Category Archives: Blog

The American Iranian Council welcomes the momentous breakthrough on the
nuclear issue that took place in the early morning of Sunday, November
2013 in Geneva. The Council congratulates the negotiating parties for
producing an agreement, particularly Presidents Obama and Rouhani as well
as Secretary Kerry and Foreign Minister Zarif…

— American Iranian Council

All over the world, many people are celebrating today’s nuclear deal with Iran–with cautious optimism about what’s yet to come. In Iran (and even Lebanon), many politicians, pundits, and people are relieved that sanctions have been reduced, and tense negotiations didn’t end in increased hostilities, or the prospect of war. Tonight, all sides at the negotiating table are declaring victory.

Let their lives be celebration.
Let their hearts dance in the fire of your Love.

— Rumi

This morning, the United States and Iran reached an agreement to temporarily freeze Iran’s nuclear program. President Obama heralded the accord as the most “significant and tangible” progress of a diplomatic campaign launched since he took office. Hopefully, this is the first of many such accords to come…

And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life,
your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy;
And you would accept the seasons of your heart,
even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields.
And you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief…

— Khalil Gibran

I spent today on the road, exploring ancient and medieval ruins in different towns in the Beqaa and on the Syrian border. Our morning began with a long walk and retreat into the woods at a Jesuit monastery, before we moved on after lunch-time to surveying several archaeological sites. More to come, after I recover from all of the hiking…

Therefore for man, too, the best and most pleasant life is the life of the intellect, since the intellect is in the fullest sense the man. So this life will also be the happiest.

— Aristotle

Here’s a new Huffington Post piece that I put together with the help of my incredible and inspiring students here in Beirut: “A Bucket List from Beirut.”

If you’re in New York City in December, come and see our gamelan group perform meditative music and dance from Java at the Indonesian Consulate…

Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this planet.
We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal.

— President John F. Kennedy

If you come to my neighborhood in Beirut, you’ll find Rue John Kennedy–a street often referenced by travel writers and Op-Ed columnists alike. Today, while pundits and politicians are busy debating JFK’s legacy on the 50th anniversary of his death, I’ll be strolling past the fresh graffiti on Rue John Kennedy in Beirut–running errands and going to volunteer at St. Jude’s in the AUB Medical Center. And, on the way, I’ll be thinking about JFK’s legacy here in Lebanon.

For instance, the letter below–written by the Assistant to the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the American University of Beirut to President Kennedy–references the wide support of Middle Eastern leaders for JFK’s presidency, as well as the construction of a new medical center for the university here in Beirut. So when I’m in the Children’s Cancer Center this week-end at the American University of Beirut Medical Center, I’ll be thinking about how JFK’s support played a part in making it all possible so many decades ago…

To read the letter in full, please click here.

Like the moon, without legs, I race through nothingness.
See how fast I can run without legs!

A voice called: Why so fast?
Look into the hidden, find my true face.

— Rumi

The deaths of six cyclists in the past two weeks in London demonstrated the dangers of riding in busy city traffic. How safe are the world’s big cities for cyclists? Find out here…

Dance in the middle of the fighting.
Dance in your blood.
Dance when you’re perfectly free.

— Rumi

Today in Beirut, I whirled with Sufis in a ceremony dedicated to those affected by the deadly bombings which struck Beirut earlier this week.

While sipping on Turkish coffee after we whirled, one of the Sufis–who lives next to the site of the blast–recounted how the force of the explosion ripped through her home, and shattered all of her windows. While many in Beirut have returned to their everyday affairs, others are still picking up the pieces.

While my friend and I were taking a stroll later this evening on the Corniche overlooking the Mediterranean, a poor refugee stepped directly in our path.

“Please, I am Syria–money?” she said.

For a moment, my friend and I were rendered speechless–by the poignancy of her grammatical mistake. Without knowing it, she had cast herself as the symbol of a nation suffering from incredible need–and displaced by endless violence and war…

I took this photo in a small village in Mali about ten miles from the Ivory Coast border. My friends and I traveled there from Bamako, because we had been invited to join an all-night dance and drumming celebration (though I only lasted until about 4 am). Before the action got started, some of the women started preparing for the big feast we would all begin enjoying at sunrise…

We are looking at a sad Hagia Sophia, but hopefully we will see it smiling again soon.

— Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc

Earlier today, Greece and Turkey feuded over the the possible conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque. This World Heritage Site, which is often the first stop for travelers when they visit Istanbul, is currently designated as a “museum,” though its first incarnation was as a church (before it was converted to a mosque by the Ottomans in 1453). Though Hagia Sophia has been a museum since 1935, this year Turkish government officials have been pushing to have it transformed back into a working mosque…

Recurrent statements made by high ranking Turkish officials about converting Byzantine Christian churches into mosques are offending the religious feeling of millions of Christians.

— Greece’s Foreign Ministry

If you travel to Morocco, the medina of Rabat is not to be missed. One of the highlights of exploring medieval Rabat is walking through the Kasbah (Kasbah des Oudaias)–which offers magnificent views of the river and ocean from behind its mighty walls. There’s even a nice cafe inside the kasbah right next to the gardens, so you can enjoy a coffee or tea–along with the splendid view…

When I journeyed to Afghanistan to visit Sufi shrines, my Afghan host family took me to the shrine above first. In the midst of a war-zone, this shrine felt like an oasis of peace. As I stepped out of the car, I was intrigued by the white color on each niche and brick–and felt compelled to explore the well we passed on the way to the door. Once I stepped inside this shrine’s thick walls, I momentarily felt safe from the violence being waged outside–in all directions…

We all face death in the end.
But on the way, be careful
Never to hurt a human heart…

— Rumi