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I call for shared values. I think the time has come for a better understanding of the Noahic covenant []. It is an arch for the salvation of our shared humanity. We are to be above politics.

I hope Jordan can offer an understanding of interconnectedness in the midst of the confusion in the region and political attitudes, known on all sides as the "politics of God."

There are Christians who have Zionist views. There are Muslims who have been described as fascist. I keep saying that if we all observed the Ten Commandments, we would not have succumbed to so much grief in the first place. Whether it is the Golden Law, the Straight Path, or the Ten Commandments, we have to recognize that we do not need to reinvent the code of conduct.

Do you think Islamic fundamentalism is a cause for Arab Christian emigration?

Demography and geography have been a part of the reason for Christian emigration. There is a feeling in the West that somehow Christianity is Western-centric. There are incentives for Middle Eastern Christians to migrate: salvation from a hostile atmosphere that is not their creation, and for which they are not the sole target or victim. Do you know that there are more Christians from Jerusalem in Sydney, Australia, than there are in Jerusalem? There is a feeling that migration is facilitated to save souls and that is tragic.

I would appeal to the international community to understand the traditions of the established churches. The message of Christ is a message of ecumenism, and we should try to assist the Holy Land in maintaining its particular quality of shared consciousness and universal values.

Religious communities should be invited not only to develop what Michael Dumper from the University of Exeter's Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies calls "the management of holy space," but also conversations that revisit the importance of peacebuilding in the region in the context of citizenship and human rights.

For example, what do we Arabs have to contribute in terms of cultural identity? Can we talk about a synergy of a shared commitment to a vibrant community? If we are going to talk about winning peace in the Holy Land, I would hope that all of us would return to building a more humane and a more open reality. I do not see in comparative religion a cause for competitiveness at the expense of our shared values. Once again I go back to the Ten Commandments: "Thou shall not kill" is unequivocal. I apply it to 9/11, to Bin Laden, and say: Human life is sacrosanct.

How can you accept the sacrosanct nature of human life and also accept that in some way we will be part of the militancy actually bringing on prophetic confrontation?

The time has come to look at the realities on the ground and accept that polarized communities are causing suffering because of the monopolization of the truth.

How do you look at the Jews still living in the Arab states?

I regard these Jews as Arabs. There are Arabic Jews. There are Arabic Christians. There are Arabic Muslims. There is a rich history of coexistence for 600 years across the Arab world. If you improve the people's living conditions and quality of life, they are going to be susceptible to a more tolerant and respectful view of the other. I believe that the world has one civilization and many thousands of cultures. The Western call for the separation of church and state is interesting. But when people think that this is an attempt to trample their cultural identity, it falls on deaf ears.

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February 2008, Vol. 52, No. 2