The Italian contingent, based on the Alpine brigade Taurinense, which operates in Lebanon has organized and conducted, at the base of Shama, an interfaith summit that involved the major religious authorities present in the south of the country, an area of responsibility for the UNIFIL mission.
The Shiite mufti of Tire, Hassan Abdullah, the Sunni mufti, Medrar Al Habbal, the Greek Catholic archbishop, Michael Antoine Nakhle Abrass, and the Maronite archbishop, Nabil El Hage, joined the Italian initiative, who in a serene and cordially, they addressed various topics, all agreeing on the importance of dialogue and peaceful coexistence between the different cults.
The commander of the Sector West, General Franco Federici, pointed out that in the south of Lebanon, characterized by great multiculturalism and inter-confessionalism, great harmony is breathed. This is also thanks to the commitment of UNIFIL and the Italian contingent, very careful to promote and stimulate dialogue between confessions. In fact, there are many demonstrations of respect for one another: just to cite an example, in recent Christmas festivities, Muslim representatives went to Christian villages for greetings, which is repeated in a reciprocal manner. "Our hope", General Federici concluded, "is that this harmony between confessions can go beyond the borders of Lebanon".
The interreligious meeting was also aimed at improving collaboration with the spiritual leaders present in the area of operations of the Sector West to increasingly calibrate cooperation and support for the civilian population of southern Lebanon.
The intervening authorities expressed their appreciation and gratitude to the Italian blue helmets for their contribution to maintaining stability and security in the southern area. The period of stability experienced in this part of the country is one of the longest in our recent history - they commented - cohabitation in Lebanon is an indispensable value.
