Mitri Raheb

Mitri Raheb (born 1962 in Bethlehem, also: Mitri Rahib; Arab متري الراهب, DMG Mitri ar - Rahib ) is an Arab Christian, founder of the International Center in Bethlehem, founder of the Dar al - Kalima School and pastor of the Christmas Church in Bethlehem that belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land ( ELCJHL ). Raheb and his positions are known beyond the country's borders. In addition to and in conjunction with the school and a conference and cultural center it is the operator of a restaurant, a fitness and wellness clubs and other infrastructure facilities.

Life and work

As Raheb was 13 years old, his father died, so he continued next to the school his father's bookstore. Raheb later studied Protestant theology at the seminary Hermannsburg Mission and at the Philipps- University of Marburg. Here he received his doctorate in theology with a thesis on the church 's historic Evangelical Lutheran Church in Palestine. At the age of 26 years Raheb began to work as a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem. In 1989 he married Najwa Khoury. The couple has two daughters, Dana and Tala.

In 1995, Mitri Raheb the International Meeting Centre in Bethlehem ( International Center of Bethlehem - ICB, Arabic: Dar at - Nadwa ad Dawwliyya, 'Meeting the world "). In the first service after the end of the 39 -day Israeli siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in April and May 2002, in which around 200 fighters of the PLO had entrenched announced Raheb: "The war can not rob our vision of us in peace with our neighbors live together ". In 1998, the Dar al- Kalima Raheb School, 2003, the Dar al- Kalima Health & Wellness Center, 2004 Il'illiyeh restaurant and the al - Kuz Coffee shop, in 2010, finally, the Dar al - Kalima College Building.

Raheb is one of the signatories of the Kairos Palestine document from 2009.

Reception

2008 Raheb received the Aachen Peace Prize. In support of said chairman of the citizens' initiative Aachen Peace Prize that Raheb use, " in many ways for a peaceful coexistence between Jews and Palestinians ." 2011, the German media prize awarded him by former German President Roman Herzog.

Raheb represented as a Palestinian Christian, a group of Palestinians who play a significant role in the global struggle of opinion about the politics of Israel. The German theologian Ekkehard and Wolfgang Stegemann wrote in an open letter to the Evangelical Church in Germany, he propagating the " " dejudification " Jesus " and close to "Nazi theologian " to. In particular, after learning of the award Raheb with the German Media Prize were the allegations about the German -Israeli Society, he compare Israel to ahistorical manner and Defamatory intention with the apartheid regime in South Africa. With statements such as those that " Israeli occupation of Palestinian land " was " a sin against God," he Operating the " centuries-old anti-Semitic stereotypes ." The theologian Albrecht Lohrbächer throws Raheb before the glorification of violence.

Writings

  • The Reformation heritage among the Palestinians: the emergence of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan. Gütersloh, 1990, ISBN 3-579-00127-2.
  • Bethlehem 2000: Past and Present. Palmyra, Heidelberg 1998, ISBN 3-930378-21-3. German edition: Bethlehem 2000: A city between the times. Palmyra, Heidelberg 1998, ISBN 3-930378-18-3.
  • English: I am a Palestinian Christian.
  • English: Bethlehem Besieged

Awards

  • Wittenberg price of the Luther Institute, Washington, DC, 2003
  • Price of the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation
  • Muhammad Nafi - Tschelebi Prize, 2006
  • Aachen Peace Prize, 2008
  • German Media Prize, 2011
DIN 31635 Arab Christians Swissinfo Deutschlandfunk Integrated Authority File
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