{"id":29056,"date":"2025-04-23T11:04:29","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T09:04:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michelsanti.fr\/?p=29056"},"modified":"2025-04-23T11:08:07","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T09:08:07","slug":"the-message-from-une-jeunesse-levantine-to-the-ferocity-of-francoiss-detractors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michelsanti.fr\/en\/michel-santi-2\/the-message-from-une-jeunesse-levantine-to-the-ferocity-of-francoiss-detractors","title":{"rendered":"The message from “Une Jeunesse Levantine” to the ferocity of Fran\u00e7ois’s detractors"},"content":{"rendered":"

“How could a Pope, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, have favored a Muslim invasion of Europe?<\/em>
A pope who defends the development of radical Islam.<\/em>
That red Jesuit.<\/em>
We need a European Pope who understands History and sees the difference between welcoming and invading… Welcoming human beings who respect us and want to integrate is a blessing… welcoming people who want to replace us, wipe us out, conquer us… No!”<\/em><\/p>\n

This is just a sample of the flood of commentary found all over the internet regarding the recently deceased Pope Francis.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t help but place these reactions in perspective with my own experience as a Christian who once went to Mecca, then was recruited into the radical Christian militia “Guardians of the Cedars” in Lebanon, and later became a \u201cdisciple\u201d of Khomeini \u2014 the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and one of the most monstrous figures of the 20th century.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What the young Michel Santi lived through \u2014 the Michel Santi of today would like to explain to all those harsh critics of a recently deceased Pope that life is not a matter of choosing sides, of being for or against.<\/strong><\/p>\n

How can we make them understand the immense complexity and entanglement of all the communities that populate this world \u2014 and even more so, a geographically defined region stretching from Lebanon to Iran, passing through Saudi Arabia?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The greatest value of my story lies in deconstructing this hatred and misunderstanding.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because the young man whose very real story unfolded in a dramatic period (between 1975 and 1982) is living proof that accepting and respecting difference requires no Herculean effort \u2014 only a willingness to know the Other, whom we are often so quick to vilify.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Une jeunesse levantine<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n