Linking religion across Europe Pastor builds Arab Christian community not only in Bonn
Bonn · A Protestant community helps refugees and strives for a European network of Arab Christians. Their primary goal is integration because many have lost confidence they could return home to countries where Christians are oppressed.
Christian prayers are spoken in Arabic in this service - and like the sermon they are then translated into German. Each week, between 50 and 100 worshipers from many different countries, come to the Free Arabic Protestant Church in Bonn, explains pastor Elia Daoud. The 56-year-old is from Iraq, where he was involved in the founding of churches and in the Iraqi Bible Society. Since 2000, the father of three has been with his family in Germany.
He has been in charge of the Arab Christian communities in Bonn and Cologne since 2005, and became pastor of the Bonn community in 2008. “I am also actively involved in founding parishes in Germany and Europe,” he explained.
In 2014, Daoud was made president of the Protestant Alliance of Arabic Speakers in Europe. At the last conference held in Karlsbad, Daoud articulated a goal for the alliance of 116 parishes in Europe. He wants to strengthen the network in Europe to encourage the members in their faith. This is important with the background of a growing persecution of Christians especially in Arab countries, and it has recently been documented in an alarming ecumenical report. "The pressure on Christians in the Middle East has become even stronger," Daoud tells his newly added parishioners. The Arabic-speaking Christians have lost confidence that they will ever be able to live in their homeland in peace and with religious freedom, he says.
The Bonn parish concerns itself especially with refugees who have come from Syria, Iraq, Egypt and other Arab countries. “Twice a week we have appointments where we accompany people to meetings,” says the pastor. Refugees are helped financially so that they can reunite their families. “We invite them for a meal together twice monthly. We accompany them to official bureaus and doctors to translate for them,” explains Daoud. They help the refugees in setting up their households, and to learn German as quickly as possible. "The primary goal is always integration. Because in the countries of origin, in which Christians are oppressed, nobody wants them back anymore. "
Elia Daoud has a constantly changing community because of the integration goal. They want that their members grow into the local German-speaking communities as soon as possible. "We consciously work with the local communities." That's why his services are always translated into German. Often they worship together with the German community.
“Our parishioners want to become Germans," emphasizes Daoud. But their worries are conveyed to him, they don’t understand why they would have to be afraid again of Islamists, from whom they fled. So he builds solidarity between German Christians and their sisters and brothers from Arab countries. (Orig. text: Ebba Hagenberg-Miliu, Translation: ck)
