In the midst of the escalating developments in Lebanon and the region and the tense relationship between America and some Muslim countries, a "nice" meeting was held between the Religious Authority, Sayyed Muhammad Hussein Fadlullah, and an American diplomat who was a member of the American Congress for more than twenty years, an ambassador for fighting hunger and poverty, responsible for a humanitarian file that George Bush has commissioned him with and an activist for peace between the United States and the Arab world.

It seems that the meeting tried to perceive the essence of the aggravating problem of poverty and hunger in the region. Hence, Sayyed Fadlullah emphasized that the American Administration is responsible not only for the wars and strives in the region, but also for "impoverishing the region".

In the beginning of the meeting, The Sayyed welcomed the role of the American official, indicating that this role meets with that of the "Islamic Charity Association" and its work for helping the poor, victims of wars, the sick, and orphans.

H.E. said: "We believe that the problem of poverty is what causes the deterioration of the political and security reality. Therefore, when we fight poverty, we open more doors for peace. Fighting terrorism also requires solving the issue of poverty through studying the real problems of the oppressed and poor peoples, especially in Africa. That is because we can not fight terrorism by force, but through working on studying its causes, since terrorism is represented by small groups here and there and we can not fight these groups with regular armies, but rather we should make a study that takes into consideration the social factors that affect the political reality, as well as the security and political problems and their effects on the society. Thus, we have noticed that the occupation of Iraq has saved the Iraqis from Saddam Hussein, but it made Iraq a main field for terrorism.

The American guest was delighted to listen to The Sayyed's moving words about the danger of the diseases in Africa, especially "AIDS", and about chaos and poverty and their effects on the political reality. His Eminence also pointed out to the Palestinian reality and to the American responsibility in impoverishing Palestine through supporting the Israeli blockade.

Fadlullah said: "The chaos in Palestine and the violence against the Palestinians can not be solved except through an economic plan that makes the Palestinian person feels that he is able to live in dignity and peace. And here we ask about the role of human rights and other organizations".

Addressing the American diplomat, the Sayyed added: "The error your administration has made is that it has considered the Palestinian issue a security issue, knowing that it is a political issue with distinction. Besides, talking about recognizing Israel is an unrealistic matter regardless of the Sharia stand. Thus, the question is that does Israel recognize the Palestinian people? Does America perform its role in this domain? The problem lies in the fact that the policy of the American Administration and even the policy of the Congress is not realistic and it is absolutely aligned with Israel and ignores the difficult social circumstances of the Palestinian people although everyone knows that if the Palestinian issue is not solved in a just and independent way, the entire region will remain in a state of security and political instability. Thus, America will lose the Arab and Muslim "street" although it will gain on the level of the regimes. You are talking about democracy and we ask which of these regimes came through democracy?"

Moreover, H.E. raised with the diplomat the American repeated talk that comes under the title "Why do they hate us?" His Eminence said: "Muslims and Arabs do not hate the American people. We do not love your policy. Therefore, the American Administration has to adopt a new agenda, before the problems become more aggravated and complicated."

The meeting also discussed the issue of dialogue among religions. Sayyed Fadlullah confirmed that "we call for a meeting of religions, especially between Muslims, Christians and even Jews. We as Muslims recognize Christ, since, he is Allah's prophet and we sanctify his mother, Virgin Marry. We also respect the Gospel, the Quran, the Torah, and Prophet Moses. Therefore, we call for a dialogue among religions on the basis of the spiritual, moral and humanitarian values that they all agree upon. They also have to discuss the doctrinal issues, and the like, upon which they disagree. Thus, there are no problems between us, the Christians and the Jews on the religious level. Our problem with Israel is a political one and those who oppressed the Jews are the Westerners, while the Jews have never been exposed to any oppression in the Muslim countries".

In the end, Fadlullah said: "We call for a universal peace on the basis of the humanitarian values that all nations agree on".

Before the meeting ended, the diplomat asked Sayyed Fadlullah to allow him to say a supplication that he had derived from his love to Christ. He said: "Oh My Lord, bless this great man, bless his people and help us to cooperate and work in solving the problems between us."