Arab Writers Group Syndicate

Miracle of Holy Fire in Jerusalem

By Maria C. Khoury, Ed. D. — April 26, 2008 -  Pilgrims from all over the world gathered in Jerusalem today to witness the greatest of all miracles-the Miracle of the Holy Fire.  The miracle has turned into a magnificent cultural event but many simply could not get anywhere near the Holy Sepulchre.  The soldiers, the police, the large crowds, the noise, the drums of the Boys Scouts and the Girl Scouts anxiously waiting to receive the Holy Fire from the Life Giving Tomb of Christ is a day long adventure.  It was a miracle in itself that Sam and Janet from our Sister Parish, Annunciation Church in Little Rock attended. 

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Don’t let violence prevent push for peace
Ray Hanania – If there is one certainty in the Middle East, it is violence. When the Arabs and Israelis have been at war, and when they have been at the peace table, violence takes place. The goal of the violence is to prevent a peaceful compromise because the extremists believe that if they can prevent compromise, they have protected their extremist belief that they can have it all to themselves. Read more »

Sharon’s Terror Child: How the Likud Bloc Mid-wifed the Birth of Hamas
By RAY HANANIA – Hamas is considered one of Israel’s greatest threats, but the Islamic terrorist organization found its beginnings in the misguided Israeli effort to encourage the rise of a religious alternative that would undermine the popularity of the Palestine Liberation Organization and Yasir Arafat. The strategy resulted in the birth of Hamas which rose from these Islamic roots. Read more »

Ashamed of American Christian abandonment of their faithBy Ray Hanania — Does your mother have to be from Bethlehem before you can even bother to care for the fate of that holy city? My mother and her family are from Bethlehem. She was born down the street from the Holy Manger where Jesus was cradled more than 2,000 years ago.  Down the street from the Church of the Nativity built many centuries ago to mark that site which is revered by hundreds of millions of true Christians around the world. And now, down the street from one of the most offensive, disturbing constructions, the 26 foot tall “barrier” that Israel’s government declares is a “fence.” This “fence” is 24 feet tall and is made of concrete. It is a Wall, as even former President Jimmy Carter has said in disgust, and it snakes up and down the streets of Jesus’ Birthplace. This Wall is not constructed to protect Israelis from Bethlehem terrorism, or from terrorism from any other place in a conflict that has raged unending since 1947, but rather it is being built by Israel so Israel can steal more land from Palestinians who are Christian and Muslim. Read more »

Religious gesture of understanding turns into usual debate on hate
By Ray Hanania – An ethnic advisory commission set up by the Governor of Oklahoma printed copies of the Quran, the Islamic “bible,” had them embossed with the State Seal and offered to distribute them to the 149 members of that state’s legislature. After all, earlier in the year, Oklahoma lawmakers also were given free copies of the Bible by a non-government and religious organization called “The Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma.”  The organizers paid for the Quran’s using private, not government money. So why is there a controversy? Read more »

Battle over Muslim schools really about pro-Israel activism

By Ray Hanania – A federal panel says that a Saudi Arabian school based in Northern Virginia should be closed because they don’t like some of the things they assert the school is teaching its students. Not surprisingly, the actions of the so-called U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (CIRF) are no different from other U.S. commissions controlled by the Bush Administration that have shown a clear pattern of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bias. Read more »

Extremist Muslims in America are trying to force Americans to drop traditions that conflict with Islamic traditions provoking extremist Christian groups, while moderate Muslims and Christians remain silent on the sidelines. Visit http://www.hanania.com/cartoons/cartoons.htm for the War on Terrorism Cartoon archives.