Samir Khalil Samir

For the first time in history, a dozen Arab countries have decided to launch a joint military force to fight terrorism. The idea in itself good, in practice is sliding into a sectarian struggle between Sunni and Shia. Instead they could fight the Islamic state, ensure the return of Christians in Iraq and in Syria, push for peace between Israel and Palestine.

The grand imam of Al-Azhar slammed literalist interpretations of the Qur'an and the Sunnah, as fundamentalists and Islamic terrorists do. He supports the urgent need for Islam's reform, especially in terms of teaching lay people and clerics. He also calls for an end to mutual excommunication (takfir) between Sunnis and Shias. Egyptian President al-Sisi chose to fight the Islamic state group after it beheaded 21 Coptic Christians, whom he called "Egyptian citizens" with full rights.

The Islamic State is a direct threat to Italy and Europe. The biggest risk is its power on "lone wolves" who can be induced to carry out attacks. As jihadism gives purpose to young European Muslims experiencing a crisis of identity and values, the new word "crusader" is disproportionately used in the war of words. Meanwhile, some kind of military operation has become necessary to curb Islamists' harmful and deadly power.

As Sunnis try to regain the power they lost in Iraq, in Lebanon, Syria, and elsewhere, the hatred that divides them from Shias is getting worse. Islam should address in depth the issue of modernity - through an exhaustive interpretation of the Qur'an, non-violence, freedom of conscience - yet nobody dares to do so. In the West, immigrants should be asked to take part the existing economic, political, and social system. Mosques should be controlled as they are in Muslim countries.

The bloodthirsty and dramatic violence of the Islamic State has met with lukewarm condemnation but above all the silence of the Muslim world. The causes: an education system that rejects critical thought in preference of memorization; a religion that paralyzes reason and intelligence (as Muslims themselves state). The hideous cruelty of the former Isis goes against the Koran and the life of Muhammad. But are the humus in which the violence "in the name of God" appears justified. Islam needs to be profoundly renewed through a radical transformation of the educational method.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s rhetoric is bankrupt. No Muslim wants to live in a caliphate. Moreover, no-one accepts him as "caliph". But he is correct in pointing out that the Islamic world is in decline, and Muslims themselves are responsible for this. Israel and "conspiracy” theories. The rebirth of Islam through open dialogue in society, based on universal and shared values. Otherwise the demise of Islam is likely.

Raised as a Christian, the Sudanese woman was sentenced to death for apostasy. Because she was married to a Christian man, she was also given 100 lashes for adultery. As Islamic radicalism spreads its violence around the world, it is time for Muslims to condemn Islam's violent version, choosing the "Islam of the city," not the "Bedouin Islam of the desert."

The Islamist movement accuses the Egyptian government of helping "the Israeli occupation". However, by choosing the path of violence, Hamas has created the current unsustainable situation in Gaza. Egypt shows that the diplomatic path is more fruitful. The court's decision is in line with the Arab Spring, against an ideological and religious dictatorship and for democracy.

There are so many positive things in Evangelii gaudium, its urging Christians and Muslims towards a relationship in love and truth, to work for peace, to enrich each other, to welcome immigrants ... But there are also some points that provoke criticism: is the "compassionate and merciful" God of the Muslims really the same as the Trinity? And are the Jesus and Mary in the Koran the same as the Gospels? And is Christian fundamentalism the same as Muslim fundamentalism? What is really urgent - as suggested by Francis – is "a proper reading of the Koran," which Muslims resist.

Christians , moderate Muslims , Shiites are strangled by terrorist violence in Syria , Egypt, Kenya , Pakistan ... This flare up is a sign of the deep crisis of Islam, which has not yet addressed the discernment of the modern world and prefers to take refuge in an outdated Islam. The Islamic world must recognize connivance with such violence. The commitment of Christians to dialogue with Islam and modernity.

The Egyptian people, Muslims and Christians, alongside the army, have rejected the Brotherhood for failing to improve the economy and for its obsession with power and the establishment of an Islamic Caliphate. The Muslim Brotherhood is despised by all, but admired by the West. Incomprehensible positions taken by Barack Obama and the European Union. First priority, Presidential elections, to be held soon.

Fatima, Harissa, Damascus, Samalut, Assiut, Zeitun and many other places where the Virgin appeared are the destination of incessant pilgrimages from Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Iran. Pilgrims in search of physical but also spiritual healing; spontaneous and mystical prayer and not the schematic and formal verses of official Islam. The iconoclast Salafists destroy places of pilgrimage every year. But the devotion to Mary is growing, also fueled by the stories of the Koran. The spiritual dialogue between Christians and Muslims is much more promising than cultural, theological or political dialogue.