EthicsDaily.com and CompassionRadio.com recently interviewed IMES Director Dr. Martin Accad in regard to this year’s upcoming Middle East Conference and on the ongoing Syrian Refugee Crisis.

1) Interview with EthicsDaily.com (April 10, 2013)

In reference to the upcoming Middle East Conference 2013, “Your Rights and My Responsibilities: Biblical and Islamic Perspectives on Human Rights,” Dr. Accad said that the topic of rights and responsibilities came about after a conversation with a Muslim friend and cleric who commented that Islam did not believe in human rights but in human responsibility.

“If you care for your neighbor, then your neighbor doesn’t need to claim his rights,” says Dr. Accad, paraphrasing his friend. “The more I thought about that,” says Dr. Accad, “the more I had a feeling that this was perhaps even closer to the biblical understanding of human rights.”

This year, the conference celebrates its 10th consecutive year. Last year, the conference dealt with the Israeli-Palestinian issue, whose Palestinian refugee situation Dr. Accad characterizes as “one of the more flagrant” human rights tragedies in the region.

The first day of the conference will focus more generally on the notion of human rights, with subsequent days focusing on specific rights issues involving, for example, conversion, human trafficking or the Arab Uprisings. It will also explore the tension between freedom of expression and the “defense of God.”

“We will not be dealing with it only from a theoretical perspective, but we will have some activists that will come and share with us about their own experience, their own initiatives,” says Dr. Accad.

Furthermore, “Participants won’t be hearing only from Christians, but as we do every year, we will have Muslim speakers that will come and speak for themselves rather than have Christians speak about them and about their positions.”

Listen to Dr. Accad’s interview below:

The interview was originally posted on EthicsDaily.com here. Dr. Accad has spoken previously with EthicsDaily.com in regard to the crisis in Syria and the implications of the Arab Spring.

For more information about MEC 2013 or to register please visit: www.ABTSLebanon.org/MEC2013

2. Interview with CompassionRadio.com (April 15, 2013)

Dr. Martin Accad’s interview with CompassionRadio.com,  is titled “A Christian Perspective on the Syrian Refugee Crisis”.

Compassion Radio writes, “News reports are often vague and incomplete from the frontlines in Syria. Many are hearing even less from the refugee [communities that line] the borders with Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon. But Compassion Radio has a long history reaching out to the Church in Syria and we do know enough to help. Right now at least 850 Christian Syrian families are huddled in the mountains of Lebanon waiting out the conflict. The situation is dire.”

However as Dr. Accad makes clear, “In a situation like this there are no Christians or Muslims. People are running for their lives, they’re losing everything they have, both Christians and Muslims of all backgrounds.”

In an effort to help fill in the details so that listeners can pray and act more effectively, CompassionRadio.com spoke with Dr. Accad.

You can listen to the interview below:

Dr. Accad’s interview first appeared here at CompassionRadio.com.