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A Muharram victory

Oh boy! Was the US so confident of Allawi’s victory that they didn’t think what would happen if the Shi’i religious party won the elections? It’s not so much that they won, I think everyone but this administration saw them winning a plurality if not a majority, but it dawned on me today that they won the elections during Muharram. The first ten-days were when the Prophet’s grandson Husayn was tortured and killed. It’s one of the formative moments of Shi’ah identity and remains incredibly important for the Ithna’ashari, the type of Shi’ah in Iraq. The symbology of Imam Husayn…

Conference: Our Common Home

I was blessed to be invited to a conference at the Vatican on Laudato Si, the Papal Encyclical on creation care. Called Our Common Home, I presented a reflection on Laudato Si using the teachings of Imam Jafar as-Sadiq (AS). The conference ended with an audience with the Pope.   Audience with Pope Francis