AWR Quarterly Newsletter - April 2022

Language: 
English
Sent On: 
Mon, 2022-04-11
Year: 
2022
Newsletter Number: 
11

Dear readers,

 

Please find hereby our overview of newsletters in the first quarter of 2022. It is obvious that the war between Russia and Ukraine is highlighted. We are grateful for two reports by former CAWU intern Valeria Bez from Russia. We also received feedback from our readers and AWR friends Dr. Evert Du Marchie van Voorthuysen and Eildert Mulder. Of course, Russia and Ukraine are not part of the Middle East, our main focus of reporting, but this war definitely has severe consequences for the Middle East as well.   Take alone the dependence of many Middle Eastern countries on grain from Ukraine and Russia. I believe all needs to be done to avoid escalations but the widespread massacres of civilians in areas that have been occupied by Russia and massive support in weaponry, economic and political support for Ukraine and boycott of Russia sadly show otherwise. Escalations are dangerous since Russia does have an impressive nuclear arsenal. See our report about The Worldwide Threat of Nuclear Weaponry.

 

In newsletter 44/2021 we wrote that, in agreement with Brill Publishers, we have decided to change the name of Arab-West Report to Dialogue Across Borders: Emerging Perspectives on Intercultural and Interreligious Relations. This name change, we believe, will open up opportunities to address intercultural and interreligious dialogue around the region and globally. It will not change our selection criteria or summary translations of Arabic media. Neither will it change other work we have done thus far.

 

It took time to make the needed changes in our database but within days this will be completed, and you will no longer receive an Arab-West Report newsletter but a Dialogue Across Borders newsletter.

 

 

April 11, 2022

Cornelis Hulsman, Editor-in-Chief


 

English Newsletter

 

1) Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is also relevant for non-Christians
January 17, 2022
The Middle East Council of Churches chose the theme of this year’s week of prayer (January 18-25) “We saw the star in the East, and we came to worship him” (Matthew 2:2). This refers to the magi or wise men from the East, men who had studied the stars and saw a message of God in the stars just as all of us receive messages from God in the faith we adhere to.
(Click here for full text)

 

2) Egypt: Religiosity and government
January 24, 2022

The power of religion among the people of Egypt is great and widely recognized. This helped Islamists movements to bring President Muḥammad Mursī to power in 2012-2013. But how to measure Egyptian religiosity?
(Click here for full text)

 

3) Prof. Dr. Johanna Pink about Qur'an exegesis
January 27, 2022

In a series about Qur’an and Bible exegesis Dr. Johanna Pink of the University of Freiburg, Germany, speaks in an interview on YouTube about Qur’an tafsir or exegesis.
(Click here for full text)

 

4) Join us as intern, support our internship program
February 03, 2022

Working with student interns is a crucial part of our work. Our work is truly lifechanging. The work of interns contributes substantially to building the database and thus informing a next generation of students with the texts they have produced.
(Click here for full text)

 

5) The so-called Islamic State (IS) in The Netherlands; lessons from Egypt?
February 10, 2022

The so-called Islamic State (IS) may have disappeared but their ideology and that of al-Qa’ida [al-Qāʿida] is still alive, not only in Muslim countries but also in the West.
(Click here for full text)

 

6) Nile water; politics and religion
February 16, 2022

Throughout the centuries rulers canvassed religious leaders to make them adopt beliefs that would suit their political agendas. Both Egypt and Ethiopia are deeply religious countries and thus it helps political authorities if they are able to canvas support of religious authorities.
(Click here for full text)

 

7) Ukraine: peace, not war, needed
March 16, 2022
“No war. Stop war, don’t believe in propaganda, they’re lying to you here. Russians against war.” We hope that negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will soon bring results. The war and any sabre rattling need to stop.
(Click here for full text)

 

8) Ukraine; a deeply divided country with dangers of escalation
March 20, 2022

The complexity of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the consequences of escalation, and the inability of many leaders to contain conflict situations makes this war very dangerous for Europe and the rest of the world.
 (Click here for full text)

 

9) Consequences of the Russian-Ukrainian war for Egypt
March 24, 2022
The Russian-Ukrainian war has gone in its fifth week. The consequences for countries in the Middle East, including Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Yemen are huge since these countries greatly depend on wheat import from Ukraine and Russia.
(Click here for full text)

 

10) Ramadan and Zakat
March 31, 2022
Muslims around the world will start their Ramadan fasting, one way to do good in Islam is through paying zakat. We want to use the occasion of our newsletter to donate to families of our learning centre for refugees, who are insufficiently able to pay the costs associated to the education of their children.
(Click here for full text)

 


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