A Sense of Belonging

They Will Know We are Christians by Our Drinks

This article was first published in the April print edition of Christianity Today. The deadliest incident faced by the persecuted church last Christmas wasn’t radical Islamists. It was alcohol. Liquor mixed with aftershave killed about 50 people at Christmas parties in a Pakistani village, and sickened about 100 more. In Pakistan, as in many Muslim-majority … Continue reading →

Does Egypt Still Matter?

As America under Trump re-determines its policies in the Middle East, the feelings of the region’s people matter very little. ‘Hearts and minds,’ sure, but cold-calculating interests generally rule geopolitical considerations. All the same, I can imagine the Egyptian angst in reading this recommendation by the Hoover Institute for Washington to re-up its cooperation with … Continue reading →

What Jesus Can Teach Muslims Today

The New York Times carried a very Christian op-ed recently, penned by a Turkish Muslim. Mustafa Akyol is one of Turkey’s leading journalists, and argues that the crisis in the Muslim world today can be solved by turning to Jesus as example. But first, a primer for those who don’t know the basics: While Muslims … Continue reading →

Friday Prayers for Egypt: Bread and Entry

God, Facing a severe decline in tourism, Egypt doubles the entry fee. Facing corruption in the bread market, Egypt scales back supply. Both decisions can be seen as sensible, God, but outcry is loud and execution haphazard. Give wisdom for right policy. Immediately the government postponed the visa price hike, and hints a final decision … Continue reading →

Egypt’s Anglicans Face ‘Existential Threat’… from Fellow Protestants

This article was first published in the March print edition of Christianity Today. I provided additional reporting. Egypt’s top Anglican leader is accusing its top evangelical leader of attempting a “hostile takeover” to prevent Egyptian Anglicans from achieving state recognition as an independent national church. The dispute first surfaced in 2001, but this past summer … Continue reading →

Archbishop Mouneer Consecrates First Arab Anglican Bishop for North Africa

In a moving ceremony at All Saints Cathedral, Cairo on February 27, 2017, Archbishop Mouneer Hanna Anis consecrated his ‘dear brother’ Rev. Samy Fawzy as the first Arab area bishop for North Africa. Bishop Fawzy succeeds Bishop Bill Musk, who presided over the diocese encompassing Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya since 2008. Bishop Musk was honored … Continue reading →

Friday Prayers for Egypt: Sadat, Mubarak, and Sinai

God, One is expelled from parliament, for alleged wrongs. One is released from confinement, alleged wrongs dismissed. Hundreds are displaced from home, for no alleged wrong but existence. God, intervene. If Sadat is a criminal may he have his day in court. If he is simply silenced direct his voice. If Mubarak is a criminal … Continue reading →

The Forgotten Final Resting Place of William Borden

This article was first published at Christianity Today on February 24, 2017. Tucked away in the northwest corner of the American cemetery in Cairo lies the neglected grave of William Borden, one of the most celebrated missionaries of the 20th century Student Volunteer Movement. Heir to a family fortune, the Yale graduate instead devoted his … Continue reading →

Egyptian Exodus: 100 Christian Families Flee ISIS in Sinai

This article was first published at Christianity Today on February 27, 2017. As Coptic Christians flee Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula in unprecedented numbers, a Protestant church is there to receive them. “We were the first to respond,” said Atef Samy, associate pastor at Kasr el-Dobara Evangelical Church in Cairo. “Two of those killed were very dear … Continue reading →

Friday Prayers for Egypt: Blind Threat

God, As one era passes, another begins. One died, and then two others. There is no connection, save a pernicious idea. Defeat it, God, and save the people – target and targetter alike. Far away in America, the Blind Sheikh passed away after many years of incarceration. Linked to terrorism in the first World Trade … Continue reading →

Friday Prayers for Egypt: Divorce and Authority

God, You know best the worth of a woman. You know what is timeless, you know what is cultural. Help Egypt to know as you do, and act accordingly. Troubled by rising divorce rates, the president pushed for reform. Hoping a standardized process might curb rash decisions, he asked administrative witness and registration be made … Continue reading →

Ballerinas of Cairo

Al-Monitor highlights a new effort to get art to the street. Ballerinas of Cairo has some great pictures, combining cultural physique with iconic cityscape. By taking to the streets of Cairo, the young artists have succeeded in breaking the stereotype that ballet is an art form for the upper class only. Despite the dangers of … Continue reading →

Islam, Jihad, and Syria

Two days ago I shared my new article at Christianity Today contrasting Muslim and Christian polls about eschatology. As ISIS surged in the Middle East, it activated also Christian visions of Armageddon. But it is good also to look at the raw material. This article by Josh Landis contains many interesting tidbits on how Syria … Continue reading →

Friday Prayers for Egypt: Falling Short

God, Egypt was almost happy. Perhaps she was a little. The national soccer team came close to reclaiming its heritage as ‘best in Africa’, but fell short in the final. But so also seemed many of Egypt’s actors this week, for good or for ill. A women’s labor strike at a textile factory abandoned the … Continue reading →

Who Awaits the Messiah Most? Muslims

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 … Continue reading →

Chris Wright and the Bible of Reformation

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,” … Continue reading →

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

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 … Continue reading →

What Arab Church Leaders Think of Trump Prioritizing Persecuted Christian Refugees

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 … Continue reading →

Conspiracy Theory Comes to America

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 … Continue reading →

Friday Prayers for Egypt: Quiet Revolution

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 … Continue reading →