Christians told: 'Don't panic over Hamas': militant group wins majority in polls.ENI Jerusalem Holy Land Lutheran Bishop Munib Younan Munib Younan (born September 18, 1950 in Jerusalem) is the Evangelical Lutheran Church Bishop of Palestine and Jordan since 1998. He is married since 1980 to Suad Yacoub from Haifa, originally from Kfar Bir"im, (one of the depopulated villages of 1948.) They have three children. has urged Christians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip For the West Bank and Gaza Strip please see one of the following:
Palestinian Christians have been unsettled by the sweeping victory by Hamas, which has a charter calling for the establishment of an Islamic state The term Islamic state refers to groups that have adopted Islam as their primary faith. Specifically:
The Palestinian territories . "We ask the Palestinian people, especially Palestinian Christians, not to panic and arrive at hasty conclusions but to persevere and remain steadfast in this land," Bishop Munib Younan said in a statement dated Jan. 30. Hamas won a decisive majority in January's Palestinian legislative elections. The group, which has political and militant wings, will now take a large role in governing Palestinians, but the makeup of the new government has not been made clear. "Now more than ever we need to continue to be an active, integral part of the people and to continue as Christian witnesses for justice, instruments of peace and ministers of reconciliation," said the Palestinian-born Lutheran church leader. Bishop Younan's comments indicated concern that the Hamas victory could speed up Christian immigration immigration, entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. Motives for immigration, like those for migration generally, are often economic, although religious or political factors may be very important. from the Holy Land where they are becoming an increasingly small minority. Today, there are about 50,000 Christians living in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and Arab East Jerusalem. They make up less than two per cent of the Palestinian population. Bishop Younan said once Palestinians recover from the "shock" of Hamas's victory they should evaluate why the militant Islamic group won a landslide victory at the polls with 77 per cent of voters casting their ballots. He attributed Hamas's victory to Palestinian suffering under Israeli occupation, corruption in the Palestinian Authority, Hamas's extensive charity network and Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip last September. |
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