Secretary General of the Lebanese Future Movement called on Arabs in the region to protect and nurture Christian minorities.

Lebanon’s ruling party has issued a rare call to save the Christian communities of the Middle East, amidst a steady exodus of Christians from the region.

Ahmad Al-Hariri, Secretary General of the Lebanese Future Movement, said he was “extremely worried about the repercussions of the Christian emigration from some Middle East countries.”

Speaking at a press conference marking the closure of the Future Movement’s founding congress in Beirut, the key political figure added that “nurturing the Christian presence [in the region] was an Arab and Islamic responsibility as much as it is a Christian one.”

The rare comments by a Muslim leader on the Levant’s Christian community came amid concerns over the growing Shi’a influence in Lebanon.

Since parliamentary elections in June 2009, the Future Movement, led by Prime Minister Sa'ad Al-Hariri, has held the majority in the Lebanese parliament and rules under the coalition led by the pro-Western March 14 Alliance.

"Demographics are always linked to politics in Lebanon," Prof. Eugene Sensenig-Dabbous, chairman of the Political Science department at Notre Dame University of Lebanon told the Media Line. "Sunnis in Lebanon, as well as the Druze and Christian populations are worried about the rise of the Shi'a population. Christians will never again constitute a majority in Lebanon, but they are still vying for power. Hariri's main partners in the March 14 Alliance are Christians, and they see themselves under threat by the mounting Shi'a power in the country."

Referring to emigration from Lebanon, Prof. Sensenig-Dabous pointed out that since the end of the civil war in 1990 emigration from Lebanon was equally comprised of all groups, with Christians not representing a particular majority. "There is however a longer history of Christian flight from Lebanon, dating back to the early 19th century.
This means the bulk of Lebanese Diaspora pushing the issue is Christian."

The exact breakdown of religious groups in Lebanon is unknown since a census hasn’t been held for over 70 years. What is clear is that the Christians have lost their majority due to decades of emigration and the high birthrate of Muslims.

Parliament Member Ghazi Yousef, a member of the Future movement and a Shi'i Muslim said that despite referring to Christians in the Arab world in general, the Movement's statement was primarily targeted at Christians in Lebanon. "Today Muslims comprise some 70% of the Lebanese population, but it is important to safeguard the Christian minority and preserve diversity in the country."  

Ahmad Hariri's statements on Monday came at the tail-end of a two-day "founding congress" which elected Prime Minister Sa'ad Hariri as president of the Future Movement. The Congress lauded the initiative of the Vatican Conference to organize a special conference on the issue in collaboration with local churches.

The Conference also declared that State-led "diplomatic resistance" was the only way to liberate Lebanese territories captured by Israel, along with "its military capabilities, if need be." The statement affirmed calls by President Michel Suleiman to bolster the capabilities of the Lebanese Army and arm its institutions.

The Lebanese constitution requires the State to guarantee the personal status and religious interest of members of every religious sect. It also stipulates that Christians and Muslims must receive equal representation in Parliament, the Cabinet, and high-level civil service positions.

The Lebanese Rupublic was formed by France in 1926 as a predominantly Christian state; however Christian populations have been in constant decline. Due to the sensitivity of confessional parity, no national census has been conducted in Lebanon since 1932.

The Media Line