December 14, 2017

O Jerusalem! If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace – but now it is hidden from your eyes… آه يا أورشليم! يا قدسُ! لَيتَكِ عرَفْتِ اليومَ طريقَ السَّلام! ولكِنَّه الآنَ مَحجوبٌ عن عَينَيكِ… بقلم مرتان عقّاد

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?
November 23, 2017

Guns, Israel, Justice and the United Nations: How My Context Shapes My Writing الأسلحة، وإسرائيل، والعدالة، والأمم المتحدة: سياقي وأثره في كتابتي

By Wissam al-Saliby I am grateful for several recent conversations with American pastor friends, during which we spoke about writing from and on the Middle East, trans-Atlantic (mis)perceptions and political fault lines. One of these friends, who leans toward political conservativism, told me that when reading my posts on the […]
July 27, 2017

Reflections on Citizenship

By Elie Haddad I am a native Lebanese citizen. I was born and raised in Lebanon. I love Lebanon, despite the insecurity, uncertainty, and corruption that characterize the country, and despite having grown up during the civil war. Lebanon has left its mark on me. Even the years of the […]
May 11, 2017

It Is the Centenary, but No One Is Celebrating!

By Elias Ghazal One hundred years ago, on November 2nd, the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, Lord Balfour, issued a letter on behalf of his government that favors the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine. Perceived as a fair resolution to Jewish persecution in […]
April 13, 2017

Statelessness: Banned from Belonging

By Brent Hamoud Much has been made of US President Trump’s executive decisions temporarily banning select nationals and refugees from entering the USA. The order has been met with opposition in forums ranging from airport terminals to federal courts, which have so far blocked the executive decision from going into […]
March 23, 2017

Migrant Crises in Muslim and Christian Countries

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are 63.91 million “persons of concern”, which includes refugees, people awaiting recognition as refugees, and people who have fled their homes but not sought refuge in another country. Of these, 16.1 million are refugees, that is people who fled […]
March 16, 2017

Re-Reading Our Times

The 1970s were defining for me. Those were my high school years. Growing up between Lebanon and the US gave me the opportunity to experience those formative high school years cross-culturally. I was a mid-western boy living in a Middle Eastern home. Recently, I’ve decided to reread some of my […]
February 23, 2017

The Church and the Banality of Evil

By Suzie Lahoud “For Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” 2 Cor.11:14 The Banality of Evil When the great political philosopher, Hannah Arendt, agreed to cover the trial of Nazi leader, Adolf Eichmann, it is doubtful that she or anyone could have predicted the shocking conclusion she was […]