Future of Christians in the Middle East: A panel discussion with H.H. Patriarch Aphrem II Karim during the Munich Security Conference (MCS)
The panel held on Saturday February 18th, 2017 was organized by the Hanns-Seidel Foundation which besides its political work is engaged in intercultural and interreligious dialogue. This panel became meanwhile an integral part of the official accompanying program for the MSC.
The chairman of the Foundation, Prof. Ursula Männle, opened the session welcoming the panelists. These were: Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Syriac-Orthodox Church, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Heiner Bielefeldt, formerly UN Special Rapporteur on Religious Freedom, Dr. Franz Josef Jung, Commissioner for Churches and Religious Issues of the CDU / CSU in the German Parliament and former Defense Minister, Nicodemus Daoud Sharaf, Archbishop of Mossul, and Archimandrite Emanuel Youkhana, Chairman of Christian Aid Program Northern Iraq (CAPNI).
The event was moderated by the German Ambassador in Luxenburg, Dr. Heinrich Kreft.
Abdulmesih BarAbraham, attending the event, summarizes and comments the discussion which was conducted in English and German. The speech of H.H. Patriarch Aphrem II Karim is presented as given.