{"id":40991,"date":"2017-04-01T16:43:40","date_gmt":"2017-04-01T22:43:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=40991"},"modified":"2017-04-01T16:43:40","modified_gmt":"2017-04-01T22:43:40","slug":"two-items-christians-middle-east-plus-extra-add","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2017\/04\/two-items-christians-middle-east-plus-extra-add.html","title":{"rendered":"Two items about Christians in the Middle East, plus an extra add-on"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Fruit<\/a>
A street scene in modern Jericho \u00a0(Wikimedia Commons public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mixed news, perhaps, but cautiously optimistic:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFor Iraqi Christians at home and abroad, the road to reconstruction is long\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

With regard to the article above, please keep in mind that the Iraqi Kurds are, themselves, overwhelmingly\u00a0(Sunni) Muslim. \u00a0I sometimes see discussions of Iraq\u2019s \u201cSunnis, Shi\u2018ites, and Kurds\u201d that seem to imagine that the Kurds are, perhaps, not Muslim. \u00a0But Kurd<\/em> is an ethnic descriptor, while Sunni <\/em>and Shi\u2018ite<\/em> are religious descriptors. \u00a0The error would be rather like discussing \u201cProtestants, Catholics, and Belgians\u201d in Europe.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

But this is pretty unambiguously good news:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEgyptian Copts finally fulfilling \u2018dream\u2019 of traveling to Jerusalem\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last year, I believe, I was pleased (and surprised) to see a large group of Coptic Christian tourists (or pilgrims) in Jericho. \u00a0I recognized their Egyptian dialect of Arabic, and spoke with several of them. \u00a0They were absolutely thrilled to be there, and I was rather thrilled that they were able to come.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

3.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bonus item: \u00a0I was extremely happy to see Sharon Eubank called as first counselor in the new general presidency\u00a0of the Relief Society. \u00a0I\u2019ve spoken on programs with her in Darmstadt, Germany, and G\u00f6teborg, Sweden, and, even, in exotic Provo, Utah. \u00a0(For a video of her excellent and well received 2014 FairMormon conference address, see here<\/a>.) \u00a0She\u2019s remarkable. \u00a0And, as I mentioned<\/a> just a few hours ago, she recently wrote a piece for Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 1. \u00a0 Mixed news, perhaps, but cautiously optimistic: \u00a0 \u201cFor Iraqi Christians at home and abroad, the road to reconstruction is long\u201d \u00a0 With regard to the article above, please keep in mind that the Iraqi Kurds are, themselves, overwhelmingly\u00a0(Sunni) Muslim. \u00a0I sometimes see discussions of Iraq\u2019s \u201cSunnis, Shi\u2018ites, and Kurds\u201d that seem […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nTwo items about Christians in the Middle East, plus an extra add-on<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    1.   Mixed news, perhaps, but cautiously optimistic:   "For Iraqi Christians at home and abroad, the road to reconstruction is\" 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