Islamists were in heavy attendance at the conference titled “Eastern Christians in Light of the Arab Spring,” which was held in the Jordanian capital, Amman, on Sept. 27-29 and attended by Al-Monitor. Islamists of various stripes came from several countries of the Arab East, including Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Palestine and Iraq. The attendees were looking forward to a genuine discussion between them and their Christian compatriots. At first, the Islamists kept silent, listening and observing. But the sensitivity of the issues that were raised forced them to break their silence.
With few words — mostly as an answer or a reaction — the Islamists seemed generally more rigid and more attached to their ideas than usual. But the interaction between the two sides was remarkable and revealed the barriers to dialogue. This is illustrated in the following examples: