A beacon of hope shines from the UAE to Bethlehem

Late on Wednesday night, Christmas Eve, I received an unexpected text message from an old friend. “My warmest greetings from the Church of the Nativity, and Happy Christmas,� it read.

For those unaware of the exact location of the church, it is in Bethlehem, on the Palestinian West Bank, on the reputed site of the birthplace of Jesus. It’s the first time in my life I have received Christmas greetings from Bethlehem, and, indeed, the first time, as far as I am aware, that any friend of mine has actually celebrated Christmas there.

It was a remarkable message in several ways. My friend is a Palestinian by birth, although now an Emirati citizen, and is a Muslim. And he was in Bethlehem not on his own, but as a member of the UAE Government delegation led by the Foreign Minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, that had travelled there both to meet the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, to express support for the reviving of the Arab Peace Initiative, and also to take part in the festivities marking the birth of a man who not only founded the Christian Church but who is also honoured and revered throughout the Muslim world as one of the greatest of the prophets.

In the more than three decades that I have lived and worked in the Emirates with Muslims and Christians and those of other faiths, and of many nationalities and cultures, I can remember few, if any, occasions when I have been so proud to be a part of this country, with its fundamental, deep-rooted and strongly-held belief in tolerance.

Tolerance is an essential part of Islam, and it has certainly been part of this country. Christianity had a presence here before the revelation of Islam, as has been shown by the discovery of a pre-Islamic Christian monastery on the island of Sir Bani Yas. I remember with pleasure how the late Sheikh Zayed welcomed the news of its discovery: “This is part of our heritage,� he said. “Please extend my thanks to those who found it, and instruct them to carry on with their work.�

The first modern churches were built here more than 40 years ago, on land donated by the Rulers of the Emirates. Many more have followed. When the new St Andrew’s Church and Community Centre opened in Abu Dhabi more than 20 years ago, built partly with a loan provided by the Government of Abu Dhabi, the former Ruler, Sheikh Shakhbut, who had donated the land for the original church, was among those attending the service. Every year, at the annual Remembrance Sunday in November, the religious adviser of the President and a host of ambassadors from Muslim countries, both Arab and non-Arab, are there to take part.

Sheikh Zayed created in the Emirates a country where tolerance is embedded in the very heart and soul of the nation. Condemning those who would pervert the divine message to sow division and sectarian hatred among those of different beliefs, he was a forceful advocate of better relations between those of all faiths, working with all men of goodwill to foster understanding and dialogue. He would, I am sure, have welcomed this year’s Christmas journey to Bethlehem.

The presence of the Emirati delegation in Manger Square offered two messages to the world. One was about the nature of the UAE itself: this tolerant, multicultural, multinational society in which all may seek to live and prosper, provided that they respect the beliefs of others and the traditional heritage and culture of this Muslim country.

The second was a message to those who accept the theory of the “clash of civilisations�: who believe, or who, for their own narrow interests, pretend to believe, that there can be no meeting of the minds, no sharing of ideals and ethics, between those of different faiths. For them, the UAE message is simply: “We reject your views. We follow the path of tolerance.�

And there is, perhaps, a third message: that Arab Christians, be they resident in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt or elsewhere, descendants of the earliest Christians, from before the revelation of Islam, are, as in the days of the great Caliphates of Egypt or Mesopotamia or Andalucia, an integral part of the overall Arab community.

Some will seek to question the reasons for this trip to Bethlehem, or to cast doubts upon the beliefs that prompted it. For those who argue that Western countries must support the state of Israel in all its arrogance and intransigence because believers in Islam are incapable of following a peaceful path, this visit is evidence of a tolerant and peace-seeking approach that it will be difficult to explain away. For those who pretend to believe that all Muslims are automatically hostile to Christianity, also divinely revealed, it will be a hard task to dismiss this visit as irrelevant.

Quite plainly it is, on the contrary, of enormous significance, an initiative offering a message of tolerance, co-operation and understanding well beyond the framework of governments and diplomacy.

I envy my friend and his delegation colleagues their Christmas visit to Bethlehem – both for the visit itself and for being a part of what is perhaps the most dramatic olive branch that has been offered for many a year in terms of religious tolerance and inter-faith dialogue.

This is a time, Christians believe, of peace on Earth and goodwill to all men. I can think of no better example of the meaning of that message this year than yesterday’s UAE initiative. And, as a minor gesture of my own, I am asking The National to donate my fee for this article to the Red Crescent Authority, to be used for relief in that “little town of Bethlehem� of which I hope it may once again soon be said: “How still we see thee lie.�

Peter Hellyer is a writer and consultant specialising in the UAE’s heritage and environment. He has also written extensively on the country’s social, political and economic development.