Author: Jayson

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Christianity Today Middle East Published Articles

Who Awaits the Messiah Most? Muslims

isis-eschatology

This article was first published in the Jan-Feb print edition of Christianity Today.

Jesus did not show up to defend ISIS—and the first to celebrate was a Muslim.

“The [ISIS] myth of their great battle in Dabiq is finished,” Ahmed Osman, a Free Syrian Army officer, told Reuters in October after coalition forces drove more than 1,000 extremists from the backwater Syrian city known as the Armageddon of Islamic eschatology. The jihadists had expected the Messiah to appear and bloody his lance on approaching Christian crusaders.

Muslim belief in the end-times return of Jesus may seem surprising, but according to recent polls, they expect him with greater anticipation than do many American Christians.

A Pew Research Center survey in 2012 found that more than half of Muslims in Iraq, Lebanon, and Tunisia—and just under 50 percent in Morocco and the Palestinian territories—believe in the “imminent return” of Jesus. Outside the Arab world, more than half of Muslims in Turkey, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Thailand say Jesus will return to Earth in their lifetime.

By contrast, a 2015 poll by the Brookings Institute found that only 12 percent of US evangelicals believe that Jesus will return in their lifetime.

Past polls communicate a greater expectancy. In 2010, Pew found that 27 percent of US Christians expected Jesus to definitely return within the next 40 years, while another 20 percent found it probable. Among white evangelicals, 34 percent said “definitely” while 24 percent said “probably.”

The Qur‘an alludes to the return of Jesus (accompanied by a figure called the Mehdi), who on the Day of Resurrection will be a witness against Christians who claim him as the Son of God. But Muslim eschatology is derived primarily from Islamic traditions that have varying degrees of canonicity.

The exact timing of events does not tend to be the concern of Muslim theologians. But the general narrative is that Jesus will descend to Earth, kill the pigs, break the crosses, perform the pilgrimage to Mecca, defeat the Christian armies of Rome, kill the Antichrist, and usher in a period of worldwide Islamic prosperity.

Please click here to read the full article at Christianity Today.

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Diocese of Egypt (Anglican) Middle East Published Articles

Chris Wright and the Bible of Reformation

chris-wright
Photo: Michael Adel, Bridges Cultural Center

This article was first published at the Anglican Diocese of Egypt.

 

Visiting Egypt for the 500th anniversary of the European Reformation, Chris Wright aptly taught on Biblical preaching. And in his public lecture to nearly 300 people on January 26, he focused on the centrality of the Bible for all reformation.

“Ecclesia semper reformanda,” Wright said. “The church must be continually under reformation, renewed by the Bible.”

Bishop Mouneer Hanna Anis of Egypt invited Wright to All Saint’s Cathedral in Cairo to train Anglican clergy how to minister the Word of God in their churches. In a series of four presentations he emphasized godly preaching must be both Biblically faithful and culturally relevant.

Wright is the international ministries director of the Langham Partnership, dedicated to educating pastors toward theological maturity. The ministry began under John Stott, rector of All Souls Church at Langham Place. Wright has a PhD in Old Testament ethics from Cambridge University, and encouraged the clergy not to neglect this great treasure.

“The Old Testament was the Bible of Jesus,” he said. “And if we neglect it we deprive our congregations of a great deal of depth about who Jesus is.”

Wright is the author of more than 15 books, and his Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament is one of ten that have been translated into Arabic.

And in his translated public lecture, he expounded on how Ezra and Nehemiah set a reformation pattern later followed by Luther, Calvin, and other Protestant pioneers.

Expounding on Nehemiah 8-10, Wright outlined four essential movements. The first focuses on the ears, as the Word of God is read and listened to. As Ezra and Nehemiah brought together the whole people, so did Luther make the Bible accessible for the masses. And not just the masses, but political and spiritual leaders also come under its authority.

The second movement focuses on the mind, as the Word of God is translated and taught. As Ezra and Nehemiah helped now-Aramaic speaking Jews understand the original Hebrew, so also Luther translated the New Testament from Greek into the German vernacular. Both also ensured that those they instructed were equipped to teach others.

The third movement focuses on the heart, as the Word of God produces weeping and rejoicing. Ezra and Nehemiah led the people into an understanding first of their sinfulness before God, but also in realization he is their gracious redeemer. Similarly did Luther guide Germans in knowledge of judgment and grace, and provided also a wealth of hymns and liturgy for communal response in praise.

The fourth movement focuses on the hands, as the Word of God prompts finding and doing. Ezra, Nehemiah, and Luther were purposeful students of the scripture, engaging it far beyond the duty of ritual. And as Luther would rediscover that though salvation is through faith alone, he and the Old Testament reformers insisted it is a faith that never stays alone. True faith produces the fruit of transformation as God’s commands are put into practice.

These movements are an essential part of Biblical preaching, as Wright made clear in his seminar lectures as well. In addition to the Anglican Alexandria School of Theology, Bishop Mouneer Anis invited also the Orthodox, Catholic, and Evangelical seminaries to participate. Though expecting around 60 people, 135 attended, including the Archbishop of Sudan and three additional Sudanese bishops.

To all he gave the same message, as relevant in Europe 500 years ago as it is today.

“As heirs of the Reformation,” said Wright, “we must search the scriptures together and respond with all sincerity and joy.”

 

 

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Lapido Media Middle East Published Articles

After the Terror: How Egypt’s Museum of Islamic Art is Fighting Back

museum-of-islamic-art
Photo: Michael Adel

This article was first published at Lapido Media.

THREE years after the car bomb that devastated world-famous Museum of Islamic Art, in Cairo, Egyptian culture is thumbing its nose at Islamic terror.

And in pride of place in the central rotunda is a nineteenth-century mosque door carved by Yehuda Aslan, a Jewish craftsman.

On 24 January, 2014 the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) in Cairo was the secondary casualty of the bomb that killed six, and injured dozens in a blast targeting the Cairo Security Directorate across the street. The attack was claimed by the Sinai Province of the Islamic State.

It also smashed the façade of the historic museum built in 1903, damaging 179 pieces, ten beyond repair.

Two weeks ago the museum reopened in grand ceremony.

‘This is our heritage, not only for Egypt or Muslims, but for humanity,’ said Ahmad al-Shoky, the museum director.

‘If you destroy it, we will rebuild it, and make it better than before.’

Considered the largest museum of Islamic art and artifacts in the world, the MIA holds more than one hundred thousand pieces from throughout the Muslim world.

The earliest dates back to 652AD, a tombstone from year 31 of the Muslim era that bears signs of the Umayyad regime.  It is the oldest mark of Islam in Egypt.

Al-Shoky presided over the opening of sixteen additional exhibits, tripling the items on show to the public. The richness of Islamic history, he believes, blunts the appeal of terrorism.

‘The museum is not only about good art, but a good message,’ al-Shoky told Lapido. ‘We have reworked our displays to show how Islamic art contributes to world civilization.’

Tolerance

And a central part of this civilization, he says, is religious and cultural tolerance. The door to the as-Sayyida Zaynab Mosque by Yehudah Aslan is just one example.

Zaynab whose shrine is at the mosque named after her in Old Cairo, was the prophet Muhammad’s granddaughter, and ‘patron saint’ of Cairo.

‘We are not against any religion, and welcome anyone who can produce something for the world,’ said al-Shoky. ‘This message is short, but powerful, and you can find it in many of our halls.’

Umayyad era art (661-750 AD) is introduced with a note of influence from Byzantine, Coptic, and other civilizational sources.

The medicine and science exhibits highlight the contributions of the Christian Bakhtishu family doctors, and the Muslim, Mary the Astrolabe, from the Abbasid era (750-1253 AD).

And the Fatimid era (909-1171 AD) speaks of joint celebrations with ‘Christian fellow citizens’ for the holidays of Epiphany and Maundy Thursday.

Renovations were supported by a £2.1 million equivalent grant from the United Arab Emirates. Additional donations and expertise were shared by the United States, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and UNESCO.

Before the explosion, if two hundred visitors came, it would be terrific, al-Shoky said. Since the reopening, the MIA has averaged more than two thousand.

Children

And not only adults. The redesign includes an educational wing for children. Around 150 have come every day.

‘Art teaches children that Islam is not a terrorist religion,’ said Yumna Khalid, a 20-year-old volunteer guide studying Islamic archaeology at Egypt’s Ain Shams University.

‘It is not like what people say now about Islam. No, we have had brilliant artists and scientists.’

Maher Daniel agrees.  He is an award-winning cartoonist and animation director for Egyptian state television – and a Christian.

He contributed the illustrations to the children’s guidebook free of charge. Aladdin and the Magic Shirt spins a fantasy tale introducing the reader to the main pieces of each exhibit.

aladdin-and-the-magic-shirt

‘Egypt has passed through several crises, and children have not received enough attention,’ says Daniel. ‘The museum strives to address [the child’s] mind, promoting our shared heritage, for both Muslims and Christians.’

This does not mean he whitewashes the past, or the present. But Daniel says the space for extremism in Egypt is shrinking, and if there is an opportunity to help, you must help.

‘Our hope is in the enlightened Muslims, who are seeking reform and trying to shake the dirt from Egypt,’ he said.

‘But God only knows, in history these things ebb and flow.’

Manal Salah brought her twelve-year-old son to see the museum. He particularly liked the hall of weapons, marveling at the ninth-century Ottoman sword bearing the name of Mohamed the Conqueror.

‘The reopening of the museum is a positive sign,’ she said. ‘And we are optimistic for the future. If God wills, all will be well.’

museum-of-islamic-art-building

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Americas Christianity Today Published Articles

What Arab Church Leaders Think of Trump Prioritizing Persecuted Christian Refugees

qaraqosh-christians
Ahmed Jadallah / Reuters Preparation for Qaraqosh’s first Sunday mass since the Iraqi Christian town was recaptured from ISIS (October 30, 2016).

This article was first published at Christianity Today on January 30, 2017.

Married in December to a Syrian woman with American citizenship, Fadi Hallisso went to Beirut to apply for a green card.

A Syrian Christian, Hallisso has worked with refugees in Lebanon since 2012. Funded by different American agencies, he was no stranger to the US government. He even testified about the situation in Syria to the US State Department and to Harvard Divinity School.

But this week, Hallisso was told he was no longer welcome to apply. The new US administration said so.

“It is very humiliating to be put in the category of potential terrorist,” said Hallisso. “Just because I carry a certain passport.”

As more details of President Donald Trump’s new security policies emerge—including a promise to prioritize Christian refugees for resettlement in America—much appears lost in translation.

“This executive order has created a new atmosphere very hostile to people in the region,” said Chawkat Moucarry, World Vision’s director for interfaith relations—and Hallisso’s uncle. “Unwritten rules seem to be implemented as a result.”

Is Trump’s executive order on refugees a de facto “Muslim ban”? Is it not? Is it prudent? Is it overdue? As American Christians debate these questions from the small towns of Middle America to the nation’s major airports, so also Arab Christians are trying to figure out what is going on.

“I read the executive order,” said Adeeb Awad, chief editor of al-Nashra, the monthly magazine of the Presbyterian Synod of Syria and Lebanon. He remarked…

Please click here to read the full article at Christianity Today.

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Excerpts

Conspiracy Theory Comes to America

american-conspiracy-theory
Via NPR: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP/Getty Images

Living in the Middle East one drinks deeply from the well of conspiracy thinking. It pollutes the mind, but also trains it.

So while Americans mused over the merits and demerits of Trump and Clinton, I feared the patterns I was watching develop.

To describe would require a full listing of faults, but I mean this post to be more humorous than serious. It excerpts from an article by Karl ReMarks, a noted Middle Eastern satirist.

In it he compares the United States with Arab nations. It is funny while being unnerving. Enjoy, so to speak.

On the secret services:

Let’s start at the beginning. During the campaign we were surprised to learn of the influence that the head of the American mukhabarat (state security, i.e. your FBI) can wield over the election process, simply by choosing to pursue a certain line of investigation. As you may know, this has been a constant feature of our politics since independence. Our surprise turned to astonishment when we started to witness the blossoming feud between the then-president-elect and the American mukhabarat, another important feature of Arab politics.

On top of that, we started to hear reports of foreign meddling in your elections, which some say may have influenced the result. Of course, we are quite familiar with that situation, too, not least because of the efforts of your own administrations over the decades. Yet it came as a surprise to hear talk of “foreign hands” and “secret agendas” in a country like America. We sympathize.

On the bright side, this was also the moment that the conspiracy theories started to spread. You know us; we’re quite fond of conspiracy theories—particularly when they involve plots by external powers—and consider ourselves connoisseurs of the genre. Your plots are a bit rough around the edges, we have to admit, but top marks for creativity. Was the election of Trump a Russian conspiracy? Was talk of the Russian conspiracy a liberal conspiracy to undermine Trump? Did the mukhabarat leak information to help Trump? Did the mukhabarat leak information to hurt Trump? Was media coverage of Trump’s mukhabarat conspiracy theories part of a liberal conspiracy theory to bring him down? They’re all so deliciously complex and open-ended, much like our own.

On the media:

Of course, another crucial aspect to this transformation is the president’s contemptuous attitude towards the media. My, the delightful similarities. From blaming the press for engaging in secret conspiracies to undermine him to threatening their access to his White House palace to refusing to take questions from certain reporters, President Trump reminds us of several of our own leaders. In fact, an Arab leader complaining about CNN coverage is pretty much a staple of our political life.

This took an interesting turn on Saturday when the president accused the media of manufacturing his feud with the mukhabarat and his Minister of Information Mr. Sean Spicer castigated the media for reporting the size of Trump’s inauguration crowd. The not-so-veiled threats by the president and Mr. Spicer to the media are very much in the spirit of Arab governance.

On protests:

And then there’s the unrest. In the lead up to the inauguration, we started to hear about youth protests against the new regime. Come on! This is bordering on plagiarism now. Please write your own plots and stop borrowing ours. Although, we usually wait for leaders to take power before we start protesting; we like your preemptive revolution approach.

…

A word of warning though, before embarking on this path. We tried the revolution thing ourselves, and it didn’t work out so well. Maybe you should just adapt to living in the new regime. We were always told that having a strongman in charge is the best solution for Arab countries, otherwise there would be chaos. Perhaps the American people are not ready for democracy after all. Let’s face it America, you look like an Arab country now.

Gulp.

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Prayers

Friday Prayers for Egypt: Quiet Revolution

Flag Cross Quran

God,

January 25, 2011 was a momentous event. But if the president hadn’t said something, in 2017 Egypt might hardly have noticed.

It was a turning point in history, he declared, though it brought on many troubles. But he praised the people and the martyrs, giving assurance Egypt is on the right path.

May it be so, God. But the day itself passed quietly. Maybe that is good news?

Unlike previous years there were no demonstrations, no celebrations, no clampdowns. The metro at Tahrir closed, but it seemed more out of habit.

There are some who would like to erase the memory altogether, God. There are others who want to cling to it. The history is still complicated, contested between parties.

Help Egypt remember correctly. Help her celebrate where honorable, help her repent where necessary.

Help her discern the wide spectrum in between.

And help her move forward, God. The issues of the day are no less serious. Perhaps they are more so. There is much to repair, much to rebuild.

Economy. Institutions. Trust.

God, bless the nation and her people. Provide for her needs, strengthen her loins.

Give her peace and prosperity. Give her justice and sovereignty.

Give her a right understanding of herself, of her revolution, and of you.

Keep her on the right path, no matter the troubles. Momentous, but quiet.

Amen.

 

 

 

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Personal

Where Credit is Due

fath-bridge

Two years ago I wrote about Egypt and her struggle to return to normal. Protests were still being waged on the streets, as terrorism assaulted the post-Morsi regime.

But that article featured also the mundane. A foot bridge was repaired by local authorities in the Maadi neighborhood of Cairo, but for a long time left uncompleted.

Pedestrians could cross, and it was quite fun to slide down-slope on the dust that gathered on the ironwork base.

But it didn’t feel fully safe, and crass revolutionary graffiti covered the walls.

I’m not sure when exactly it was made right, but crossing the other day reminded me of my earlier criticism. It is now in quite good shape, tiled, relatively clean, secure.

It is covered in crass advertising, but still.

I do miss the sliding, especially if my children are with me. But the bridge is a great improvement over what was.

In the two years that passed Egypt has basically put an end to the demonstrations. But terrorism is still present, and now the economy has taken a downturn. Life is not yet back to normal.

But the bridge is. So are many other minor but essential aspects of life. Stoplights have been installed, and they are generally working.

So as you survey the news from around the world and wonder how everything falls apart, please remember that it also gets put back together. So often this is left unreported, but it is the reality for ordinary millions.

Not that life is necessarily great, nor up to our comparatively wealthy standards in America. But life goes on, life is good, and people make it work.

Credit, where credit is due.

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Prayers

Friday Prayers for Egypt: Red Sea Verdict

Flag Cross Quran

God,

The court has spoken, and the land is Egyptian. Perhaps.

Months ago the president and the Saudi king concluded an agreement that included return of sovereignty over two small islands in the Red Sea. Opponents called it an illegal transfer, as Egyptians died in war defending their home soil.

This week the High Administrative Court sided with opponents. The Supreme Constitutional Court may yet have a say, but the immediate question is parliament.

The speaker says they will proceed with discussion and vote anyway, with many backing the president. Other members say this is would be a violation. Another legal dispute may yet be pending.

Several rejoiced, others groaned, and some fear. What does it mean when branches of government are at odds with themselves? Normal balance of power in some systems, in Egypt discord can be threatening.

God, resolve and normalize. Settle the issue of ownership, and buttress the role of each branch.

Let there be confidence in the judiciary. Let there be representation in the parliament. Let there be leadership in the executive.

Together, and in conflict, help them know and serve their land.

Amen.

 

 

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Personal

Coptic Martyrs of Cairo, Remembered in New Jersey

coptic-martyrs-in-new-jersey

Forty days later, the pain of terrorism in Egypt resonates as far as New Jersey.

On December 11, 2016 the Coptic community of Egypt was shaken by a suicide bomber, killing 28 worshippers in the St. Peter and St. Paul Church adjacent the Coptic Cathedral.

“Deliverance from our enemies comes only from God,” said Archbishop Karas, patriarchal exarch for North America in the Coptic Orthodox Church.

“But this is not new, martyrdom is part of living our lives in Christ.”

Archbishop Karas was one of many religious and political dignitaries present during a commemoration service at the St. Mina Coptic Orthodox Church in Holmdel, NJ. Copts sometimes jest that their diaspora in New Jersey is the ‘Shubra’ of the United States, referring to the mixed but heavily populated Coptic neighborhood in Cairo.

Approximately 1000 visitors gathered on January 13 to honor the martyrs who lost their lives, fitting with the traditional Egyptian custom of mourning the deceased on the fortieth day after their passing.

This corresponds to January 20, but host Fr. Michael Sorial explained the service was moved forward to avoid scheduling on the presidential inauguration.

Fr. Sorial offered thanks to Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for his response to the tragedy. Immediately he promised to restore the Cairo church to its original condition in time for Coptic Christmas on January 7, and honored the victims with a state funeral.

The work completed, Sisi visited Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II for Christmas mass in the Coptic Cathedral for the third year running. He is the first Egyptian president ever to do so.

Fr. Sorial also hosted a number of New Jersey political figures, among them longtime friend of the Coptic community Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ).

“We look up to God, for only faith can truly comfort us at a time like this,” said Menendez. “And in each other we find the strength to move forward.

“As long as I have a vote and a voice in the US Senate, I will be a bold advocate for tolerance and acceptance, for freedom of religion, peace, and security – both here at home and around the world.”

Menendez was joined by fellow senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), who offered his condolences in a recorded video.

“I am grateful the Coptic community lives those values of joy, of peace, of mercy, of compassion,” said Booker. “You evidence the values that are needed now more than ever to combat that kind of violence.”

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ-4) dispatched an official letter.

“My prayer is that following this darkness and evil, the light of the Christian community in Egypt will burn brighter than ever before,” he wrote.

“I commit to you to work toward a more secure future for Christians in Egypt and in the region.”

Also joining the commemoration was Ambassador Ahmed Farouk of the Egyptian General Consulate in New York.

“In Egypt, that fact is that we are all Copts—whether we are Muslims or Christians,” said Farouk. “The 28 martyrs are in a better place than all of us, for sure.

“The only big loser is terrorism, and it will keep losing as long as we stand united.”

In his keynote address, Archbishop Karas reminded the audience that these martyrs cannot be remembered without also remembering other Christian and non-Christian victims of terrorism around the world.

But he impressed upon those in attendance that such witness is not only for those who are killed. It is meant also for the living.

“For most of us, martyrdom means we die to ourselves, and give our lives completely to God,” he said. “We honor Jesus Christ and the sacrifice of the 28 martyrs by taking up our cross, to follow our Lord.”

For complete video of the memorial service, please click here or watch below.

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Prayers

Friday Prayers for Egypt: Law, Left and Letter

Flag Cross QuranGod,

The law carries many meanings, but among them is license. Neither state nor citizen may act as they wish; the law – in principle – standardizes behavior.

In Egypt, two laws in particular are illustrative. God, may the proper lessons be both learned and applied.

Several weeks ago the parliament passed a controversial draft law regulating civil society. It was panned even by the government, but sent to the president to sign or return for further discussion. Yet with no comment at all and the mandated period elapsed, many wonder where is the law? Is the president stalling? Was it given to him at all?

God, the law itself is worthy of prayer, and the effect it will have on civil society. You know the importance of the sector; you know the dangers of manipulation.

Whether or not the current draft is optimal, guide Egypt to the balance necessary.

But guide Egypt also to a law. Help her institutions to function properly, and transparently. May the mechanisms of government mesh with the will of the people and the wisdom of experience, from home and abroad.

The struggle therein is good and healthy, God. At least it can be so. Bless Egypt with a winsome fight.

Meanwhile the protest law is contested to the letter. Recently ruled upon by the Supreme Court, protest is allowed with proper notification, not permission.

A group opposed to ceding two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia followed proper procedure, and then did the state. A judicial ruling denied access to the preferred location. The legal and political struggle continues.

God, the issue itself is worthy of prayer, and the effect it will have on both map and relations. You know the owner of the land; you know the stakes involved.

Whether or not this protest is worthy, guide Egypt to the balance necessary.

But guide Egypt also to an understanding. Help her to promote the rights of expression, and to regulate them properly. May the freedom of the individual mesh with the duties of society and the wisdom of experience, from home and abroad.

The balance therein is fundamental and foundational, God. At least it should be so. Bless Egypt with a worthy consensus.

There is a constitution, God. There are laws. There are laws emerging. There is reform. Set Egypt’s path straight in all navigation.

And in her behavior, regulate and license in the light of your word. May it, to all, be illustrative.

Amen.

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Excerpts

Creative Solutions to Sexual Crime

Women's march in Cairo
Arabic: There is no need for men only. (Photograph: Virginie Nguyen, via Mada Masr.)

Official Egyptian statistics departments have recently published sobering numbers concerning domestic violence:

At least 18 percent of adult Egyptian women have reportedly experienced physical or sexual violence at the hands of family members or close acquaintances in 2015, according to official estimates by Egypt’s Economic Cost of Gender Based Violence Survey (ECGBVS), published in June 2016.

Around 46 percent of married women aged 18 to 64 years in Egypt have experienced some form of spousal violence, whether physical, emotional or sexual, according to the same survey, which was conducted by Egypt’s official statistic body the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS), the National Council of Women (NCW) and the United Nations Fund for Population Agency (UNFPA).

One out of four married women has been subjected to physical violence at one point in their lives by their current or former husband, according to 2014 statistics from the Demographic and Health Survey.

(via Ahram Online)

And according to the UN, it is even worse for women outside the home. Back in 2014 I wrote about a Sunday School teacher training children to defend themselves against sexual harassment, and conveyed these figures:

According to a survey published by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, more than 99 percent of Egyptian women have been subjected to sexual harassment.

This goes far beyond playful catcalls, with 96 percent reporting their bodies have been touched and 55 percent of these having had their breasts groped.

Egyptian society and government recognizes the problem and has recently increased fines and jail terms for offenders. But this article by Mada Masr concerns a victim who thought beyond punishment into transformation. And she went the extra mile to secure a greater justice.

When one woman was sexually harassed this month in Cairo, she made an unusual move: she came to an informal agreement with her attacker’s family and juvenile prosecution to drop charges on condition that the boy get therapy and do community service.

Having caught the boy who groped her hard from behind, after quite a chase, Mariam felt more confused than victorious. Quite a crowd gathered when she caught him. It was the evening of a match and having run through a few streets, the boy tripped by a full café.

“People assumed that I was chasing him because he’d stolen something from me. They asked me and I said yes, he stole something very important, my dignity.” Some of those who had gathered suggested she leave it now, she had caught, hit and insulted him, that he was young and she should forgive him. But those who stayed on the scene, all men Mariam says, encouraged her.

Then, when the police came and the 14-year-old was being put in the van, they hit him on the back of his neck. “I freaked out,” Mariam recounts. “We all know what happens in Egyptian prisons and police stations and detention centers. I felt I was caught between two fires. Either I get my rights and this boy is subjected to violence, or I let him go, he will carry on doing it, I’ll be passive and other things I can’t accept for myself.”

Fortunately, she found allies in the 14-year-old’s parents, and in the public prosecutor. They worked out an arrangement, one the court may even return to:

She told the prosecutor about HarassMap, an NGO that encourages bystanders and institutions to speak up against harassers and have a zero-tolerance attitude toward harassment. He was not dismissive, as she had expected, and took a contact so that he could deal with HarassMap in similar cases, also informally.

There are many problems in Egypt, but also good people. And often unreported are the small changes that ripple through society, as these good people labor on:

“There has been a huge shift, primarily around the question of who should be ashamed,” Abdel Hameed says.

Perhaps one day, none will need be.

Categories
Prayers

Friday Prayers for Egypt: Christmas, Safe and Suicide

Flag Cross Quran

God,

There were two disturbing deaths in Egypt this week, but in perverse praise, at least they were individual.

Coptic Christmas passed safely. Two weeks ago a suicide bomber killed 28 worshippers near the papal cathedral, raising fears of holiday carnage.

God, thank you for the necessary security. Hasten the day it will not be required.

Help the president join you in making it so. For the third year running he visited the pope during Christmas celebrations, the first head-of-state ever to do so even once.

May this example spread to the people. May it encourage the many who need not the impetus. May it cower the few who by it are enraged.

Facts and motivations are not yet clear, God, but it appears one of these few slit the throat of a Coptic shop owner. A ‘bearded man’ was offended by the alcohol business, and took his understanding of sharia into his own hands.

Bring justice in the case, God, and may the president’s example spread beyond the holiday. May all crimes be prosecuted equally. May rule of law and citizenship be established.

And may the suicide of this week, in perverse hope, raise fears in the culture of corruption.

A high official in the judicial system hung himself in custody. He and others were charged with accepting bribes and profiting millions.

God, comfort his family. Have mercy on his soul. But if indeed he was guilty, follow relentlessly those of his ilk.

Stamp out corruption through proper investigation. Narrow its odds through judicious transparency. Let the examples that remain, in perverse relief, be individual.

Save Egypt from the systemic in all but peace and goodwill toward men. God, through the coming year may she be safe.

Amen.

 

Categories
Excerpts

Arabs: Disproportionate Troublemakers or Victims?

arab-troublemakers-victims
(via Mohammad Hannon/Associated Press)

Here is a sobering stat related by the Economist. Interpret it as you will:

Horrifyingly, although home to only 5% of the world’s population, in 2014 the Arab world accounted for 45% of the world’s terrorism, 68% of its battle-related deaths, 47% of its internally displaced and 58% of its refugees.

Surely there is no clear cut answer to the question in the title. But allow the raw numbers to sink in.

What can be done to change them?

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Middle East Published Articles Religion Unplugged

Did the Bombing of Cairo’s Copts Also Hold a Message for Muslims?

isis-sufi-mosque
ISIS destroys a Sufi shrine in Mosul, Iraq.

This article was first published at The Media Project.

When a bomb ripped through the women and children praying together at the St. Peter and St. Paul Church in Cairo on Dec. 11, the nation’s grief was expressed through a Muslim doll.

The suicide attack claimed by the Islamic State – Sinai Province took place on the national holiday of moulid al-nabi, the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday. The larger Islamic State has since called for bombings of Christian churches in the USA, with the aim of creating “bloody celebrations” there, as well.

Egyptians have begun trying to make sense of this latest wave of violence in Cairo, and the arousa doll has propelled expressions of grief. A popular cartoon depicted the arousa, traditionally given to Muslim girls, weeping in the black clothes of mourning. Behind her stood a somber crucifix.

Twenty-seven people died in the bombing, and their families have been changed forever. The Coptic community is approaching the Christmas season with fear wondering if another church will be targeted.

But does the timing of the attack suggest Muslims also have reason to be afraid?

The moulid, popular with most Egyptians and in particular the mystical Sufi trend, is rejected by many Salafi interpretations of Islam to which the Islamic State belongs.

It is a day for sweets, visiting family, and giving gifts. It is also a day Christian religious leaders congratulate their Muslim counterparts, reciprocated on Christmas.

But celebration of the moulid is condemned by Salafis as a religious innovation.

Coincidence or not, their extremists chose this day to escalate their insurrection and signal their willingness to inflict mass casualties.

“The message could be, ‘You love the moulid, and you like the Christians?’” said Sheikh Alaa al-Din Abul Azayim, head of the Azamiya Sufi order. “’Then on this day we’ll kill your friends – and you are next.’”

Please click here to read the full article at The Media Project.

moulid-al-nabi-arousa

Categories
Prayers

Friday Prayers for Egypt: Corruption, Resolution

Flag Cross Quran

God,

As Egypt made one statement, it deferred on another. May wisdom couple with pragmatism, but only where is right.

An official at one of the nation’s highest courts was exposed for taking bribes. As his case was paraded in the media, the extent of corruption is not yet clear.

But the president took occasion to renew the call to clean the system, asking that all be held accountable.

May it be so, God. Establish the systems necessary to create the fear of stepping out of line. And in conjunction, develop the integrity necessary that it might not be considered.

In process, move anti-corruption efforts from the spectacular to the mundane. Equip a cadre to ferret out irregularity. Expand their influence to change a culture.

And protect them, God. From without, from any enemies created. From within, from the enemy of the soul. How easily they themselves could be corrupted. How easily their work might manipulate in turn.

So as Egypt reaches out to assist those troubled by the economy, may it reach the needy at every level.

Support has been extended not only to the poor, but to struggling tourism facilities in need of renovation and to import-dependent businesses in fear of bankruptcy.

Meanwhile internationally, it is Egypt who stands in need of support. Keep her honorable in the pursuit thereof.

After raising a resolution at the UN against Israeli settlements, Egypt withdrew it in deference to Trump. She later voted in favor of a multi-national resolution she did not join in sponsoring.

Some say she buckled in support of the more needy Palestinians. Others say she brokered favor with the strong while not abandoning a principle.

God, decipher motivation and judge accordingly. But help Egypt to be true, and support her if she is.

For Egypt has also taken complicating positions toward Syria and Yemen. She dances with Saudi as the disputed Red Sea islands remain in court. She must resolve tourism issues with Russia and Britain. America gives millions in military aid; Israel is essential in border control.

God, give Egypt resolution. Free her from corruption.

Help her to wade through troubled waters with her head held high, with the confidence that comes only from uprightness.

Wisdom, God. Pragmatism, too. Peace, justice, prosperity. May they come in their fullness, and soon.

Amen.

Categories
Arab West Report Middle East Published Articles

The Insanity of a Travel Ban to Siwa

temple-of-the-oracle
The temple of Jupiter Amun, whose oracle proclaimed Alexander the Great to be a god.

In defiance of his own nation’s restrictions, Cornelis Hulsman not only went to Siwa, he invited international student interns, Egyptian nationals, media professionals, and just about everyone else in Egypt to travel with him.

“Western travel advice to Siwa is insane,” said Hulsman, the Dutch deputy head of the Center for Arab West Understanding (CAWU). “We are taking this trip to make a statement. You say it is unsafe, we’ll show you it is safe.”

On the surface, insanity might look a lot like prudence. Siwa, an oasis in Egypt’s Western Desert, is only 50-70 kilometers from the porous border with Libya. Last year in the Bahariya Oasis, 400 kilometers southeast, eight Mexican tourists were killed accidentally by an Egyptian army hunting for militants. In Sinai on the opposite border, an Islamist insurgency continues to plague the peninsula, with terrorist attacks sporadically spilling over into the mainland. And in broader context, Russia and Britain have restricted flights to Egypt after a Russian airliner crashed in the Sinai desert on October 31, 2015, with responsibility claimed by the Islamic State.

Many nations have responded by issuing various travel restrictions to Egypt in general, and CAWU has compiled a complete list. But The Netherlands, France, and Canada have specifically included Siwa, and Hulsman believes this is preposterous. The successful return of his trip of 29 suggest he may be right. So also do the daily and nightly buses departing from Cairo.

Off the beaten path of traditional Egyptian tourism, Siwa’s remoteness has always been the chief hindrance preventing development of the sector. Ten hours is required to move from Cairo to the North Coast, over to Marsa Matrouh, and then 300 kilometers south through barren and desolate desert.

But compared to Alexander the Great’s eight day journey in 331 BC it is practically instantaneous. Modern day travelers can see the ruins of the Temple of Jupiter Amun, whose oracle declared Alexander a god and blessed him in conquest of the world. They can also visit natural hot springs and sand baths, as well as mingle among the only Berber culture indigenous to Egypt. The Siwan people have guarded their independence for centuries and still speak their own language.

Hulsman has looked for opportunities to link CAWU’s internship program with local organizations such as the Desert Research Center. ‘Amr ‘Abd al-Hamīd, head of the DRC in Marsa Matrouh, told him the government has been cutting funding. But universities in countries applying a travel ban to Siwa are prohibited from sending students to restricted area. Interns on Hulsman’s trip went in their personal capacity, not as part of his official program.

But normal tourists are scared off on their own. One issue is insurance, explained Muhammad Hassan, the owner of Siwa Shali Resort, with 36 years of experience in the tourism industry. If anything goes wrong, whether terrorism or a simple car accident, a policy will not be honored if the tourist went against his own nation’s warning. Egyptian insurance is available, says Hulsman, but would the average tourist know how to find it?

At the height of the Egyptian tourism boom in 2010 and before the Arab Spring, 30,000 international tourists spent part of their summer in Egyptian Mediterranean resorts, Hassan said. Eight thousand of these chose to continue on to Siwa. But by 2015 traffic dried up almost entirely, and only an estimated 300 foreigners visited Siwa from abroad. In 2016, no one.

“When you issue warnings like this, you are waging war against our primary economic sector,” Hassan said. “You harm not the government, but the people, who then get angry with the government. I’m not being political, I’m just a businessman.”

There is no military or police authorization needed to reach Siwa, Hassan noted, though several checkpoints are set up between Marsa Matrouh and Siwa to check identification. But to go into the desert on a safari to surf the dues needs three. He first secures license from military intelligence, border patrol, and the local police before dispatching any tourist.

And the military is in constant surveillance of the desert area between Siwa and Libya, Hassan said. Terrorists go where the land is empty, which might be a problem further south. He has no problem with a travel restriction issued for Jilf al-Kabīr in southwest Egypt, for example, where Libya, Chad, and Sudan come together.

Hulsman also noted the different security atmosphere in Siwa. Apart for the normal tourist policeman assigned to the bus, there was no police convoy. Traveling to Upper Egypt, however, he has had vehicles travel in front or behind.

Similar was the on the ground experience. In Upper Egypt police ask that any large group be kept together, as easier to secure. But the foreigners and Egyptians alike freely roamed the grounds during an annual Sufi festival in Siwa, chatting with locals and wandering off with them. The security apparatus is much more relaxed there than elsewhere, Hulsman said, confident in the area’s safety.

Unfortunately, this is a reality lost on many Western governments. Mounir Neamatalla, Siwa’s wealthiest investor and owner of the Adrere Amellal: Desert Ecolodge that welcomed Prince Charles in 2006, is eager to change this. In early October he flew an 80-plus mostly foreign delegation to Siwa, including ten heads and deputy heads of diplomatic missions. But the message has not yet filtered through to decision makers in Western foreign ministries, and the travel restrictions remain.

Not for long, if Hulsman has his way. And now he has 29 more who can attest to his vision.

This article was first published at Arab West Report.

Categories
Prayers

Friday Prayers for Egypt: More Money

Flag Cross Quran

God,

Egypt’s economy is still not doing well. But at least she has more money to play with. May she play wisely.

The second tranche of the World Bank loan was received, along with another installment from the African Development Bank. Together they represent well over a billion dollars.

Egypt has many outstanding debts to pay. She has a budget to meet. She has poor mouths to feed.

But she also has jobs to create, projects to complete, and infrastructure to repair.

God, help this money stimulate the economy. May it stabilize the pound and spark new investment. May it give breathing room for necessary reform.

But these loans also must be repaid. From now until then, fill Egypt’s coffers from the sweat of her own brow. Restore tourism. Develop the canal.

End corruption.

God, international lenders have confidence in Egypt. Help her to be worthy. Help her nourish a society that can put it to good use. May competition, quality, and capital flourish.

Otherwise, more money risks being the root of more evil.

Money is a great blessing, God. With it may Egypt bless many beside. Care for her people, and help them to prosper.

Amen.

 

Categories
Africa Published Articles World Watch Monitor

Sudanese Pastors Pressured to ‘Inform’ or Stand Trial

This article was first published by World Watch Monitor on December 16, 2016.

sudan-map

Forty-eight year old father of three Revd Yamane Abraha received an ultimatum in Khartoum following a trip to Ethiopia in the fall of 2015.

“(Sudanese government) security threatened me, saying I would have to appear in court either as a witness, or an accused,” the Evangelical Baptist Church of Khartoum pastor told WWM. “But my father was sick, so unlike others I couldn’t escape.”

Abraha was one of several Sudanese Christians gathered abroad to pray for their nation. Among them were Revd Hassan Abduraheem Kodi Taour and Revd Kuwa Shamal, Sudan Church of Christ pastors from the Nuba Mountains region.

Also attending was Czech Christian aid worker Petr Jašek. According to Middle East Concern, these three had helped facilitate financial assistance to pay for the medical treatment of a Darfurian university student who had suffered burn wounds when government security attacked a campus demonstration in Omdurman, north of the capital Khartoum.

Sudanese at the meeting suspected there were spies around their Addis Ababa hotel. Then shortly after their return to Khartoum, the police arrested Taour, Shamal and Jašek, in December 2015. They have now been in detention for a year. Detained along with them is Abdulmonem Abdumawla, also from Darfur, who helped facilitate the medical treatment for the student.

The four are charged with waging war against the Sudanese state, espionage, conspiracy to carry out criminal acts, and undermining the authority of the state through violence. Trial proceedings finally begun in August have been postponed repeatedly in recent months. They could face the death penalty.

Delayed escape

Abraha was not arrested until three months after his colleagues, on 13 March, and then held for only one day. Security ordered him to report back daily, and on 24 March told him he would have to appear in court in the role of his choice: testify against the others, or be charged along with them.

On 26 March his father died.

Abraha gathered his family and traveled eight hours east by bus to bury him in their hometown of Kassala, on the border with Eritrea. And there he dropped off the radar, ditched his cell phone, and waited.

Two weeks later he returned to Khartoum and set his plan in motion. Nervously he checked his surroundings before going to buy a ticket to Egypt.

With his wife he exchanged notes on paper serviettes, which they wet and discarded when read. Discreetly they packed their children’s belongings, lest they tip off authorities at school.

Abraha then checked with a friendly security officer that his name was not on a watch list. And on 20 April, he told his children they would have a family picnic near the airport. Relatives—and kids—were surprised to learn they were saying ‘goodbye’.

In Egypt, Abraha is now involved in training for discipleship and church planting, and supervises 15 house churches among Sudanese refugees.

Over 31,000 Sudanese in Egypt are registered with the UN High Commission for Refugees, according to its August 2016 report. Unofficial estimates can exceed well over one million.

Most have fled the ongoing violence in Darfur and the southern regions of Blue Nile and Nuba Mountains bordering South Sudan.

Recurring pattern

But Abraha’s story is not unique.

Barnaba Timothous, who fled to Egypt three years earlier, had also been pressed to testify against Christian colleagues. Doing student campus ministry, he was accused of taking foreign money.

“I was told that if I would cooperate nothing would happen to me,” he told WWM. “But if not, nothing would protect me from them.”

Some people criticized him for his decision to leave. He did so quickly, taking one bag and telling no one in his family. And though he stated he was not personally involved in ministry among Muslims, he refused to betray those he knew.

“I will not be involved in issues that hurt the body of Christ and bring suffering to innocent people, just because they follow Christ as savior,” he said.

“The Islamic government of Sudan is persecuting the leaders of churches and ministries. And now our students no longer trust each other, fearful someone might report them.”

Timothous, who has since been joined by his mother and sister, is now working amongst students at several university campuses in Egypt.

WWM has spoken with other Christian leaders who tell similar stories.

Excuse for crackdown

”The [Sudan] government wants sharia and is cracking down on the church,” said Kamal Fahmy, head of the religious freedom advocacy group Set My People Free.

He recalled President Omar al-Bashir’s threat, on the eve of South Sudan independence in 2011, to make Sudan a fully Islamic state, the removal of foreign NGOs thereafter, and the expulsion of South Sudanese in 2013.

“Authorities felt Pastors Hassan and Kuwa were shaming them, bringing a bad report,” Fahmy told WWM.

“In the rebel areas the church is doing humanitarian work and is not involved in the conflict, but it does expose the atrocities the Sudanese government is committing.

“It will find any excuse to accuse them.”

Pastors have been arrested, churches have been destroyed, and land has been confiscated, according to the US State Department’s 2015 Report on International Religious Freedom.

And on 6 Oct the European Parliament passed a resolution against Sudan, specifically naming the four detainees.

Noting the EU partnership with Sudan toward ‘better migration management’, the resolution ‘reaffirms that freedom of religion, conscience or belief is a universal human right that needs to be protected everywhere and for everyone … especially in the case of apostasy.’

But in January 2015, Sudan actually expanded its apostasy laws to include criticism of the Prophet Mohammad’s wives or early companions.

Fahmy, who recently penned an open letter to the UN with the Forum for Religious Freedom-Europe, links an oppressive religious climate to development issues, which he says “assaults the core of human nature”.

“Apostasy laws … have negative social and political consequences everywhere they are in force,” he wrote. “They create instability and inspire violence.”

“Without freedom to change beliefs there is no religious freedom,’” he told WWM. “Going to paradise is not compulsory.”

Categories
Excerpts

Why Aleppo Fell

aleppo-fall
(via Business Insider)

I can’t pretend to know the answer to why Aleppo fell, but Juan Cole tells us only part of it did. The more populous section, says the University of Michigan professor, may well have been glad to see the rebels go.

There had been 250,000 Sunni Arabs of a more religious mindset and from a working class background living there under rebel control since 2012. But next door in West Aleppo, which our television stations won’t talk about, were 800,000 to a million people who much preferred to be under the rule of the regime.

This numerous and relatively well off population took occasional mortar fire from the slums of East Aleppo. They weren’t in the least interested in saving the rebels from the Russians or the Iraqi Shiite militias or from the regime itself.

Syria is an incredibly diverse society, he says, guesstimating:

Alawite Shiites: 14%
Christians: 7%
Druze: 3%
Ismailis: 1%
Twelver Shiites: 0.5%
Kurds: 10%
Secular Sunni Arabs: 30%
Religious Sunni Arabs: 34.5%

And basically, the rebels alienated the people as they drifted further and further toward the better funded and more capable Salafi-Jihadi fighters.

But when the regime used heavy weaponry on the revolutionaries, the latter militarized their struggle. They weren’t able to get funding from democratic countries for their militias or for the purchase of weapons.

Many turned to Turkey and the Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, and these patrons wanted them to adopt a clear Muslim fundamentalist identity. Most Syrians are not Muslim fundamentalists. But that is the mindset of the Saudi elite.

Maybe Western nations should have funded the struggle, then? Throughout the article Cole condemns Assad, Russia, and Hizbollah. He seems to harbor some sympathy toward the original revolution and the moderate factions.

But at the same time, this is how he describes the Muslim Brotherhood:

Many of the fighters in the rebel opposition were Muslim Brotherhood, a relatively moderate fundamentalist group in Syria which nevertheless does want to impose a medieval version of Islamic law on the whole country.

If this is moderation, what to make of that rhetoric overall? Nevertheless it was the al-Qaeda linked Nusra Front that subjected the Syrian regime to the most damage, and twice almost cut off Damascus from key supply lines before outside intervention relieved the pressure.

Why then did the Syrians not rally behind the rebels against the likes of Hizbollah (first) and Russian (second) intervention?

Most people in Syria don’t trust the Muslim Brotherhood and they really, really dislike the Salafi Jihadis.

He boils down to this:

So you get 70% of the people in the country who, having been given the unpalatable choice between the Baath regime of al-Assad and being ruled by Salafi Jihadis, reluctantly chose al-Assad.

That is why the Aleppo pocket fell.

I can’t say if he is correct or not. But amid the horrible images of Aleppo broadcast in the media, it is wise to consider a lesser heard explanation.

And then, look again at the photo above. No matter their orientation, there are still innocents among them. And even the less innocent are human, including the far from innocent.

War is sad.

Categories
Personal

Mothers and Daughters, Mothers and Sons

victims-cairo-cathedral
(via Egyptians Streets)

A reflection from Julie:

Today marks a strange day.  Just one week ago, a suicide bomber killed over 25 people, mostly women and children, as they worshipped in church here in Cairo.  And one week from today, people all around the world will celebrate the joyous birth of a Savior during Western Christmas.  On one end of the bookend is a most tragic event; on the other, a most joyful one.  And yet for both events, that is only part of the story.

The bombing last week hit close to home. Although we are not from the Orthodox tradition of faith, we have worshiped at the local Coptic Orthodox church since we arrived in Cairo seven years ago.  We are familiar with the layout of the sanctuary, including the segregation of men and women.  The right side of the pews, facing the altar, is for the women and consequently most of the children.  The men sit on the left side of the church.  In our church there can be some mixing toward the back, and that is often where our family sits.  But for the suicide bomber, whether this was his target or just the nearest group he could reach, his bomb exploded in the women’s section.

Mothers and daughters lost their lives.  Sisters, friends, aunts, and grandmothers.  Mothers lost daughters and daughters lost mothers.  In at least one family, both the mother and daughter died, and another daughter was injured.  In another family, two sisters died, just graduated from school.  As I looked at the pictures of some of the victims, I couldn’t help thinking about the Sunday school teachers with my kids every week.  Young, vibrant, with their whole lives ahead of them.

One report mentioned the timing of the explosion.  During mass there is always a “giving of the peace.”  This has been a favorite time for our children as they slide their hands between the hands of other congregants, their siblings, and us, and then kiss their own fingertips, while saying “peace of the Messiah.”  This was the time, purposefully for not, that the suicide bomber entered the church.  Instead of peace, how tragic this man would give only violence.

Yet the Coptic Orthodox Church, thought mourning, still rejoices.  It is a church built on a history of pain, persecution, and suffering.  Children hear the stories of martyrs from centuries past and marvel at their strong faith and unwavering resolve to follow Jesus despite the threat of death.  Adults aspire to stand firm in the face of fear.  One friend told us he wished he was counted worthy to be there and die.  We are glad he wasn’t one of 25-plus now added to the church roster.

Such hope can sound trite.  A band-aid for the pain or an elixir to numb feelings after tragedy.  But it is not.  Mothers are grieving.  Fathers are burying their children.  Children try to understand where their mom has gone.  All of the pain is real and felt.  Yet they have a deeper faith that can help support those who are mourning.

Though the Coptic Orthodox calendar has Christmas on January 7, most of the world will celebrate just one week from today.  There is so much joy and happiness that surrounds this event.  For me it means baking, spending time with my family, fellowshipping with friends, making Christmas ornaments, and attending special church services.  And of course, we know the Christmas story where angels appeared to shepherds and announced the good news with great joy!  Amazing things happened more than 2000 years ago.

But tragic things happened too.  As I reflected this week on the bombing—with Christmas so near—I thought of the mothers in Bethlehem who lost their sons.  As Herod’s jealousy grew over the rumors of a new king, he ordered his soldiers to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem two years and younger.  Can you imagine?  Murdered as they slept in their beds.  Seized while nursing. Moments earlier they were crawling down the corridor or toddling toward their moms.  What pain, what tragedy.

Christmas is a joyous celebration because it signals the birth of the Prince of Peace who will—one day—bring peace to this world. But this year not all are festive with blinking lights and wrapping paper. Besides the families of the Egyptian martyrs, some are dealing with debt, divorce, death, and disease. The world is dealing with refugees, war, terrorism, and racism.  Not exactly the happiest Christmas message.

How do we, how do I, handle all the tragedy in the world and still somehow celebrate the birth of my Savior?  This reflection is how I will start; I will remember the bigger picture.  Some are suffering; some are rejoicing.  I will pray for both.  I will help others.  I will be kind.  I will teach my children what I must continually learn: To not just focus on my own joy this Christmas, but to look outward and consider others.

We are mothers and daughters, mothers and sons.  Let us pray for peace on earth and goodwill toward men.