I have a very dear friend who lives near Jerusalem. His name is Ronny Simon, a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Israeli Defense Force, who serves as my guide when I lead my annual tours of Israel. He recently sent me a detailed email on his perspective about what is occurring in the Middle East today.
Last week, Iran and Egypt?s new government signaled they were moving quickly to thaw decades of frosty relations. Iran said it appointed an ambassador to Egypt for the first time since the two sides froze diplomatic relations more than three decades ago. Both the US and Israel are deeply concerned that such moves indicate that Egypt is reordering its foreign policy, which could further empower Iran and its regional clients Hamas and Hezbollah.
Social networks have provided one of the several sources of energy for the pro-democracy movements in the Middle East. Information technology is changing the global balance of power. ?The Facebook Generation? helped significantly to bring down Hosni Mubarak of Egypt. One of the heroes of this same revolution is the young Google executive, Wael Ghonim.
In 1798 a British clergyman named Thomas Malthus argued that human population growth would exceed the world?s ability to feed this growth in population. Robert McNamara in 1968, as president of the World Bank, spoke of ?the mushrooming cloud of population explosion.?
The wave of populist uprisings throughout North Arica and into the Middle Eastern nations necessitates that we step back and do a reality check. What is going on? Is there a difference between what occurred in Egypt or Tunisia, for example, and what is occurring in Libya? What are the available options for these nations currently undergoing turmoil? Let?s examine these questions in this Perspective.
First, columnist Tom Friedman helps us understand that there are two different types of states in the Middle East: ?Real countries,? with long histories in their territory and strong national identities
One of the key themes of Issues in Perspective is the articulation and defense of the Christian worldview. That worldview is discerned from a study of the Bible and the application of that worldview to life. Two recent studies validate the biblical viewpoint.
Probably one of the most influential women in America today is Oprah Winfrey. The Oprah Winfrey Show is now history but she has founded her own network and her influence will hardly diminish.
Historian Niall Ferguson has written several insightful articles over the past few years helping me to understand the ongoing shift from the West to the East going on in the world. A new order to our world is emerging and, in this Perspective, I seek to make sense of it.
First of all, Ferguson argues that over the last 500 years the West has had six ?killer applications? that explain its dominance of the world in every sense?militarily, financially, socially and in setting the world?s agenda.
Marvin Olasky was at one point a radical leftist history professor and an advocate of the communist worldview. But he trusted Christ a number of years ago and is now the editor of World magazine. Olasky recently appeared on Glenn Beck?s TV program. Beck is one of the media stars on the late afternoon Fox TV lineup. I believe the substance of that interview needs to be summarized. In effect, I will quote verbatim from Olasky?s account of his time with Glenn Beck. Beck introduced Olasky as ?a former Communist. Now he believes man can rule himself.? Olasky comments: ?Not exactly, on the last part: I said, ?We are people created to worship in some way. If we don?t worship God, we?ll worship the human gods created by people . . .??
During World War II, Adolf Hitler showered the grand mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini (the titular leader of the Palestinians) with gifts, wealth and a Berlin villa. Why? Because he broadcast Nazi propaganda to the Middle East, recruited European Muslims for the SS, exulted the Holocaust and after the war went on to represent
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