#Christian Arab

[girlactionfigure]

[lalaland-e]

I only recently realised that some people in some other countries think that all Arabs are some kinda barbarian terrorists.

I could be offended, but it's too funny for that.

Man, now I just kinda wanna walk into America or something wearing battle armour, holding a pitch fork in one hand, a gun in the other and just respond to anyone who asks me what the hyeck I'm doing with:

"The Arab league sent me to eat children" in a British accent.

[wildwithlight]

[leroibobo]

the church in the coptic monastery of the virgin mary in bethlehem, palestine. this unique church is built inside of a cave tunnel which connects it to the nearby church of the nativity. the holy family is said to have passed through it during their stay in bethlehem. saint helena, who established churches across palestine during her time, is said to have established this one as well. the coptic archbishop of jerusalem purchased this and four nearby homes in the 1950s, establishing the monastery and re-establishing the church. today, the site is maintained by two nuns.

[the-red-planet-mars]

4 Days Until May 14 1948

This date marks the 76th year of the Israeli oppression against Palestine. This date marks the day Israel drove out over 750, 000 people from their homeland to establish its "state".

This heinous event was called al-Nakba (the catastrophe, the disaster). This heinous event was the start of this genocide.

It did not start on October 7th 2023. It stared on May 14 1948. It. has. still. not. ended.

The Nakba did not end in 1948. It is still happening today, right at this very second.

The numbers are growing. Every. Second.

This is the day you remember the corporations that fund the genocide. This is the day you remember the governments that cheer-on the genocide. This is the day you remember how the west instigated hate-crimes towards Arabs. This is the day you remember how the west and Israel are the terrorists. This is the day you remember the millions of people who had been killed for ethnic cleansing.

This is the day you always remember. This is the day you never forget.

This is the day you cry for Palestine. This is the day you scream for Palestine.

This is the day you remind everyone of the country of Palestine. You must never stop talking about Palestine. Never.

Palestinian lives matter. Stand up for the ones that died and the ones that live. Show us you care.

Do not dare forget:

May 14 1948

If you want to help Palestine with financial aid, but don't have any money, there's a website called arab.org that donates for you with just one click of a button.

Please, do your part for Palestine.

[eretzyisrael]

[illustratus]

A rare Mediaeval Sword taken from the Mamluk Arsenal at Alexandria during the last Crusade in the second half of the 14th Century

This sword was given as a gift to the Mamluk rulers of Alexandria by the Christian ruler of Cyprus and Jerusalem, King Peter I as part of a gift sealing a treaty. The sword was then forcibly taken back into Christian hands during the last Crusade's victory over the city of Alexandria. Consequently the sword symbolises the history of the time when Christians and Muslims fought for dominance in the eastern Mediterranean.

King Peter I, the King of Cyprus and Jerusalem, launched the last Crusade in 1362 against the Muslim Mamluk Empire in the region. A fleet set out from Cyprus and proved victorious, taking the city of Alexandria with immense amounts of plunder returned to Cyprus, including this sword. Such was the treasure and weapons taken from the captured city that many of the overloaded ships had to jettison cargo.

David Williams, Head of Bonhams Antique Arms and Armour Department, says: "The fascination of this sword is that it has survived some six centuries having been gifted by a Christian King to a Muslim ruler and kept in the famed Alexandrian armoury and then taken by force by Crusaders and returned to Europe. It is a remarkable survivor of the Crusader period."

[canisalbus]

Imagine if Machete was Muslim instead of Catholic. His name would be something like Saif سيف, and Vasco would probably be something like Dhahabi ذَهَبِيّ

.

[many-sparrows]

Nativity at Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, Palestine, for Advent 2023. Photos from Pastor Munther Isaac.

[regulusrules]

Yo, I saw your post about orientalism in relation to the "hollywood middle-east" tiktok!

How can a rando and university dropout get into and learn more about? Any literature or other content to recommend?

Hi!! Wow, you have no idea how you just pressed a button. I'll unleash 5+ years on you. And I'll even add for you open-sourced works that you can access as much as I can!

1. Videos

I often find this is the best medium nowadays to learn anything! I'll share with you some of the best that deal with the topic in different frames

• This is a video of Edward Said talking about his book, Orientalism. Said is the Palestinian- American critic who first introduced the term Orientalism, and is the father of postcolonial studies as a critical literary theory. In this book, you’ll find an in-depth analysis of the concept and a deconstruction of western stereotypes. It’s very simple and he explains everything in a very easy manner.

• How Islam Saved Western Civilization. A more than brilliant lecture by Professor Roy Casagranda. This, in my opinion, is one of the best lectures that gives credit to this great civilization, and takes you on a journey to understand where did it all start from.

• What’s better than a well-researched, general overview Crash Course about Islam by John Green? This is not necessarily on orientalism but for people to know more about the fundamental basis of Islam and its pillars. I love the whole playlist that they have done about the religion, so definitely refer to it if you're looking to understand more about the historical background! Also, I can’t possibly mention this Crash Course series without mentioning ... ↓

• The Medieval Islamicate World. Arguably my favourite CC video of all times. Hank Green gives you a great thorough depiction of the Islamic civilization when it rose. He also discusses the scientific and literary advancements that happened in that age, which most people have no clue about! And honestly, just his excitement while explaining the astrolabe. These two truly enlightened so many people with the videos they've made. Thanks, @sizzlingsandwichperfection-blog

2. Documentaries

• This is an AMAZING documentary called Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Villifies A People by the genius American media critic Jack Shaheen. He literally analysed more than 1000 movies and handpicked some to showcase the terribly false stereotypes in western depiction of Arab/Muslim cultures. It's the best way to go into the subject, because you'll find him analysing works you're familiar with like Aladdin and all sorts.

• Spain’s Islamic Legacy. I cannot let this opportunity go to waste since one of my main scopes is studying feminist Andalusian history. There are literal gems to be known about this period of time, when religious coexistence is documented to have actually existed. This documentary offers a needed break from eurocentric perspectives, a great bird-view of the Islamic civilization in Europe and its remaining legacy (that western history tries so hard to erase).

• When the Moors Ruled in Europe. This is one of the richest documentaries that covers most of the veiled history of Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain). Bettany Hughes discusses some of the prominent rulers, the brilliance of architecture in the Arab Muslim world, their originality and contributions to poetry and music, their innovative inventions and scientific development, and lastly, La Reconquista; the eventual fall and erasure of this grand civilization by western rulers.

3. Books

• Rethinking Orientalism by Reina Lewis. Lewis brilliantly breaks the prevailing stereotype of the “Harem”, yk, this stupid thought westerns projected about arab women being shut inside one room, not allowed to go anywhere from it, enslaved and without liberty, just left there for the sexual desires of the male figures, subjugated and silenced. It's a great read because it also takes the account of five different women living in the middle east.

• Nocturnal Poetics by Ferial Ghazoul. A great comparative text to understand the influence and outreach of The Thousand and One Nights. She applies a modern critical methodology to explore this classic literary masterpiece.

• The Question of Palestine by Edward Said. Since it's absolutely relevant, this is a great book if you're looking to understand more about the Palestinian situation and a great way to actually see the perspective of Palestinians themselves, not what we think they think.

• Arab-American Women's Writing and Performance by S.S. Sabry. One of my favourite feminist dealings with the idea of the orient and how western depictions demeaned arab women by objectifying them and degrading them to objects of sexual desire, like Scheherazade's characterization: how she was made into a sensual seducer, but not the literate, brilliantly smart woman of wisdom she was in the eastern retellings. The book also discusses the idea of identity and people who live on the hyphen (between two cultures), which is a very crucial aspect to understand arabs who are born/living in western countries.

• The Story of the Moors in Spain by Stanley Lane-Poole. This is a great book if you're trying to understand the influence of Islamic culture on Europe. It debunks this idea that Muslims are senseless, barbaric people who needed "civilizing" and instead showcases their brilliant civilization that was much advanced than any of Europe in the time Europe was labelled by the Dark Ages. (btw, did you know that arabic was the language of knowledge at that time? Because anyone who was looking to study advanced sciences, maths, philosophy, astronomy etc, had to know arabic because arabic-speaking countries were the center of knowledge and scientific advancements. Insane, right!)

• Convivencia and Medieval Spain. This is a collection of essays that delve further into the idea of “Convivencia”, which is what we call for religious coexistence. There's one essay in particular that's great called Were Women Part of Convivencia? which debunks all false western stereotypical images of women being less in Islamic belief. It also highlights how arab women have always been extremely cultured and literate. (They practiced medicine, studied their desired subjects, were writers of poetry and prose when women in Europe couldn't even keep their surnames when they married.)

4. Novels / Epistolaries

• Granada by Radwa Ashour. This is one of my favourite novels of all time, because Ashour brilliantly showcases Andalusian history and documents the injustices and massacres that happened to Muslims then. It covers the cultural erasure of Granada, and is also a story of human connection and beautiful family dynamics that utterly touches your soul.

• Dreams of Trespass by Fatema Mernissi. This is wonderful short read written in autobiographical form. It deconstructs the idea of the Harem in a postcolonial feminist lens of the French colonization of Morocco.

• Scheherazade Goes West by Mernissi. Mernissi brilliantly showcases the sexualisation of female figures by western depictions. It's very telling, really, and a very important reference to understand how the west often depicts middle-eastern women by boxing them into either the erotic, sensual beings or the oppressed, black-veiled beings. It helps you understand the actual real image of arab women out there (who are not just muslims btw; christian, jew, atheist, etc women do exist, and they do count).

• Letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. This is a feminist travel epistolary of a British woman which covers the misconceptions that western people, (specifically male travelers) had recorded and transmitted about the religion, traditions and treatment of women in Constantinople, Turkey. It is also a very insightful sapphic text that explores her own engagement with women there, which debunks the idea that there are no queer people in the middle east.

---------------------

With all of these, you'll get an insight about the real arab / islamic world. Not the one of fanaticism and barbarity that is often mediated, but the actual one that is based on the fundamental essences of peace, love, and acceptance.

[mapsontheweb]

Arabic-speaking Christians in Lebanon.

by geomapas.gr

[sefaradweb]

🇪🇸 El cristiano árabe israelí Yosef Haddad ha sido seleccionado para encender una de las antorchas del Día de la Independencia en la ceremonia estatal oficial en la noche del 13 de mayo. Haddad es un veterano de las FDI y uno de los defensores más elocuentes de Israel. Encender una antorcha del Día de la Independencia es uno de los mayores honores públicos en el Estado de Israel.

🇮🇱 El kristiyano árabe izraelí Yosef Haddad ha sido seleksonado para endjender una de las antorchas del Día de la Independensya en la seremonya estatal ofisial en la noche del 13 de mayo. Haddad es un veterano del Tzahal i uno de los defensores mas elokuentes de Izrael. Endjender una antorcha del Día de la Independensya es uno de los mas grandes onores públicos en el Estado de Izrael.

Israeli Christian Arab Yosef Haddad has been selected to light one of the Independence Day torches at the official state ceremony on the evening of May 13.

Haddad is an IDF veteran and one of Israel's most outspoken advocates.

Lighting an Independence Day torch is one of the highest public honors in the State of Israel.

[wildwithlight]

[godhound]

hey, I'd like suggestion for (christian) prayers for Palestine, either for Palestine specifically or for protection, health, justice, peace and safety. I've seen a few but I'd like to see if there are other options, and I'm not knowledgeable on prayers yet.

also, if anyone has prayers for Lebanon too, I'd deeply appreciate it, as my family is lebanese and I'm very scared for them as well.

[zorbarsglogaboungcurture]

An Arab Christian Girl from Bethlehem, Palestine, ca. 1923.

[moderat50]

Israel Right Wing Conservative Thinks It Moral To Starve 2 Million Palestinians

These Extreme Right Wing Conservatives are crazy. How can starving 2 million people be moral? Was the Holocaust moral? "Thou shall not kill". Fortunately, most Israelites disagree.