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.
