February 25, 2021
By Martin Accad “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not understood it;” but “the darkness will not overcome it.” These words are part of the testimony of John the apostle, in his gospel (1:5), concerning Jesus. Earlier this month (on the 4th of February, which also […]
November 19, 2020
By Martin Accad and Tim Brys We previously wrote that Lebanese society is defined by sectarianism. This marriage of religion and Middle Eastern tribalism leads most Lebanese to think and live according to the dictates of their sectarian (tribal) leaders, whether they be Sunni, Maronite, Druze, etc. The 15 years […]
October 14, 2020
by Martin Accad and Tim Brys Whereas peacebuilding is generally viewed as a noble vocation, there are many who question the legitimacy and purpose of interfaith dialogue, notably in Evangelical circles. But what of places where religious belonging overlaps with sectarianism and where sectarianism represents the frontline of conflict? Lebanon […]
April 30, 2020
By Martin Accad My two young children (10 and 8) gathered around us a few days ago. My wife and I were going to have a heart-to-heart with them. Though we had so far decided to spare them the feelings of financial insecurity, we felt it was time to have […]
March 19, 2020
By Martin Accad Lebanon this academic year (2019-2020) has so far reaped three “pandemics:” the collapse of our political system, the collapse of our economy, and the collapse of our public health. Who could have predicted that we would use these words in a single sentence? As someone who grew […]
January 16, 2020
by Martin Accad The targeted assassination of Qassem Suleimani and of Abou Mahdi al-Muhandis at Baghdad Airport, authorized by President Donald Trump in the early morning of the January 3rd , officially baptized the new year of 2020 with blood. The elimination of the Major General of the Quds Force […]
December 19, 2019
By Martin Accad I arrive to a road block on my way to work in the Greater Beirut area. Young men are manning it, feeding the black smoke emerging from burning tires. Other iron and wood materials are strewn around randomly across the road. Cars and scooters dot the site […]
December 3, 2019
The Turkish Incursion into Northern Syria Reveals a Story of Kurdish Redemption by Martin Accad News On 7 October 2019, US President Donald Trump announced that he would begin the withdrawal of American troops from northern Syria, where they had been providing airpower support primarily to Kurdish forces on the […]