it. This church, Saint Paul, is already being built, financed in advance by prominent families.

Cultural buildings are exempt from taxes and fees. Water, fuel and electricity are distributed freely to churches and mosques. It is the same for all the material and equipment used for places of worship.

Nevertheless, the Sharia is an important source of legislation, but not exclusively. In Syria, every Christian practices his religious duties freely. The community authorities celebrate the baptism of their children, their marriages, and judge litigations between spouses. But as far as the law of succession is concerned, Christians have to obey Muslim law. This practice is said to go back to the beginnings of the Islam.

The question of marriage gives rise to very delicate problems. Though the Muslim personal rights admit a marriage between a Muslim husband and a Christian wife and the authorities also celebrate such a marriage, even against the will of the Christian parents, the marriage between a Christian man and a Muslim woman is forbidden and therefore not acknowledged, even if it was celebrated on the basis of the civil law in a foreign country.

I would like to give you some impressions of the great head of the Roman Catholic Church's visit to Damascus from 5th to 8th May, 2001. H.H. wanted to close his world tour at Damascus and make his dream come true to pass through the Straight road [rue droite; decumanus] and follow the footsteps of St. Paul, whom H.H. considered as an example to follow.

The qualities of H.H. are considerable and hard to number. He was a father to all kinds of children: the poor and the needy, the sick, the handicapped and orphans. He is a great man of forgiveness; who could ever forget his attitude towards the criminal who tried to assassinate him. No punishment! No penance, no judgement, nothing but forgiveness.

H.H. John Paul II. was the first pope in the history of the Catholic Church to visit a mosque… and it was the Ummayad Mosque in Damascus. A few days' visit to Damascus qualified as historic, unforgettably inscribed in the writings, the memory and the heart of the Syrian people and their country.

From the landing of H.H.'s plane until his departure, he was welcomed and accompanied by His Excellence Dr. Bachar Al-Assad, the President of the Republic of Syria, by the three patriarchs of Antioch and the entire orient, by the Apostolic nuncio, by the Grand Mufti of Syria, by the Sheiks and Ulamas of all Muslim communities, by the prelates of the different churches, by ministers, outstanding personalities and by the people, i.e. millions and millions followed and filmed the steps of H.H. John Paul II. on the way of St. Paul. They were present with their hearts and minds, and in front of the television screens.

Dear auditory,

I would like to inform you that a solemn mass was celebrated on the largest (abbasid) square of Damascus, presided by H.H. the pope, in which thousands of people of all colours and creeds participated. His Holiness John Paul II., endowed with superior qualities, a man of reconciliation between the peoples of the world, between the three monotheistic religions, a man of faith, peace, forgiveness and love, was welcomed in Syria with all possible and imaginable honours and with great respect.

In this lecture, I think I have brought to light the everyday life and the relations between the different religious communities in Damascus. I hope this lecture has given you as clear an impression of this life together as possible. I thank you for the confidence you have placed in me when inviting me to this important conference.

Especially I want to thank the chairmen and this venerable audience who was so kind to listen to me.

Finally, the memory of this important celebration will always remain in my mind. We are all here together in order to celebrate the 75th birth anniversary of the high spiritual leader Dr Harbhajan Singh, the founder-chairman of Kirpal Sagar, as well as the Silver Jubilee of this humanitarian project, centre of spiritual tolerance and brotherhood. We are also united to remember both Sant Kirpal Singh, founder-chairman of Unity of Man, and its president, Her Holiness Surinder Kaur. Due to their efforts we have been able to live together through valuable and successful moments within the spirit of this conference. We hope to be able to meet again and are regularly trying to fulfil our commitment in realizing the hope of Sant Kirpal Singh. Thank you.

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