Fr. Jamal Khader, holder of the Cardinal Hume and Cardinal de Furstenberg Endowed Chair in Religious Studies at Bethlehem University, argued in a 2004 meeting in Europe about God and conflicts that religion in the 21st Century may be taken more seriously, but not in a positive manner. "In speaking of the Middle East, since the beginning of this century, especially after 9/11, one cannot avoid phrases such as ‘religion,' ‘religious tension,' ‘religious terrorism,'" specifying that "...fundamentalism is not exclusively an Islamic phenomenon." 

Peace, freedom and security for all!

"Let us pray for this University, for the Christian Brothers and for its students and teachers, who are working together to keep up hope in the midst of the difficulties that the Israeli occupation imposes the people of this area. We ask for peace, freedom and security for all," Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of Congregation for Oriental Churches, prayed as he knelt before the Tabernacle at Bethlehem University's Chapel of the Divine Child during his visit in February 2008. The Vatican, through the Congregation for the Oriental Churches and the De La Salle Christian Brothers are the co-founders of Bethlehem University, the only Catholic university in the Holy Land and the first university established in the West Bank.