Reconciliation is at the core of the gospel; God reconciled the world to Himself through Christ. Thus, as followers of Christ, we ought to bear this message of reconciliation and apply it in our lives. In 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, Paul expands on this responsibility and asserts that we ought to be ambassadors of reconciliation to the world through His justice.
This was and still is the calling that inspired me 30 years ago to establish ‘Musalaha’ (reconciliation in Arabic). Over the years, I have learned a great deal about reconciliation and was thrilled with the opportunity to expand Musalaha’s reconciliation teachings through the Peace and Reconciliation Network of the World Evangelical Alliance. Despite the many conflicts in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, the few churches and organisations to partner with, I have been researching and exploring the main actors of peace and reconciliation with the desire of familiarising ourselves with our reconciliation MENA network.
The primary goal is to bring our heads and hearts together to discuss how to strategically advance peace and reconciliation work in our region that has experienced political turmoil, wars and massacres, and lacks freedom and human rights. We are gathering because there is hope in God’s power. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead and empowers us to bring forth His Kingdom can bring about the needed change in our beautiful region.
Dr Salim J. Munayer
Musalaha Executive Director
Our Muslim-Christian-Jewish women’s group, Movement for Justice, met for the eighth time this year. Despite slightly lower attendance due to national holidays, approximately 20 dedicated women met to discuss Musalaha’s tenth chapter in our Curriculum of Reconciliation, Power
At first, we explored the variety of different powers that exist – power of force and control, power of fear, power of manipulation, power of belief and faith, and more. As a group, we agreed that power alone does not constitute moral value, but is perceived as a tool everyone uses for good or bad. Moreover, we discussed the relationship between power and our identities. Does the power of my identity give me privilege or disadvantage in my context? And why?
During the second session of our weekend, we talked about the imbalance of power in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Indeed, when one group is more powerful than another, the powerful will often abuse their power and use it to stay in power. Are we associated with the powerful? And are we participating in systems and cultures that mistreat people with less power? Lack of awareness may lead us to comply with political, economic, and gender norms that violate the dignity of other humans. We all agreed that we ought to hold the more powerful side accountable, and empower the powerless and voiceless.
Social justice, political differences & the church
At a recent event, I was accosted by a younger Christian who spoke to me of the challenge of being …