Christianity

By Mohammad Eslami and Ibrahim Marashi | – Braga, Portugal and San Marcos, Ca. (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – The world now grieves the loss of Pope Francis, a spiritual titan whose moral compass and unwavering voice for the marginalized reverberated far beyond the confines of Vatican walls. At the heart of his papacy […]

Featured

How Pope Francis Divinized Palestinian Suffering: The Gaza Pietà

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 1936 in Buenos Aires to Italian immigrant parents, is dead at 88 after a prolonged illness. Almost alone of Western leaders, he showed enormous sympathy for the plight of the Palestinian civilians of Gaza. He called the small Catholic community there every evening. […]

Christianity

Three Ways Pope Francis influenced the Global Climate Movement

The Conversation

By Celia Deane-Drummond, University of Oxford The death of Pope Francis has been announced by the Vatican. I first met the late Pope Francis at the Vatican after a conference called Saving Our Common Home and the Future of Life on Earth in July 2018. My colleagues and I sensed something momentous was happening at […]

Israel/ Palestine

Christian Zionism hasn’t always been a conservative evangelical Creed – Churches’ Views of Israel have evolved over Decades

The Conversation

By Shalom Goldman, Middlebury (The Conversation) – During confirmation hearings, Mike Huckabee, President Donald Trump’s nominee as ambassador to Israel, told senators that he would “respect and represent the President,” not his own views. But the Baptist minister’s views on the Middle East – and their religious roots – came through. “The spiritual connections between […]

Christianity

Why White Christian Nationalists are Freaked out: Liberals are More likely to be Non-Religious than Christian

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Ironically, White Christian nationalism has captured the U.S. government despite its steep decline in popularity among the public. The Pew Research Center has released a poll on the state of religion in the United States. From the point of view of contemporary American history, Christianity in the U.S. has collapsed […]

Christianity

For Christmas: The Persian Poet Nezami’s Story of Jesus Finding Virtues even in the Lowliest

Juan Cole

On Christmas Day, I like to recall the significance of Jesus and the nativity for Muslims. I’ve talked about Rumi, Attar, and other mystics. Today it is Nezami’s turn. The great Persian poet Nezami (1141-1209) was from the city of Ganja in northwestern Iran when it was ruled by the Seljuk Empire. That was the […]

Featured

Pope Francis: “I Think of Gaza, of so much Cruelty, of the Children Machine-Gunned”

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On the Sunday before Christmas, Pope Francis said, “May the weapons be silenced and Christmas carols resound!” according to Kristina Molare at the Catholic News Agency. The Pope continued, in a clear condemnation of the Israeli government, “With sorrow I think of Gaza, of so much cruelty; of the children […]

Christianity

Pope Francis Calls for Painstaking Investigation into Whether Israeli War on Gaza is a Genocide

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Pope Francis has a new book, Hope never disappoints. Pilgrims towards a better world. The English version is not out yet, but I was able to find the Italian. It calls for an investigation into whether the Israeli war on Gaza is a genocide. The Pope mentions Gaza on several […]

Christianity

Jordan Condemns Israeli Forces for Storming Jerusalem Church

Middle East Monitor

( Middle East Monitor ) – The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the Israeli occupation forces storming a church in the Sanctuary of the Eleona in occupied Jerusalem on Thursday and arresting two security guards employed by the French Consulate General in Jerusalem. The two guards were tasked with securing the area ahead of […]