In April, I had the pleasure of visiting the Embassy of Finland as a representative of Peace Catalyst to discuss the Marrakesh Declaration with religious leaders and others. Muslim and Christian leaders, and others, were here to fight—for human flourishing. Below are four reflections from this unique experience.

I joined religious peacebuilders from around the world for a three-day conference in Istanbul, Turkey to rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of our peacebuilding efforts. 

I’ve begun a “What if” list. It’s a bit in the John Lennon motif when he penned the lyrics to his popular song, Imagine. 

I recently took my Syrian imam friend to a Christian college to speak as a guest lecturer in "Cross Cultural Communications" classes, a "Theology of Missions" class and "Church Planting" class. 

For the first three weeks in April, we had the privilege of leading a team of 10 people to Mafraq, Jordan, a small city 9 miles from the Syrian border. 

What pops into the mind of the average American if you ask him or her about Muslims? Most would say something like this: “Muslims are terrorists,” “I'm afraid of Muslims; they want to take over our country,” or “I'm suspicious of Muslims.”

This story comes from one of our newest Peace Catalyst staff members, Jaime Harris, who has been living and making peace in Indonesia for 20 years through education, serving the poor, organizing interfaith events, and more.

The alienation between many Americans and Muslims world-wide is based primarily on fear and not facts. American mainstream media, and all too often Christians, view Muslims—all Muslims—as evil extremists who want to do us harm. Muslims equal “security threats” in the eyes of many people.

Peace Catalyst President Rick Love spoke at this year's Christ at the Checkpoint conference in Bethlehem, and you can now watch the video of his talk. It's about 30 minutes long but worth watching to better understand the situation in Israel/Palestine. Enjoy!