The bishops of Malta have called on their followers to pray for peace in Syria and in the Middle East.

Prayers for peace have been going on since 1986, when Pope John Paul and leaders of world religions met at Assisi. Their prayers were not answered. In fact, the situation in the Middle East became even worse!

A year after the prayer meeting held in Assisi, violence - rather than peace - erupted in both Gaza and also in the West Bank during the Palestinian intifada.

The 1990s, then, witnessed the rise of Al-Qaeda.

The new millennium brought us the horror of 9/11, the war in Afghanistan and the catastrophic war in Iraq.

All the prayers in the world did not prevent the horrific civil war in Syria, the violence and chaos in Egypt and the spread of fundamentalism in the Muslim world.

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