BEIRUT: Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai Friday said a genuine Arab Spring, rather than one driven by foreign influence, was yet to come.

Rai called on Christians in the Levant to join hands with Muslims to build a democratic nation based on human rights, equal citizenship, the rule of law and the principles of justice and peace.

“Thus, Christians and Muslims can achieve a genuine Arab Spring emanating from within and not imported from abroad for political, economic and strategic reasons, which are often at the expense of national interests,” Rai said during a Mass to mark Epiphany.

He also said fundamentalism would destroy the current Arab Spring.

“Religious fundamentalism, whatever its leanings, could turn the spring into a winter, if it doesn't have the goal of building a democratic civil society," Rai said. “Violence and terrorism also warn of a devastating winter."

At the domestic level, Rai called on Christians and Muslims in Lebanon to “preserve the Lebanese entity which is made up of both Christians and Muslims ... and based on the two cultures – Christians and Muslims which together make a nation of diversity rich in traditions and values.”

Rai also called on the various political officials “not to separate between their duty towards the State and towards God, and to commit to the cause of peace, human rights and dignity of human being.”