by Jim Mullins
What do the recent events in Egypt and Black History Month have in common? Other than both being the theme of our last Peace Feast, the main commonality, I believe, is the use of cultural power over political power.
The Civil Rights movement utilized the power of words and non-violent demonstration to upend the unjust and dehumanizing policies that smothered the African American community until the '60s.
In Egypt, Mubarak had a monopoly on political power, but he wasn't strong enough to stifle the Egyptian poets on the streets of Tahrir Square or contain the cultural power of Facebook. In some ways, Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook, played a significant role in the transformation of Egypt.
Few of us have political power, but we all have cultural power in the way that Andy Crouch defines it. Engineers, musicians, graphic designers, chefs, and stay-at-home moms all have some measure of cultural power. The question is, are we using it intentionally and wisely? Are we wielding it for the good of society and in attempts to love our neighbor?
On February 24th, we gathered at an Egyptian restaurant called the Nile Cafe in south Scottsdale. The night included amazing food and a few interviews. The first interview was with Mohamed Maio, owner of the Nile and local entrepreneur; and Riccardo Stewart, former ASU football player. We interviewed them about cultural power, Martin Luther King Jr., and the worldview that informs their thinking about society.
We closed the night by interviewing Souzan Elsaiddi, Mohamed's mother, about what life was like while growing up in Egypt She gave us some cultural insights about Egypt and expressed gratitude for so many people praying for her country.
Let's continue to pray for Egypt and use our gifts, abilities, training, and resources to bless our neighbor.
Uganda is in crisis, and the world needs to pay attention. In this blog, an East African researcher and friend of Peace Catalyst discusses Uganda’s situation and what democracies around the world must learn from Uganda before it’s too late.
I’ve been thinking about the Western craving for what I sometimes call a Disneyland ending—a curated, comforting wrap-up to hard stories. I'm in one of these moments. Bear with me as I try to unpack what it feels like when people abandon the ones we care about—or the work we do to stand alongside them.
After everything that has already happened, Gaza’s Christians may now be facing their biggest challenge since the war began.
Why am I going to Christ at the Checkpoint (CATC) 2024? On the one hand, this is a simple question to answer. I’m going to CATC because I have accepted the invitation to journey to the other side of the wall to stand in solidarity with Palestinians. On the other hand, the answer requires a bit of personal history…
There is a constant battle between the individual longing for freedom and civilisation demanding conformity and repression of instincts. And so, individuals are constantly sending subtle and not-so-subtle messages about their feelings and this restricted freedom. I had this on my mind recently as I took the trolley bus through Sarajevo.
Uyghur, Kazakh, Tibetan, and other minority families are being traumatized through the assimilationist policies of the Chinese government. These policies include children being forcibly separated from their parents and put in boarding school where they are systematically stripped of their language, culture, and religion.
Pope Francis is currently in Canada and has delivered a historic apology for the suffering and abuse in the Catholic boarding schools for Canada's indigenous peoples. This apology comes on the heels of the Pope's apology from the Vatican in April of this year. Schools of this type are not just things of the past, though. Similar boarding schools are currently in operation in China for Uyghur and Tibetan peoples. Watch the video from this joint event with Peace Catalyst as well as representatives from several Uyghur and Tibetan human rights advocacy organizations to learn more about what's happening.
I applied to Notre Dame’s faculty-led trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina this summer because I wanted to learn more about a part of Europe that is often left out of history books and course syllabi. I wanted to educate myself on the rich history of the country, and the current situation in regards to peacebuilding. This trip did help me accomplish those goals, but the most impactful part of the journey was actually a conversation about my own country.
During our May student trip to Sarajevo, Amra, one of our discussion facilitators, laughed, cigarette dangling from her lips, as she likened the city to a femme fatale—alluring, but with a dark side. It was, we soon learned, an apt description for a lovely and complicated city, one that has been simultaneously strengthened and scarred by its history.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is not a place I had ever pictured myself visiting. But thanks to a student trip made possible by the University of Notre Dame and Peace Catalyst International, I recently visited the country—not as a tourist, but as a student of peacebuilding who gained a new appreciation for the role of religion in peace processes and reconciliation.
