October 3, 2013

Children Participating in Syria’s Armed Conflict

By Wissam al-Saliby* The Syrian war has become one of the widest scale challenges to children’s rights. Recent global initiatives highlighted the need for mobilizing resources to provide education to hundreds of thousands of refugee and displaced children. In this post, I will highlight the issue of recruitment of children […]
September 6, 2013

IMES Joins Worldwide Call to Prayer and Fasting for Syria

According to the Catholic News Agency, on September 1, Pope Francis called on people of all faiths and of no faith, “all people of good will,” to spend September 7 in prayer and fasting for the situation in Syria. The World Evangelical Alliance has already responded to this call. We are […]
September 5, 2013

The Syrian Homeless: Reflections of an Aleppine Pastor

Our post this week is the translation of an Arabic news email, containing pastor Mounir al-Ajji of Aleppo’s reflections on the situation of Syrian displaced persons in Syria and Lebanon. Nothing expresses better the tragedy and distress that has beset our dear Syrian brothers and sisters than such a poignant […]
June 27, 2013

Saving Syria

By Rupen Das The Middle East Conference last week at ABTS focused on the Christian and Islamic perspectives on human rights. It not only explored the theological and scriptural foundations of each, but also the implications for the universalization of rights within a region that is undergoing seismic shifts. On […]
June 1, 2013

The Day Hamas Walked Away from Damascus: What Future for the MENA Church? (Part 2)

By Martin Accad In my blog post last week, I suggested that Hamas’ shift from its allegiance to the Syrian regime back to its ideological roots in the Muslim Brotherhood was setting new priorities in the regional politics of the Middle East and North Africa region. It is redefining Sunni-Shi‘i […]
May 2, 2013

Should Christians Advocate for the Respect of International Humanitarian Law in the Syrian Conflict?

*By Wissam al-Saliby The cornerstone principle in International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is the principle of distinction: You can only attack military targets and persons directly participating in the war; you can never attack civilians. The violation of this principle, such as indiscriminate attacks, would amount to a war crime.[1] In […]
April 18, 2013

Interviews with IMES Director Martin Accad on the Middle East Conference 2013 and the Syrian Refugee Crisis

EthicsDaily.com and CompassionRadio.com recently interviewed IMES Director Dr. Martin Accad in regard to this year’s upcoming Middle East Conference and on the ongoing Syrian Refugee Crisis. 1) Interview with EthicsDaily.com (April 10, 2013) In reference to the upcoming Middle East Conference 2013, “Your Rights and My Responsibilities: Biblical and Islamic […]
April 4, 2013

Humanitarian Aid as a Weapon of War in Syria

By Rupen Das The two-year-old conflict in Syria is now being played out in three different but interconnected arenas. There is the military conflict, which at the moment, from all indications is deadlocked. There is the media battle, which the opposition seems to be winning because of the considerable support […]