January 30, 2014

Abu al-Qasim’s Pomegranates

This is the second post in the ongoing series: Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World. You may read the first post here. By Mike Kuhn* Last week I found myself reading a dialogue—an actual conversation—between a Muslim government official, Abu al-Qasim, and an Eastern Orthodox bishop—Elias.[1]  You may suspect that […]
January 16, 2014

Providing Aid as Part of Christian Witness – Manipulation or Act of Mercy

This is the first post in an ongoing series: Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World. By Rupen Das The latest Pew Research Center report states that violence and discrimination against religious groups by governments and rival faiths has reached an all-time high. The number of countries where religious minorities are […]
January 9, 2014

Event Announcement – Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World: Recommendations for Conduct.

The Institute of Middle East Studies (IMES) is honored to be hosting a discussion on the Arabic language version of the landmark document Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World: Recommendations for Conduct [Arabic/English]. The event is to be held on Tuesday, February 11th at 7pm in the Elias Salibi Hall […]
January 2, 2014

The Proclamation of the Gospel: Pope Francis’ Evangelli Gaudium and Islam

By Arthur Brown Last month saw the publication of Pope Francis’ Evangelli Gaudium – The Joy of the Gospel. This rare and significant publication, known as an apostolic exhortation, seeks to encourage the faithful to live out the teachings of the Catholic Church within the context of the day. It is clear both from […]
December 25, 2013

Homage to the Mothers of Syria

By Martin Accad Every Christmas is a time of laughter and tears, of life and death, of singing and mourning, of beauty and ashes. For every person experiencing joy, there is one experiencing suffering. For every mother delighting in her newborn, there is another grieving the loss of hers. For […]
December 20, 2013

Are We Called to be Sheep?

By Sara Obeid* “I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.” – Alexander the Great Recently, I came to discover just how difficult it is to convince a Lebanese person (Muslim, Christian, or […]
December 12, 2013

Seeking a ‘Final Solution’ to the Palestinian Question: John Kerry, Nelson Mandela, and the Problem of Palestine

By Jesse S. Wheeler On 7 December 2013, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry eulogized South African President Nelson Mandela with the following words: “My friends, as everyone here knows, the world is mourning the loss of a great leader right now, Nelson Mandela. Mandela was a stranger to hate. […]
December 6, 2013

Celebrating Two Lives

By Arthur Brown Today has brought with it a mix of emotions for me. As the father of an African-Lebanese little boy who celebrates his first birthday today there is joy. Jonathan, who we are in the process of adopting, came into our lives eight months ago and has transformed […]