Gaza -

The scene of cohesion at the funeral of the late colleague Shireen Abu Akleh was not an exceptional case of the distinguished historical relationship that reflects the "mosaic" of Islamic-Christian interdependence on the land of Palestine since the Islamic conquest.

This relationship is discussed by the Palestinian writer and historian Hussam Abu Al-Nasr in his book "The Copts in Jerusalem", which received a few days ago an award presented by the "Jerusalem Intellectuals Forum" as the best book dealing with the history of the city of Jerusalem for the year 2022.

A historical perspective

The book - which was issued by the Department of Palestinian Encyclopedia at An-Najah National University in Nablus in the West Bank - is located in 100 pages of medium size, and includes 4 chapters that include the history of the Coptic presence in Palestine, Coptic culture, architecture and laws, the relationship of Copts with other religions and sects in Palestine, and Coptic political life .

Through this book, Abu al-Nasr wanted to document the depth of suffering experienced by the Copts and their Palestinian brothers from other religions as a result of the brutality of the Israeli occupation, and he told Al Jazeera Net, "This suffering continues with the passage of 74 years since the Nakba, and the occupation does not differentiate in its brutality between a Muslim and a Christian."

In the first chapter of the book, Abu al-Nasr deals with the definition of the Copts, the Egyptian Christians who lived in Jerusalem two thousand years ago, and contributed to one of the oldest churches on earth, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the occupied city of Jerusalem.

The second chapter talks about Coptic culture, architecture and laws, and in the third chapter Abu Al-Nasr focuses on the relations of the Copts with other religions and sects, with reference to the customs, holidays and traditions of other Christian sects and their different languages.

Regarding the Copts’ relationship with Muslims, Abu al-Nasr says that it was embodied in the age covenant, and they lived in security, peace, coexistence and cooperation under Islam.

The fourth chapter was entitled "Coptic political life", in which Abu Al-Nasr discussed the position of the Copts on the Palestinian cause, which was escalating and confronting the Israeli occupation, and the rejection of the resolution to partition Palestine (No. 181 issued by the United Nations in 1947), as well as the participation of Copts in the wars in support of Palestine. .

Abu Al-Nasr has 8 other publications that talk about different aspects of Palestinian history, most notably: "The Green Palm Revolution" and documents the first Palestinian military action against the English Mandate in the thirties of the last century, and "The History of Palestine Manuscripts", which traces its history from the time of the Canaanites to the Islamic conquest, and "Pencil" includes a collection of articles on various issues that he wrote over a period of 15 years.

Christian history in Palestine

Abu al-Nasr believes that the history of Palestine cannot be read in isolation from the Christian presence that extended on this land for decades. He says that the Christian religion started from the land of Palestine, and despite the decline in the number of Palestinian Christians at the present time, there are valuable traces that point to this deep presence. time.

It is estimated that only 1% of the Palestinian people on the land of historic Palestine are Christians at the present time, and about 45,000 of them live in the Palestinian Authority's lands in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

According to Abu al-Nasr, the churches of the "Nativity" in the city of Bethlehem in the West Bank, the "Resurrection" in occupied Jerusalem, and the "Annunciation" in the city of Nazareth in the occupied Palestine in 1948;

It is the oldest historically on earth, as well as other churches and monasteries dating back hundreds of years, including the “Porphyrios” church in Gaza, which was built more than 700 years ago.

Historical discoveries prove - according to Abu Al-Nasr - that the Palestinians did not owe absolutely to the Jewish religion throughout history, and were on the religion of Christianity until the Islamic conquest. Palestine.

Abu al-Nasr hails from a refugee family from the village of Deir Sneid. He says that all Palestinian cities whose names begin with “Deir” refer historically to the Christian presence and the monasteries that were scattered throughout the Palestinian land.

One race, common enemy

Abu Al-Nasr said that we and our Christian brothers are "one common race", and our social fabric is cohesive and interconnected through time, and has not been tainted by any deep fundamental differences, as is the case in other countries that have reached the point of "bloody fighting", and what unites us is much greater than what divides us, and we have many Commonalities.

Abu al-Nasr found in the murder of colleague Shireen Abu Aqila a good example to demonstrate one of these commonalities that unite Palestinians, Muslims and Christians, in the face of the oppression of the occupation.

In his opinion, "Shirin was killed because she was a patriotic Palestinian, regardless of her religion." Only a few days had passed since the "horrific scene" of the occupation soldiers violating the sanctity of her funeral and assaulting her mourners, until they committed the same act with the funeral of the martyr Walid al-Sharif, who was one of those stationed in Al-Aqsa Mosque.

He stressed that these crimes, despite the pain and tragedies they bear, "unite us as Palestinians" with the difference of religion, even sects, which was embodied in one of the very rare times in which the churches of Jerusalem united by ringing the bells of their churches in Shirin's funeral, and scenes of Muslims protecting their naked bodies "her burial body." In a coffin" from falling despite the brutality of the occupation.

Abu Al-Nasr said that the Christians who resisted the Western Crusades, and stood in one front with the Muslims in defense of their lands, are the same ones who are paying the price today for their steadfastness and steadfastness in the face of the Israeli occupation.