Lebanon

The complexity of the Lebanese crisis teaches us not to rush to hasty conclusions regarding the Middle East and its numerous religious groups

Once again last month, the Arab World was caught in the crossfire of the Sunni-Shiite regional struggle that keeps threatening the future of this region’s people. In light of the United States’ renewed support for Saudi Arabia, which has been rearranging its internal policies in light of changing regional realities, Saudi authorities summoned the Lebanese-Saudi Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, to an unexpected visit to his second home. Shortly after and amidst obscure circumstances still unclear to this day, on the 4^th of November, Mr. Hariri resigned from his post as PM by means of a solemn anti-Iranian speech broadcast on Saudi Arabia’s news channel, Al-Arabiya. Read more

Palestine-Israel

With shifting political alliances between the US and Middle East regional forces, we must not lose sight of the most vulnerable who are paying the cost of these changes

Although “realignment” has been the word of the month in the world of Middle Eastern socio-political analysis, a likelier descriptor might be that of “making explicit that which has up to now remained implicit.” While US-Israeli relations and US-Saudi relations are nothing particularly new, this is the first time Israel and Saudi Arabia have been so publically affectionate. With economic partnerships and arms deals, Israeli generals on Saudi news networks, puff pieces exploring Arabia’s Jewish past, and other overtures toward “normalization,” it looked this month as though the third leg of this unlikely love triangle was on its way to being complete. Read more

Iraq

In post-war Iraq, the global Church will need to be a catalyst for unity and empowerment

Early last month, ISIS lost its final stronghold in the town of Bukamal in Syria. Now nearly completely decimated in Syria and Iraq, the last of its adherents in this area remain confined only to a few hideouts in surrounding villages and desert regions.

Although the facts on the ground should be hailed as good news, the reality is that ISIS’ ideology remains rooted in the hearts of many disgruntled individuals and groups in Syria, Iraq, and the region. Sunni constituencies, in particular, will not easily accept the vast loss of influence to Shiite and other regional powers. Analysists point out that ISIS now stands vulnerable to other jihadi groups, particularly al-Qaida and its affiliates in the region. Many will be drawn and recruited into such armed groups. Read more

Egypt

In times of horrifying intolerance and terrorism, the Church needs to resort to wisdom and discernment in responding to death and suffering

In the deadliest attack of its kind ever committed on Egyptian soil, Islamic militants killed over 300 worshippers, including 27 children, in a mosque in the north Sinai and wounded an additional 128 (Friday, 24 November 2017). After detonating a bomb during Friday prayers, gunmen positioned outside the mosque in off-road vehicles proceeded to fire indiscriminately upon worshippers as they fled in panic. Gunmen also fired on ambulances attempting to access the site of the massacre. The attack took place at Al Rawdah mosque in Bir al-Abed, west of El Arish, the main city in North Sinai. Read more

South Sudan

The entrepreneurial spirit of the South Sudanese people in the midst of war is a lesson in resilience for all of us

The ongoing conflict in South Sudan has resulted in multiple negative repercussions on South Sudanese society. One such repercussion, according to a recent UNHCR survey, is that over half a million men, women and children currently find themselves at risk of statelessness. As our own Brent Hamoud has pointed out in a recent post, statelessness results in a situation whereby persons find themselves unable to marry, find a job, go to school, own property, or claim a parent or spouse’s property because they lack the proper identification and legal paperwork that comes only with state citizenship. When individuals find themselves in a situation of displacement resulting from civil conflict, such documentation is extremely difficult to come by. An additional repercussion on South Sudanese society is that of the extremely low levels of education, especially for girls, resulting from constant displacement and the great potential for violence on the roads. In fact, South Sudan currently has one of the lowest levels of education in the world. Read more

Morocco

We ought to welcome Morocco’s new openness to religious minorities, despite any suspicions we might hold concerning motives

A previously unprecedented conference calling for an increase in the rights of religious minorities within the kingdom, under the title “Freedom of Conscience and Belief: Between Recognition and Coexistence,” took place in Rabat, Morocco, on the 18th of November 2017. Morocco is predominantly Sunni Muslim and religious minorities, including Christians, Jews, Shia Muslims, and Baha’is, all together constitute scarcely 1% of the population. Yet despite or perhaps because of their small size, these religious minorities often face marginalization and exclusion within broader Moroccan society. Organized by the Tanweer Movement, which struggles to gain official recognition by the government, the conference was attended by human rights activists, academics, preachers and representatives from a variety of religious minority groups in the country. Read more