مطالبہء اقلیت کا عالمی پس منظر

مطالبہء اقلیت کا عالمی پس منظر — Page 331

331 This and no other is the sacred right to return, for then will the Arabs have recovered their spiritual home, saved their history۔And then, and then only, will they be true to their civilization, able to fulfil their mission to mankind۔The continuity of the tradition which the Palestinians have kept as a cherished trust is an imperative call۔A call for a Jerusalem delivered that will be again the home of its people۔To us, the preservation of stones, be they sacred temples, cannot be more important than the live presence of peoples۔For the presence of God is where people live in constant devotion۔Such is, in our understanding, the Palestinian character of Jerusalem, a human image both national and universal, a call upon all believers to meet in the free and tolerant pursuit of truth۔To us in particular, the significance of the Holy Places has acquired its latitude by the fact that through two thousand years, the temples have derived the substance of their life from the very life of the believers who constitute the human context of the temples۔It is, in this spirit that we understand the historic encounter, so rich in noble meanings, between the Caliph Omar and the Patriarch of Jerusalem: an encounter in friendship and mutual respect۔Today, in our common struggle, the encounter between Muslims and Christians has become a creative unity, within the framework of Arabism۔