by admin on May 10, 2012
This week, we’d like to let you know about a brand new resource in development on our site — completely designed, researched, and written by our undergraduate Euphrates Fellows! Dubbed ”Country Profiles”, this resource will eventually include a fact -filled profile of each country in the Middle East (the MENA region). This preliminary round of profiles reflects research done to gather reference information, describe challenges facing each country, and begin to delve into the work of organizations and NGOs having a positive impact in the country.
The current list includes Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen. Click through the country names to view the profiles!
These profiles were designed by the students to be accessible, easy-to-use, and interesting, and an especially good tool for learning about lesser-known movements and organizations in each country. Sharing positive, nation-building and population-supporting work — what we’ve named “trends of change” — is the ultimate goal of this project. The profiles will continue to be enriched in the coming months, with more information, analysis, and especially more “trends of change!” Please utilize this new resource, and let us know what you think.
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by admin on May 3, 2012
Our inbox has been filled recently with questions about Afghanistan –“What is a feasible plan for the troops leaving? Is progress being made?”– questions sparked no doubt by President Obama’s surprise visit to Afghanistan and the forging of a new partnership with President Karzai on the one-year mark of bin Ladin’s death. We’d like to offer a few thoughts on the situation.
First off, geography quiz. Is Afghanistan part of the Middle East? Answer: No, it’s considered part of South Asia. We go by the U.S. State Department designations, which place Afghanistan and Pakistan in South Asia. Euphrates tends to focus on issues in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region. Here’s a great map quiz for those of you wanting to test your knowledge of Middle Eastern geography.
How is the status quo working? Answer: It’s not. There are conflicting reports as to whether we are making progress in Afghanistan—some soldiers tell us it’s a lost cause, while the US Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker says we are making headway and should not succumb to war fatigue. Regardless, a majority of Americans (69%, according to the most recent NYT/CBS poll) do not want to be at war in Afghanistan. The new agreement, signed by Obama and Karzai two days ago, lacks detail but ensures in broad terms an enduring commitment to the country. The agreement promises economic and development support and counterterrorism efforts beyond 2014, when nearly all American troops will pull out. Retaining an ability to deny terrorists safehaven is vital, and is the reason for which we came to Afghanistan in the first place. (For more on these points, see the recent interview/commentary from Seth Jones of the RAND Corporation, and Eric Greitens, former Navy SEAL, both of whom we follow closely.)
What should we be doing? Answer: While we draw down the “big” effort, let’s ramp up small ones. We should contribute more to NGOs working to engage moderates. Yes, we need to go after terrorists, but, at the end of the day, catching a drop of water from a leaky faucet does not fix the leaky faucet. Fixing the faucet means fixing the problems at their roots—reforming education, revising extremist interpretations of religion, and bringing rule of law and civil society.
An impressive organization doing work on this front is the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy (ICRD), headed by the “father of faith-based diplomacy”, Dr. Douglas Johnston. ICRD has worked in neighboring Pakistan with nearly 3000 madrassa leaders from over 1600 madrassas to reform their curriculum and introduce human rights and respect for religious tolerance. Dr. Johnston’s accounts of meeting directly with Taliban commanders in these hostile areas is riveting, as he shared with us in a talk at the Euphrates Summit last fall. (Watch it here!) Due to their success in Pakistan, ICRD was invited to convene religious and political leaders from all the provinces of Afghanistan, “in order to secure their support and cooperation in providing urgently needed development assistance and in promoting reconciliation and human rights.” This initiative had “strategic implications because religious leaders are the lifeline of the Taliban, and the Taliban was actively engaged in sabotaging development assistance.” ICRD also held a series of regional workshops and a major “Islamic Summit on Peacemaking in Afghanistan.” ICRD describes its unique approach as incorporating religion into the solution, and, in a way, using moderate Islam to counter extremist Islam. It’s an approach that generates results in an environment where they are hard to come by.
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by admin on April 19, 2012
It’s all about WATER. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is the most water scarce in the world, and drought conditions are only expected to worsen, even as populations rapidly increase. 12 of the world’s 15 most water-scarce countries — Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Israel and Palestine — are in the Middle East, and have experienced 30 years of high population growth, which only exacerbates scarce resources.
In a US intelligence community assessment released last month, analysts concluded that “water problems—shortages, poor water quality, or floods—will risk instability, state failure, and increase regional tensions.” An earlier 2009 World Bank report on combating water scarcity in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region also noted, “It is almost a feat that the Middle East, which is plagued by conflicts, has so far managed to avoid major water wars, even though water is a life-and-death economic issue for the people of the region. But for many of these nations, which already are treading the razor’s edge of conflict, water is becoming increasingly a catalyst for confrontation – and an issue of national security and foreign policy as well as domestic stability.”
Earlier this month, Tom Friedman described in a column titled, “The Other Arab Spring”how the “Arab awakening was driven not only by political and economic stresses, but, less visibly, by environmental, population and climate stresses as well (emphasis added). If we focus only on the former and not the latter, we will never be able to help stabilize these societies.” Friedman closes with an appeal: “ We and the Arabs need to figure out — and fast — more ways to partner to mitigate the environmental threats where we can…”
Euphrates takes these issues, (and Friedman’s appeal!) seriously, and we not only follow the environmental and resource challenges in the region, but we partner with an environmental learning organization, the Center for Ecological Living and Learning (CELL), to lead three-month study abroad trips to the Middle East, focusing on sustainability and peace. Water scarcity is a primary subject students tackle, both in the classroom and by doing on-site service projects with environmental organizations, such asFriends of the Earth Middle East (FOEME).
CELL is currently accepting applications for the next three-month study trip to Israel, West Bank, and Jordan. If you know of students interested in experiencing up close and personally the world’s most pressing needs — peace and sustainability — this is the trip for them!
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by admin on April 9, 2012
The author (center) with Euphrates Founder and Executive Director
Janessa Gans Wilder (left) and Euphrates Director of Operations
Hillary Austin (right) in Syria, May 2010.
Unrest and upheaval in Syria, dominating the headlines for over a
year now, remains an enigmatic subject for many Americans.
We’re pleased to share with you this article focused on
understanding the background and context of the current
situation in Syria, written by one of our Warriors for Peace®,
Joseph Essex.
———-
Any visitor to Syria will tell that they are blown away by rich
tapestry of religious and ethnic diversity that populates this
breathtaking country. I will never forget my first impression of
the old city of Damascus when I first visited in the summer of
2007. Wandering through the maze of alleyways and shops that
fill the popular Souq al-Hamadiya, I eventually ended up
standing next to the Great Mosque of Damascus. There I stood in
awe, looking at what was once the Byzantine Cathedral of St.
John the Baptist and the Roman temple of Jupiter. To this day,
the mosque remains a place of pilgrimage for Christians and
Muslims of all sects.
I would eventually end up living in Syria for nearly two years,
learning Arabic and taking every opportunity to immerse myself
in the local culture. More than anything, the Syrians I met
cherished the tolerance and diversity of their society. Fast
forward five years from my original visit and it pains me to see
the county falling to the brink of civil war. It is easy to
associate unrest in Syria with the revolutions in Tunisia and
Egypt but that is a mistake. Though there are a lot of opinions
about what is happening within Syria, it is important to
understand both the Syrian regime and Syrian society. As our
leaders contemplate intervening in Syria, it is crucial that we
take a critical look at where Syria is coming from before we try
to decide where it should be heading.
One Arab Nation with an Eternal Mission
The founding slogan of the Arab Socialist Baath Party is “one
Arab nation with an eternal mission”. It represents a secular,
nationalist, and pan-Arab identity that Syria has cultivated
better than any other Arab country. It is a source of legitimacy
for the Baathist regime and gives pride to many Syrians who
believe that their country is the last great defender of the
Arab nation.
Secular Arab nationalism has played two important roles for the
Syrian regime: First, it curbed sectarian tendencies in this
multi-religious society, and secondly it gave the regime popular
legitimacy for being the region’s harshest critic of Israel.
Syria became champion of the muqawama, (resistance) by
supporting groups like Hezbollah and Hamas. These policy
decisions increased Syria’s influence in the region and give the
county a great deal of strategic importance.
In other Arab countries, secular nationalism fell out of favor.
Egypt and Jordan were seen by their citizens as Western puppet
regimes which are willing to sacrifice everything–including
liberation of the Israeli occupied territories and the right of
Palestinian return–in exchange for peace with Israel and
Western aid. This distrust coupled with heavy-handed repression
helped support the spread of Islamic fundamentalist ideologies.
While civil society languished, the mosque became the only place
where the community could organize to discuss activism and
social change; thus influencing the rise of political Islam
throughout the Middle East.
While not immune to Islamist influences, Syria has been able to
crack down on Islamist groups more harshly than any other
country in the region. Unlike in Egypt and Jordan where the
Muslim Brotherhood continues to play an increasingly important
role in politics, the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood has been
marginalized and membership carries a sentence of death.
Political Islam represents a direct challenge to the political
elite within the Baath Party (including the president Bashar al
-Assad) who are overwhelmingly part of the Alawite sect of Shi’a
Islam. The Alawites and other Muslim minority sects have long
been considered heretics by religious Sunnis who represent 75%
of the total Syrian population, and they fear that changing the
state’s secular identity will lead to their persecution.
At A Crossroads
Today Syria sits at a dangerous crossroads as political and
sectarian unrest threatens to push the country into a full blown
civil war. Regional powers, most notably the Sunni Gulf
monarchies and Shi’a Iran, are vying for influence in Syria. The
Saudi King Abdullah has publicly thrown his support behind the
armed resistance against Bashar al-Assad while Iran and
Hezbollah continue to offer support for the regime. Foreign
influence is pushing the sectarian divide closer to the surface
and causing increased tension between Sunnis and religious
minorities. One popular refrain heard with increasing frequency
during opposition protests is “send the Christians to Beirut and
the Alawites to their coffins”! While minority groups do not
give their blanket approval to the Assad regime’s authoritarian
practices, they now fear marginalization should the regime fall.
According to one Alawite friend living in a Sunni dominated
neighborhood in Damascus, “I have always hated this government
but ever since the start of the unrest, my family members have
been continuously targeted by their neighbors. Every morning we
wake up with trash left on our doorstep and more recently, our
house has been vandalized with anti-Alawite slurs. We are all
afraid and feel like this government is the only protection we
have”.
To hear the story told on the news, one would think that the
situation in Syria is the tale of another Arab dictator
teetering on the verge of collapse as the international
community determines if and when to intervene. Yet the reality
is more complicated than it seems on the surface. Unless there
is reconciliation between religious sects, foreign intervention
will do little to protect Syria’s most precious resource –
tolerance.
Joseph Essex holds a Masters of Professional Studies in Arabic
from the University of Maryland and a Dual BA in Middle Eastern
Studies and Political Science from the Elliot School of
International Affairs at George Washington University. He was a
fellow in The Arabic Flagship program at the University of
Damascus from 2009 to 2010. Fluent in Arabic with significant
regional experience, Joseph served as the Resident Director
first for the Syria program and then for the pilot Jordan
program. In 2011, he relocated to the United States where he now
oversees the CET programs in
the Middle East. Joseph also founded Project Nur in Washington D.C. He
spends his time helping students connect with local language
partners and roommates to truly immerse them in the host culture
, because “we need programs that bring the language and the
culture to life and which give students the building blocks to
build bridges of their own.”
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by admin on March 28, 2012
This week we are featuring a recent interview of Euphrates’ Founder Janessa Gans Wilder for TMC Youth’s ‘Walk the Talk’ series on Time4Thinkers.com. In the interview, Janessa describes the spiritual insights and experiences that led to the founding of Euphrates, as well as its current vision and goal. If you’re new to Euphrates, this will give you a quick snapshot about how it all began and what principles drive us.
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by admin on March 15, 2012
Today, we’re pausing for a poem by Rumi, a Persian Sufi poet from the 13th century. Sometimes complicated or complex issues need a simple dose of inspiration in order to find a solution or uncover a new approach. The mental “breath of fresh air” that poetry can often provide is key to developing skills such as seeing past ‘the Other’ and recognizing and celebrating our common humanity even when and where it seems impossible. In this poem Rumi embodies an idea central to the Euphrates Institute – that the way to respond to seemingly intractable issues is to seek an improved view and fresh thinking, not to stay mired in the details of the problem. Einstein calls it “levels of thinking,” and here, Rumi speaks of going “out beyond.” However this practice is described, the ability to rise above the ‘us vs. them’ mentality is a vital part of true conflict resolution in this age, and we champion those who are demonstrating it day-to-day.
Out beyond ideas of wrong-doing and right-doing,
there is a field.
I’ll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase
each other
doesn’t make any sense.
Rumi (Sufi Mystic 1207-1273 A.D.)
translation by Coleman Barks
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by admin on March 7, 2012
We’re excited to have thirteen students in the Fellows Program this semester, coming from all over the country and the world! Their enthusiasm to learn more about what’s happening in the Middle East and share that with their community is really inspiring.
The Fellows Program, our academic-research branch, is open to undergraduate and graduate students from any college or university in the U.S. and is dedicated to: 1) Expanding our awareness of the cultural and political dimensions of the Middle East, and 2) Cultivating relations based on mutual respect and our common humanity.
And, the program’s already off to a great start with all the work that’s been done through our weekly meetings, individual projects and committee involvement! So far this spring, the Fellows have been meeting weekly to engage in team building activities, gratitude sharing, Middle East learning and current events updates. They have even been learning basic Arabic phrases, taught by Euphrates CEO and Founder Janessa Gans Wilder!
One especially neat thing that the Fellows are working on this semester is completing an individual project, each project designed by the Fellows themselves! Topics range from researching Islamic architecture, the role that Turkey plays as a bridge between the Middle East and the West, Iranian film and water issues in Israel and the Palestinian Territories to studying Hebrew and Arabic, the influence of the Israel lobby in U.S. politics today, how punishment for sin is justified in Middle Eastern countries and environmental movements in the Middle East today. We are really excited to have the Fellows present these projects to the community in the upcoming weeks!
With a focus on Euphrates’ Inform, Inspire and Transform philosophy, the Fellows have also been involved in a variety of Middle East research and community event planning through the five committees that are active this semester:
- Interfaith Committee
- Video Production Committee
- Blogging Committee
- Campus Events Committee
- Social Media Committee
The Interfaith Committee especially has been really active this semester! They have been learning more about various Christian sects through research and church visits. The five Fellows on this committee visited both an Ash Wednesday service at a local Catholic church in Alton, IL, as well as the Methodist church in Elsah, IL. They have also been blogging about their experiences!
The Campus Events Committee also put on a Euphrates Dinner last month, as part of the Whole World Festival at Principia College. Other committee activity includes our video production team working really hard to finish up editing videos for the Summit….a really large project! We can’t wait to share ther results with you.
We are so grateful to see so much interest in learning more about the Middle East on-campus and for the great work that the Fellows are doing this term!! More lunchtime discussions and campus events on the Principia College campus are just around the corner.
Please visit our new website to meet the Fellows, read the Fellows blog and learn more about how you can be part of the Fellows program!
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by admin on February 13, 2012
by Duncan Wilder
“…there cannot be peace and transformation on a bigger scale if we haven’t found it first within ourselves.”
What an amazing place! We saw it all: from the Mount of Beatitudes overlooking the Sea of Galilee, to the beautiful beaches and Mediterranean Sea in Tel Aviv, to the separation wall and Palestinian refugee camps in Bethlehem, to floating in the Dead Sea (the lowest point on Earth), to the contentious divisions of Palestinians and Israeli settlers in the West Bank city of Hebron, to the many holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem. We heard a wide range of perspectives on the conflict from about 30 different speakers on all points of the spectrum. We also took a class interspersed throughout the trip called “Living Beyond Our Stories” (from Educare: The UnLearning Institute) which focused on connecting personal transformation to global transformation. We used models, exercises, and real-life examples from the trip to help us look at our own stories that we’ve carried with us in life, and to show us that there cannot be peace and transformation on a bigger scale if we haven’t found it first within ourselves.
I already knew a lot about the conflict before the trip through learning the history in college classes and reading the news. However, this trip made the region and conflict much more real for me. Meeting real Israelis and real Palestinians and hearing their stories was very eye-opening. It brought the issues home because you see what they are dealing with every day. It doesn’t feel like a far away region anymore with a conflict that doesn’t affect me. I now feel emotionally connected to the region and see it as affecting the friends I met there. I also feel like I gained a deeper understanding of the narratives of the two sides. This was something that was very important to me because I want to work on staying neutral in the conflict without taking sides, which simply adds to the large division between Israelis and Palestinians. I feel like by working to truly understand the plights, mindsets, and history of both populations, you can be more level-headed and work more easily towards peace.
One of the biggest highlights for me was visiting the Sea of Galilee. Being where Jesus did much of his ministry was surreal and helped make the Bible come more alive for me. Another highlight was seeing the incredible amount of hope and hospitality in the Palestinian communities we visited amidst such hardship. They welcomed us with open arms and seemed to be making the most
of what they had despite not having much, especially compared to what we are used to here in the United States. The many Palestinians we met were passionate about wanting peace with their Jewish neighbors, and wanting to live side by side with them like they did before. They explained they were not at all against Judiasm but simply against occupation and inequality. We usually see a different picture of Islam and Arabs in the Western media, so that was very refreshing.
There’s a lot more to the Middle East than deserts, terrorism, and conflict. There are beautiful mountains and seas, rich religious history, and many amazing peace builders on both sides of every issue. I was extremely inspired by the people we spoke with who are working for peace, justice, and mutual understanding in such an intense and complex region. I highly recommend traveling to the Holy Land and experiencing it for yourself! I promise it will be one of the best decisions of your life!
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by admin on February 6, 2012
Harmony amongst religions seems like a no-brainer, but unfortunately conflict in the name of religion seems to be at the root of many of the challenges our world faces! In October of 2010, acting on a proposal by HM King Abdullah II of Jordan, the U.N. General Assembly designated the first week in February as “World Interfaith Harmony Week.” The idea is that promoting and celebration interfaith harmony in the international community is the best place to start promoting harmony for all. ”Love of the Good, and love of the neighbor” — this is the underpinning message of the week. This year marks the second annual celebration worldwide, with hundreds of gatherings, meals, forums, events, and celebrations taking place all over the globe.
Euphrates encourages you to visit the website to learn more about the reasons behind the declaration, as well as the many different ways to commemorate the ideal of harmony amongst faiths leading the way to harmony for all. Find an event near you, and join in the conversation! This inspiring model, with support from so many religious leaders and international community, is certainly helping to prepare for peace!
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by admin on December 5, 2011
As December kicks off, the Euphrates Founder is in D.C. hosting a mini-Euphrates Summit, featuring Dr. Douglas Johnston, founder of the International Center of Religion and Diplomacy, and four Warriors for Peace. This week, Euphrates is presenting at Tufts University and Bates College. Join us if you’re in the area! See more details on the events page. Meanwhile, we’ve got staff taking leadership courses, new people joining the team, and a whole lot of gratitude to go around.
Click here to see a ‘hot-off-the-press’ video with Summit highlights from Principia’s “Prinwire,” and read on for some of our participant’s impressions from the Euphrates Summit…
When asked, “What key insights or learnings will you be taking away from this Summit?” our participants had this to say:
“It gave me great hope for the future and even more appreciation for all the peace work that’s already going on. It also impels me to open my own thought to doing more personally.”
“Inspirational – thought the theme was essential and something that is almost never addressed.”
“The 20% tipping point goal. Gives me something to work toward person to person. Grace, humility, Golden Rule, being a better listener!”
“That there are many like-minded efforts working for peace, and that each of us want to do more! This was totally inspirational, and I hope there are more activities through Euphrates – loved it!”
“A glimpse of the new paradigm evolving for international, especially Middle East, relations.”
“Listen, and then we have a responsibility to act. Empathy is the life blood of the Golden Rule. Living the Golden Rule is so practical!”
“My goals will certainly be transformed by the kind of thinking required to solve problems.”
“The many creative ways to work towards peace! Plus, my hope and fire have been re-ignited about the future of our global family!”
And from some of our speakers …
Busting stereotypes and myths and letting a little truth to wedge its way in, bringing people of all faiths and creeds together is what you set out to do and it seems that everybody who attended had a similar wish. The summit you put together allowed so much of that dialog to flourish, and I’m still having a blast sharing the perspectives that came from that flawlessly executed symposium. – T.H. Culhane, Solar CITIES
“The Euphrates Summit showed us that the toughest aspect of reaching for a peaceful future might be overcoming the idea that talking about peace is itself a controversial issue. Strength of character and deep knowledge can overcome this barrier.” –Tom Quiggin, Expert on Terrorism
To “end the clash of civilizations in our lifetime,” is Euphrates vision. They uniquely recognize to accomplish this monumental goal requires thinking far outside the unproductive traditional boxes and drawing upon the creativity and ingenuity of the world’s best minds. Euphrates is well positioned structurally, intellectually, organizationally and spiritually to help promulgate this task. – Amb. Mark Siljander, Former Member of the U.S. Congress
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