March 18, 2021
By Bassem Melki These days we are seeing people in “democratic” societies choosing to follow leaders who represent their own personal interests rather than leaders who identify with a country’s wider identity. People must ask themselves again if they will look for leaders who fit the values representing their communities […]
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 […]
December 9, 2020
By Tim Brys A few years ago, I was left rather shaken when confronted with the fact that Christians are not the only ones to enjoy deeply meaningful religious experiences. Consider for example the following account that I read in William James’s classic work, The Varieties of Religious Experience. James […]
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 […]
September 14, 2020
By Tim Brys, Martin Accad and Brent Hamoud When COVID-19 hit Lebanon in February 2020 bringing the country to a near standstill, the team at the Institute of Middle East Studies was challenged to rethink its peacebuilding initiatives in light of new social-distancing realities. This was quite difficult for programs […]
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 […]