HEART FOR LEBANON

     I highly recommend this Christian Mission Group as worthy of all of our support. This group under the direction of Camille Melki, whom I have met personally along with his family, aids refugees, Christian and Muslim, from warn-torn Syria, especially the children, and works through education programs to educate the people against radicalism.

     Heart for Lebanon  operates a mobile education unit that travels to refugee camps and villages to educate the people against potential radicalization.

How Do We Overcome Fanaticism?

Or more specifically, how do we do whatever it takes in our power to mitigate and counteract the factors that lead to fanaticism?

I don’t pretend to be an expert on political issues affecting the world we live in, nor am I a counter-terrorism analyst. But on my flight back home from a week long mission’s conference, that was the question that kept dogging me: how do we stop fanaticism, and overcome this “excessive and unreasonable zeal?” To my mind, it’s going to take political will and cultural shifts, an abundance of education and those of us who are believers.

During the conference, that question, that thought, that concern came up again and again as I chatted with others. When you participate in a conference with 400 other representatives from around the globe, you find yourself discussing everything from food provisions to the depths of your faith, but the overarching conversation I had at this particular conference was around this topic. Can fanaticism be overcome, and if so, how? How do we do it? What does the effort look like? Where do we begin?

A quick digression and reminder, compliments of Webster’s Dictionary:
The word fan is one we use to describe people who love sports teams, celebrities, writers, movie genres and food groups. It’s a simple and benign word describing excitement. Fans are enthusiasts; they are devotees.
Next, there’s the fanatic, where the zeal for something, usually political or religious, heads to the “extreme.”

Finally, there’s fanaticism. And here’s the dictionary definition “wildly excessive or irrational devotion, dedication, or enthusiasm.” And this is what worries us all when it describes religion or politics when used to overreach and abuse, … threaten instead of lift up.

As someone born and raised in the Middle East, I have often seen marginalized and rejected communities become subject to radicalized, fanatical influences. They’re easy targets. The most vulnerable will clutch to easy answers that can lead to a way out, a way up or some relief. The most vulnerable are the poor and, of those, the children, who are easily influenced, swayed and guided to beliefs that will not ultimately serve them. Unless children are given hope for a better future, unless children are granted the freedom to dream of a better tomorrow, fanatic and radical teachers will always have the upper hand in brainwashing and indoctrinating the young and fragile generation of this region. I feel certain that the faith-based community is called to invest heavily in the lives of young children who live in total despair.

Heart for Lebanon fights against fanaticism and for the hearts and minds of children through our Hope on Wheels program (HOW), through our Hope School of Music, and through our 3 H.O.P.E. schools in Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, and Southern Lebanon. In each one of our programs, the dignity and innocence of children is being restored, strengthened and reclaimed for Christ.

At our H.O.P.E. schools, we help overcome poverty through education. We’ve all heard knowledge is power, but it’s also a gateway to self-knowledge and self-worth. We want the children and families we serve to see the value in themselves, their families, their lives and to see their God-given potential.

We incorporate Biblical character traits in our curriculum. Children are taught forgiveness, humility, love, and respect. They are also taught to accept one another and to value diversity and ethnic differences. Students are encouraged and rewarded when the exemplify positive leadership and are recognized and praised when they show acts of kindness towards others and live out Biblical principles.

At Heart for Lebanon, we exist to see lives changed and communities transformed and we reach out practically (through transactional relief), relationally (through community building and one-on-one care for families) and transformationally, when we can share our faith with those we serve. More succinctly, this means that we are called to move people from despair to hope, and in particular, the at-risk children we serve.

Part of irradiating fanaticism is modeling anti-fanatic, Biblically-based faith and hope. We cannot touch every life, but we can start with the children. It isn’t just strategic, it’s what Christ asks us to do in His name.

– Camille Melki

     I would like to add to Mr. Melki's comments with the comment that God is proclaiming his power and glory by sending the Muslims of Syria and other middle eastern countries fleeing from the violence of the Islamic radicals in their countries to give us, his servants, the opportunity to spread the GOOD NEWS and its loving message to them. Let's not waste this glorious opportunity that our Father set's before us.