Displaying 1 - 10 of 44.
Cornelis Hulsman is from a conservative Christian Reformed family in the Netherlands but developed a fascination for the Coptic Orthodox Church. He became a member in 1985. Many stories of Christian persecution in Muslim countries come from the Dutch Christian organization Open Doors,  which has an...
In the context of Cornelis Hulsman showing me his nice draft newsletter article on Salman Rushdie for feedback, I recalled an article I wrote when I was at Georgetown University during what we may call the “Satanic Verses Crisis.”  I had at the time a talk which lasted for long hours with the...
In the aftermath of the brutal assassination of Palestinian American Aljazeera [al-Jazīra] reporter Shireen Abu Akleh [Shīrīn Abū ʿĀklih] (May 11th 2022) by occupying Israeli military forces in Jenin, our British friend William Morris, cofounder and Secretary General of the Next Century Foundation...
The so-called Islamic State (IS) may have disappeared but their ideology and that of al-Qa’ida [al-Qāʿida] is still alive, not only in Muslim countries but also in the West. I am using the adjective ‘so-called’ because the overwhelming majority of Muslims does not believe they represent Islam. When...
The power of religion among the people of Egypt is great and widely recognized. This helped Islamists movements to overthrow the regime of President Ḥusnī Mubārak in 2011 and brought President Muḥammad Mursī to power in 2012-2013. But how to measure Egyptian religiosity? Previous presidents had to...
This article describes the story of Egyptian LGBTQ+ activist Sora Badr. She was born in a male body and underwent in Egypt a sex reassignment surgery without being able to change her sex on her ID. Her fight for recognition shaped her identity as a woman. This is obviously a sensitive subject and...
In 2011 many demonstrations were held in Egypt against the military adminstration. During one of these demonstrations one female protestor was subjected to the torture of soldiers, her clothes were torn, and her blue bra was uncovered. As a result of this event, 10.000 women filled the streets on...
Being a refugee in a country that is not one’s own is difficult. That person is neither equal to the citizens of the host country, nor are they able to return to their own country. The only effective way to support refugees in any country is through education, giving individual refugees the skills...
Many non-religious people in the West tend to believe religious people are irrational. Their view of religious Muslims is often even less favorable. They are, unjustly, often associated with religious extremism. Ignorance of the great diversity that we find in all religions as well as their...
Since the Second World War churches have made tremendous efforts to strive towards more unity. At the same time, we see national and church politics often getting in the way. In this example about church division from Egypt, it is not about dogmatic differences but about the long-term effects of (...

Pages

Subscribe to