October 11, 2018

The Courage to Love

By Chaden Hani “The courage to love” was an expression I first heard from an active Lebanese politician considered to be the godfather of Christian reconciliation, who helped reconcile two major political parties in the country. He also said that our only hope is for the church to rise. Armed, […]
March 29, 2018

Peacebuilding Through Music: A Language that has the Potential to Assuage Bitterness and Grief and Open Up Hardened Hearts بناء السلام من خلال الموسيقى: لغة لديها القدرة أن تسكّن المرارة والحزن، وتفتح القلوب القاسية

By Raffi Chilingirian “What you played inside was so beautiful,” an elder in my church told me, making sure that I heard his assuring words before my departure. I’ve been playing the Armenian Duduk, an ancient instrument found by various names in the Caucasus, during prayer sessions within my church’s Sunday services. […]
June 1, 2017

Can You Trust Muslim Kindness this Ramadan?

By Martin Accad In post 9/11 anti-Muslim discourse, taqiyya has been redefined as a religious obligation for Muslims to lie to non-Muslims not simply for survival, but in order to serve the expansionist agenda of their religious community. According to the taqiyya-focused strand of the anti-Muslim moral panic, Muslims stand condemned for their […]
May 4, 2017

Biblical Peace begins at Home: Challenging Common Notions of Peace in the Global Church

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 […]
April 20, 2017

Social Capital: Seeds of Friendship Growing into a National Symbol for Reconciliation

By Manal el-Tayar Her voice quivered as she started speaking. One could sense how intimidating it must have felt for a twenty-year-old to address a crowd of religious leaders, politicians, ambassadors, civil society leaders, academicians and other notable delegates about her vision for a united Lebanon. As Alaa spoke, she […]
February 16, 2017

The US Immigration Ban: A View from the Kingdom

By Mike Kuhn Thus the so-called outsiders are really only “insiders” who have not yet understood and apprehended themselves as such. (Karl Barth, ”The Humanity of God”) “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.” (Engraved on the […]
February 2, 2017

A Wakeup Call for People of Faith in the Twenty-First Century

By Martin Accad Judging from the opening seventeen years of this new millennium, I expect the twenty-first century to be one of major social and political transition. We have entered an age where world religions are having a key role in the rise of global conflicts, and in which therefore […]
December 16, 2016

Kerygmatic Peacebuilding (Part 2): What Does Peace Have to do with the Gospel?

By Jesse Wheeler Note: This is a difficult week to speak of peace. With heartbreaking tragedy in Egypt and unspeakable horror unfolding in Syria just a few hours away, peace now seems more than ever like an elusive dream continually beyond reach – all while I sit here feeling helpless […]