Kameel Majdali's Road Ahead

No question about it -- Syria matters. It is the most immediate, noteworthy, and single-most  dangerous foreign crisis of our day. Two years ago, Libya was the centre of global attention. The world watched and intervened until the regime of Mu’ammar Gaddafi, who had been in power for 42 years, came to a blood-stained and wretched end. Syria is different, more complicated, and much more serious. Whereas oil-rich Libya is a part of the great Sahara Desert, Syria sits in the ‘middle’ of the Middle East. Its neighbours include Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, and Israel. Everyone of these countries in impacted by the Syrian civil war, which has no end in sight. What is happening in Syria? Why does it matter? Syria is mentioned in the Bible and its capital Damascus is called the oldest continually inhabited city in the world. For a time King David occupied Syria and had garrisons in Damascus. Ben-Hadad clashed with the kings of Israel, while Naaman the Syrian general was h...

DEFINITION: Coup: (also coup d'état ) a sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from a government: he was overthrown in an army coup . The media is abuzz with events in Cairo. Feelings are decidedly mixed about the ouster of Muhammad Mursi, President of Egypt, after one year in office by the military. Many speak about the removal of Egypt’s ‘first democratically elected president.’ What can or should we make of this development? First, all of this has to be seen in the context of the ‘Arab Spring,’ which is the series of grassroots, youth-driven, internet-fueled revolutions across the Arab world. Long-term autocrats have been swept out of power and democratic elections have replaced them. There is more, however. Until now, only four governments have changed hands in the 22 nation strong Arab world and all of them have been autocrats in secular republics. Monarchies have, thus far, remained intact. Whether true and full democracy emerges in the Arab world due to t...

If there is one quality every organisation, business, and society at large desires to see at work, it is ‘leadership.’ The often used phrase: ‘ leadership is the problem, leadership is the solution .’ Though we talk about it much, it is also becoming clear that leadership in its classic, effective state, is something we greatly lack in today. Where are the good time-tested qualities like conviction, courage, and common sense? A reasonable dose of ‘3C’ would do wonders in our increasingly complex and crisis-riddled world. The Barna Group, in their April 19th 2013 email, made this statement about leadership: ...according to a new survey conducted by the Barna Group in conjunction with Brad Lomenick, president of the Catalyst conference, more than eight in ten (82%) Christian adults believe the United States is facing a crisis of leadership because there aren't enough leaders. Leadership seems to be one of those "if you see it, you know it" kind of qualities. An...

January 22, 2013, is a 40th anniversary day, especially in the United States. On that day in 1973, the 36th President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson, died at the LBJ ranch. Johnson became President after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, was elected in his own right by a landslide in the elections of 1964, and presided over the unpopular Vietnam War. Johnson was a friend of Billy Graham; wanted the evangelist to speak at his funeral, and urged him to tell people about Jesus, according to a recent book published about Graham. That was one big event in the US on 22 January 1973. The second big event 40 years ago on January 22nd also involved death. Not of a single individual, but of many Americans, literally, millions of them. It had to do with the landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court in a case known to the world as Roe vs. Wade. By handing down their 7 to 2 decision, the majority of justices in America’s highest court granted women the consti...

Barack Obama has many admirable qualities: intelligent, hard-working, and charismatic. Coming from a mixed-race background with virtually no input from his biological father, he rose from being a top student of Harvard Law School, to an Illinois State Senator, US Senator, and eventually President of the United States. Though he does not, as he once quipped in 2008, look like ‘those Presidents on the dollar bill,’ he does carry himself like a President. From all appearances he is a dedicated family man, devoted to his wife Michelle and daughters Sasha and Malia, serving as a role model to the nation, and especially to the African-American community. Furthermore, Obama claims to be a Christian who believes he has eternal life. He told Christianity Today in 2008: ‘I am a Christian, and I am a devout Christian. I believe in the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe that that faith gives me a path to be cleansed of sin and have eternal life.’ He started his Presi...

What a difference a mere 3 years can make! In a part of the world where once time was considered to have ‘frozen,’ since 2010, the Middle East as we knew is changing forever. Snapshot 3 years ago: • Israel had only 1 border out of 5 that was troubled; • Israel had a functioning military alliance with Turkey; • Israel was totally dependent on outside sources to meet is oil and natural gas needs • Israel had relations with two of the most friendly of US presidents to towards the Jewish state: Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. The powershift began in earnest, starting with the Tunisian Revolution of December 2010 to January 2011, when President Zine el-Abidene Ben Ali resigned and fled the country. The power shift moved to Egypt, where President Hosni Mubarak was removed from power after only 18 days. Neighbouring Libya was hit, too, and after months of protracted war, Gaddafi was ousted and brutally murdered. Then, in probably the most ‘peaceful’ of transitions, Yemen Pr...

It is one of the most important countries in the world. Strategically sandwiched between Europe’s Balkan Peninsula, the Black Sea, the Arab Middle East, and the Mediterranean, with an international waterway flowing right through the middle of its former capital, Turkey deserves far more attention that it receives. While its name recognition is high, the knowledge of this key nation is low. Turkey the country is also known as ‘Asia Minor’ and the Anatolian Peninsula. Its central location means it was occupied by various people throughout history, indeed, until the 20th century, it was multi-ethnic. Only after World War I did it become ‘mono-ethnic,’ meaning all Turks and all Muslim (15 million Kurds are also part of this nation of 80 million and their issue is not resolved). The ethnic Turks migrated to Asia Minor from Central Asia a thousand years ago, where at the same time they embraced Islam. Once they arrived, they consolidated into what was known as the Seljuk Empire. Thi...