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A Letter from Saudi Arabia

Passed on from a friend from a friend. I can assure that the person is writing from Saudi Arabia. Dear Friends,    As I am sitting in front of my home computer, an intense pounding  is  trying to break through my forehead. I am wondering how quickly  the  Tylenol will kick in. I have been up this morning since 5:30 AM,  which  any of you who know me well will be surprised to hear. I was  awakened  this morning by a telephone call from the Booz Allen senior  employee in  Riyadh who works on the Saudi Navy Project and lives on…

The Mahdi

Father Jake had a question regarding the Mahdi and the use of the name “Mahdi Army” by Muqtada as-Sadr. He’s gone out and done a fair amount of research, and I wanted to add my two cents. From a theological perspective, the idea of the Mahdi is incredibly ill-defined, because the idea of the end days are ill-defined in the Qur’an. While we have a sense that the mountains will crumble, stars will fall from the sky and the sky itself will tear, there is no equivalent to the Book of Revelations in the Qur’an. (For a wonderful discussion of…

Abrahamic Call for Peace

Jews, Muslims, Christians Agree on Gaza-Israel Crisis This statement by leaders of the three Abrahamic communities in Boston was issued yesterday and was published in the Boston Globe by a columnist who writes on religion. Its thoughtfulness and the breadth and stature of its signers are extraordinary – representing the best version of our religious traditions and communities. If in your own community, religious leaders are well on the way to adopting your own statement on the Gaza-Israel war and publicizing it, wonderful! — If however you don’t have such a statement ready, the existence of this one could be…