October 24, 2018
By Martin Accad Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and moderately outspoken critic of Crown Prince Muhammed Bin Salman, became an unlikely household name for most of us this month. After choosing self-imposed exile – apparently for security reasons last year – he became a US resident and a regular columnist […]
June 21, 2018
By Martin Accad The debate about the nature of the relationship between religion, violence, and evil has been rather lively in recent months and years. Between the nauseating treatment of Muslim dissidents and non-Muslims in Syria and Iraq in the name of “Islam,” the continued bloody oppression of Palestinians justified […]
April 12, 2018
By Martin Accad Let me start with a confession: At 45 years old, I have never voted in the Lebanese General Elections! As a child of the Lebanese Civil War, I developed a cynical attitude to the possibility that change will come through the current political process. Why would I […]
February 15, 2018
By Martin Accad On February 7, 2018, Al-Joumhouriah daily Lebanese newspaper published an article by Ambassador Massoud Al-Maalouf, which denounced the devastating role of American evangelicals in shaping toxic US foreign policies towards the Middle East, particularly towards the Palestinian cause. His depiction of evangelicals in this article is simplistic […]
December 14, 2017
By Martin Accad These were Jesus’ words of lament, as he entered the city of Jerusalem, where shortly after he would meet his death on a Roman cross. The apostle Luke tells us in his account that Jesus wept over the city. But why did he weep?
July 6, 2017
By Martin Accad The Arab Baptist Theological Seminary has just completed its fourteenth Middle East Conference/Consultation, organized by its Institute of Middle East Studies, the highlights of which were presented last week through our blog. Under the overarching concept of “disorienting times,” we explored the four themes of “Persecution and […]
May 4, 2017
By Martin Accad In his significant visit to Cairo, Egypt, last week, Pope Francis delicately tackled a whole series of sensitive issues in the gracious way that has become his trademark. Many conservatives, both Christian and Muslim, were nervous about his visit. Christian conservatives feared that he would lean over […]