1.
Mixed news, perhaps, but cautiously optimistic:
“For Iraqi Christians at home and abroad, the road to reconstruction is long”
With regard to the article above, please keep in mind that the Iraqi Kurds are, themselves, overwhelmingly (Sunni) Muslim. I sometimes see discussions of Iraq’s “Sunnis, Shi‘ites, and Kurds” that seem to imagine that the Kurds are, perhaps, not Muslim. But Kurd is an ethnic descriptor, while Sunni and Shi‘ite are religious descriptors. The error would be rather like discussing “Protestants, Catholics, and Belgians” in Europe.
2.
But this is pretty unambiguously good news:
“Egyptian Copts finally fulfilling ‘dream’ of traveling to Jerusalem”
Last year, I believe, I was pleased (and surprised) to see a large group of Coptic Christian tourists (or pilgrims) in Jericho. I recognized their Egyptian dialect of Arabic, and spoke with several of them. They were absolutely thrilled to be there, and I was rather thrilled that they were able to come.
3.
Bonus item: I was extremely happy to see Sharon Eubank called as first counselor in the new general presidency of the Relief Society. I’ve spoken on programs with her in Darmstadt, Germany, and Göteborg, Sweden, and, even, in exotic Provo, Utah. (For a video of her excellent and well received 2014 FairMormon conference address, see here.) She’s remarkable. And, as I mentioned just a few hours ago, she recently wrote a piece for Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture.
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