“We are Resistance fighters, we are Palestinian Fidaʼiyin, and many martyrs of ours have ascended to the Heavens,” said Father Monk Antonios Hanania of Occupied Palestine’s Akka while he gave a speech during the International Al-Aqsa Call Conference II held in Karbala, Iraq.

Drawing on history, Father Hanania shows, both in theory and practice, that Islam is the extension of Christianity from a historical and sociological perspective. Moreover, he explained that Arab Christians and Muslims have shared values, history, and social ties that the then-Crusaders and now collective West supporting “Israel” have tried to bury and thus, falsify history.

A message of integrity, dignity, and restoring history

In language that the entirety of Arabs can understand, Father Hanania clarified the forthcoming path: Resistance until liberation. Arab Christians, Muslims, and honest Jews (of which he excluded all Zionists) must uphold their right to armed resistance and seeking martyrdom in the course of defending their history, unity, dignity, and land. They must pursue fighting as opposed to yielding to humiliation.

Father Hanania declared that position from Karbala, the land of martyrdom: 

"We are Resistance fighters, we are Palestinian Fidaʼiyin, and many martyrs of ours have ascended to the Heavens; they are now alive with their Lord for they are honest believers who have proven true to what they pledged [to Allah].

 

In the meantime, we have not fulfilled our pledge [offering our lives], and we continue to wait [for our turn] to be honored with martyrdom.

 

And to the enemy, we reiterate the resounding oath [of Imam Hussein]: 'Never [yield] to humiliation.'"

Father Hanania’s message resonated from Karbala, the very land where Imam Hussein, along with his household members and a small group of supporters, wrote his final message in words and blood.

Read more: The Palestinian Resistance is beyond sectarian disintegration

Karbala, the first Islam, Christianity, and the Pharisees

There is great significance when the call for resistance resounds from Karbala. The Monk from Al-Jalil used his speech to draw on strong and deep-rooted facts that depict the truthful relationship between Christianity and Islam as two religions that the Arab people adopted at different time periods. He refused the rhetoric of war and confrontations between the two religious groups and reminded them that the primary identity of the people of this land has been Arab, maintaining that the secondary identity has been Jewish, Christian, or Muslim.

Here it is important to underscore that Father Monk Hanania explained, in a short interview for Al Mayadeen News Network following his speech in Karbala, the difference between Judaism and Zionism today by going back to the Holy Bible and drawing a parallel from the book of Revelation of Saint John 2:9 which read “thou art blasphemed by them that say they are Jews and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan."

To better clarify, Father Monk Hanania discussed the title of this year's International Call for Al-Aqsa Mosque II conference, which was the global dimensions of the missionary personality and the humanitarian cause of Imam Hussein (AS), wherein he insisted on highlighting what connects Imam Hussein’s character to the question of Palestine and why Imam Hussein’s cause parallels that of Palestine in its righteousness. 

To that, Father Hanania said, “We as Palestinians are concerned with the First Islam. Let's not forget the Arab clans that fled the Greeks and Romanians across the Arabian Peninsula and sought rapprochement with the Prophet's family and all this blessed family. Since the propagation of Islam, we have been working on this, which honestly means getting us away from the futile debate behind it.”

By “futile debate”, the monk meant the one propagated by the collective West and Zionists today, which started as early as the era of the Crusaders, which claimed that the threat to the Christian people was Islam. 

Father Hanania then added, “I'm telling you, the Jews of the Pharisees were behind that rhetoric [the futile debate] because they were the Zionists of that time.” In that context, the Palestinian Father Monk dubbed the Zionists as “the synagogue of Satan” considering that John's book of Revelation was speaking of the Pharisees.

A history of mutual respect and unity: two religions, one people

In Karbala, Father Monk Hanania opened his speech reminding of the First Islam that Arabs are interested in and identify with. He spoke of the Monastery of St. Katherina in Egypt’s Sinai, which houses a mosque that remains open until this day for all Muslims to hold their prayers in.

Inside the Monastery in Sinai, reminded the Monk, there exists a copy of the Ashtiname of Muhammad, a manuscript written by Imam Ali bin Abi Taleb (AS) and commissioned by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to the People of Scripture (Christians, Jews, Sabeans), granting them, their properties, and sacred beliefs protection and security across the Muslim world.

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In reiterating historical facts, the Palestinian Orthodox Father proved the kind of relationship that the people of this land, the Arab land, shared.

Together we fought the Crusades

The Arab Orthodox Church of Palestine, insisted Fr. Monk Hanania, is ever-present but has been sidelined to become almost completely forgotten. He explained that while he studied comparative religions at the Moody Bible Institute, he was directed toward a book that underscored that “if you want to get to know Prophet Ibrahim (PBUH), you must go to the Desert and to the Arabs” to understand the habits and culture of that people. Significantly, Father Monk Hanania said this was written just a few years after the occupation of Palestine.

However, the author did not say you must go to “Israel” to understand the culture and circumstances of Prophet Ibrahim. He said that to understand the Old Testament, one must understand Islam.

And that is true, as the Quran reads, “We believe in Allah and what has been revealed to us; and what was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and his descendants; and what was given to Moses, Jesus, and other prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them. And to Allah we all submit” (Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 122;136). This verse, once again, shows Islam as an extension, in its social and historical context, of Christianity, reaffirming that followers of prophets from Noah onward, who lived across the Arab world, are but one people, all of whom are Peoples of the Holy Book (Ahlul-Kitab) today.

Surah Al-Baqara also includes the history over time of this region dating back to Adam drawing on a cumulative understanding of the social, historical, and religious developments across the region.

Read more: Liberation movements in a historical echo: Latin America to West Asia

In a more historical context, Father Monk Hanania accentuated falsehood pushed through the premise of the rhetoric of the "futile debate" and shed light on the historical events in which Arab Christians played a role in facilitating the path of Muslims during the Islamic Conquest against the Crusades. He also reaffirmed that the dignity of the Arab people, both Christians and Muslims, is bound by path and destiny as they all belong to the larger Arab national identity.

The Orthodox Monk from Al-Jalil said, "It was us who supported Commander Salahudin in the face of Crusaders."

Here, it is worth noting that the crusades were fought not only against Muslims but also against Levantine Christians who allied with their Muslim counterparts to remain steadfast in the face of Latinization with the aim of safeguarding their West Asian Christian identity, which has become an integral part of the region's identity.

In other words, the Crusades were a colonial campaign in the face of all non-Western denominations.

Buried beneath lies an Arab church

This knowledge, said Father Monk Hanania, made him curious to search for a Christian Arab identity, and that is when he found the Christian Orthodox Church, in Palestine, with its Arab identity.

Father Monk Hanania, with great courage, determination, and a lack of reserve, then underscored that there was a “true Orthodox church” that he said was “buried beneath the dirt and we have to figure it out,” stressing that he has “discovered it and knows it very well.”

He confirmed that this Arab Church has a jurisprudence, a vision, a foundation, and a whole understanding of the world and the region. However, it has been buried, said the Father Monk, as he boldly emphasized that “on the shoulders of this Arab church, and over its glory, the Italian, Latin church of the Vatican Catholics has climbed.” Similarly, the “British and so-called evangelicals, the Protestant Brothers,” have also played a role in burying the Arab Church deeper into history.

The Arab Monk proclaimed, in an interview for Al Mayadeen, “We have no independent history! We have no history written in detail!”

However, this is not a weeping story. This is a call for action and one that has been present historically but could have been at best considered shy and isolated. Today, Father Monk Hanania announced that he, alongside a group of others, has been devising a plan to study and better understand and properly reveal the true historic ties of this Arab Orthodox Church that must refuse to remain buried just as Imam Hussein has refused to allow falsehood and Jesus has refused to deny his father and submit to Pontius Pilate.

Identifying with and adhering to these great martyrs - Jesus being the first martyr who was resurrected by God’s will to save humanity and Imam Hussein who was martyred alongside his companions to draw the path of righteousness with the blood that shall forever remain thicker than water - lays upon our shoulders great responsibilities as Christians, Muslims, and Ancient Israelites to stand for truth.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus Christ said:

“This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you.

No one can have greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.

You are my friends, if you do what I command you.

I shall no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know the master's business; I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father.” (John 13:15)

It is the kind of truth that can only be consolidated through talks, armed Resistance, and liberation at a time when imperialism has not only stolen our resources to keep us in-fighting for our daily bread but has also stolen from us our history and buried it deep into the ground.

Father Monk Hanania spoke on behalf of all the honorable Christians when he reiterated “Never [yield] to humiliation" and then reaffirmed that the revival of the true Arab Orthodox Church will “play a role in strengthening the Resistance across the region, especially the Palestinian Resistance.” 

The Arab Orthodox Church’s significance does not lie in its religious implication alone, but also in its social implication in, once again, uniting the Arab people as has done Imam Hussein. The Christian Arabs belong to their Arab identity, and they have a role in its culture and history. So, they must, once again, ascertain this role or they will inevitably perish as those they extend their current powers from, colonizers, will perish as well.

Read more: The Future of Arab Christians: One path, one destiny