Category Archives: Blog

I’ve been very fortunate over the past decade and a half to research and explore Christianity in the Middle East — especially in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt. From studying Syrian Orthodox Christianity, Gnosticism, and Coptic at Brown University to learning Ge’ez at Harvard, I’ve long been immersed in the languages and historical texts of Christians in the Middle East and Africa. Having worked in Egypt and lived in Lebanon, I’ve been grateful for the opportunity to visit so many Christian art collections, churches, mausoleums, and monasteries over the years…

So it saddens me to contemplate the statistics shared in a new article in The Economist — And Then There Were None — which documents the exodus of Christians from the Middle East as a result of the turmoil and instability in the region. While Christians made up 14% of the population in the Middle East in 1910, today they account for just 4%. As violence continues to engulf the Middle East, more Christians and other religious minorities will likely flee. In the recent words of Pope Francis: “We should ask for the grace to weep for this world, which does not recognize the path to peace.”

After taking a hike in the Tian Shan mountains this summer while in Kyrgyzstan doing research on Islam, I contacted my old rock climbing buddies back in the States to convince them to hop on a plane and join me in Bishkek — since the climbing options in Kyrgyzstan are out of this world. It turns out I was on to something — visa-free travel and fossil-packed rock have recently made Kyrgyzstan the new climbing hotspot. Another advantage: people in Kyrgyzstan are among the friendliest in the world. While trekking through Ala Archa National Park, I was invited by almost everyone I passed by to sit down and join in their picnic fun…

Of course, rock climbing high cliffs always comes with risks — which I was reminded of when my guide and I hiked up to a cemetery of alpinists from around the world. Regardless of the risks inherent in any climbing endeavor, Kyrgyzstan offers many new and exciting routes to climb for daring adventurers. While climbing the cliffs of Kyrgyzstan is the current rage, I’m now trying to persuade my rock climbing partners back home to come visit me here in Oman — since the Sultanate has some incredible rock climbing of its own…

I took these photos in Syria, while retreating at the Sufi shrine of Ibn Arabi — the revered Muslim philosopher whom Sufis call al-Shaykh al-Akbar — the Greatest Master…

Truth (haqq) and creation (khalq), they will never cease –
Bestowing existence on the essence one moment,
the next withholding it.
When it is the essence/eye of the servant, then night is your state.
When it is the essence/eye of the Real, then light shines forth.
You are only between an east and a west.
Your sun in a west, and your full moon rising…

— Ibn Arabi

He saw the lightning in the east and he longed for the east;
but if it had flashed in the west,
he would have longed for the west.

My desire is for the lightning and its gleam,
not for the places and the earth…

— Ibn Arabi (d. 1240)

I took these photos in Damascus, while visiting the Sufi shrine and mosque of revered medieval mystic Ibn Arabi — just a few weeks before the war in Syria began. My memories of Damascus are peaceful ones, in sharp contrast to the reality of life in Damascus today…

Though Ibn Arabi was one of the most celebrated Muslim philosophers of his time, he chose to describe himself with humility as “the lowliest Sufi of the Maghrib, the least of them in terms of following [the Way], the most incomplete in terms of spiritual opening, the most covered in terms of veils.”

Tonight I had the pleasure of hearing Buena Vista Social Club Orquesta perform Cuban music at the Royal Opera House in Oman. They had us dancing in the aisles, it was that amazing. Here’s a video of their recent performance at the White House — enjoy…

On this Christmas Day, I’m thinking alot about Syria — the historic churches and shrines I visited while studying Sufism there, and the millions of Syrian refugees who have been forced to flee (especially my young Syrian refugee friends in Beirut). I hope that one day soon they may know peace outside of the refugee camps, and the war may finally come to an end — so that the healing of minds, bodies, and hearts can begin…

I took the photo above in the Chapel of Saint Ananias in the old Christian quarter of Bab Touma in Damascus — now a site of violence. I was first introduced to this chapel while studying Syrian Orthodox Christianity at Brown University with Professor Susan Ashbrook Harvey. This subterranean chapel is where St. Ananias restored the sight of Saul, the former persecutor of Christians, and baptized him after his blinding conversion on the road to Damascus (Acts 9). Afterwards, Saul became the Apostle Paul. Both St. Paul and St. Ananias were later martyred.

On this Christmas Day, though my feet are planted in the sands of Oman, my spirit is hovering in that historic, underground chapel in Syria — contemplating the global need for healing, the possibility for grace, and the transformative power of redemption. Can the suffering hearts of humanity ever be cured of blindness and violence — and restored through the blessings of peace, the nourishment of love, and the radical action of compassion? I’m thinking most of all of the Syrian refugees, whose terrible plight has mirrored back to the world its current incarnation. In the words of W.H. Auden, “There is no such thing as the State/And no one exists alone;/Hunger allows no choice/To the citizen or the police;/We must love one another or die.” So Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good life…

Here’s a video of some Sufi musicians playing Christmas carols, while surrounded by a sea of candles…

On this Mawlid al-Nabi, Muslims here in Oman and around the world are celebrating the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad with a wide-range of rituals and celebrations — from prayer and poetry to singing and whirling. Here are some devotional verses from a 15th century Mawlid poem written in Ottoman Turkish by Suleyman Chelebi:

Welcome, O high prince, we welcome you!
Welcome, O mine of wisdom, we welcome you!
Welcome, O secret of the Book, we welcome you!
Welcome, O medicine for pain, we welcome you!
Welcome, O sunlight and moonlight of God!
Welcome, O you not separated from God!
Welcome, O nightingale of the Garden of Beauty!
Welcome, O friend of the Lord of Power!
Welcome, O refuge of your community!
Welcome, O helper of the poor and destitute!
Welcome, O eternal soul, we welcome you!
Welcome, O cupbearer of the lovers, we welcome you!
Welcome, O darling of the Beloved!
Welcome, O much beloved of the Lord!
Welcome, O Mercy for the worlds!


Last night, I joined with Iranian friends in Oman to celebrate the Persian festival of Yalda — a winter solstice tradition with Zoroastrian roots. To mark the occasion, we read from the Sufi poetry of Hafiz and feasted on delicious Persian treats. Our festive gathering in the park reminded me of my pilgrimage to the legendary gardens and shrine of Hafiz in Shiraz…

The Truth has shared so much of Itself
With me

That I can no longer call myself
A man, a woman, an angel,
Or even a pure
Soul.

Love has
Befriended Hafiz so completely
It has turned to ash
And freed
Me

Of every concept and image
my mind has ever known.

— Hafiz

I led some friends and colleagues this week-end in tai chi, while saluting the sunset in Oman from the desert dunes. From Beirut to Tanzania and beyond, I love practicing tai chi in breathtaking landscapes around the world…

Some Bedouin buddies dressed me up in the dunes this week-end, while I was out exploring desert life in Oman…

Since December 17th is the annual day on which dervishes from all over the world gather in the majestic tomb of 13th century Sufi poet Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi in Konya for Shab-e Arus (the anniversary of his death), my Iranian friends and I decided to translate some of his Persian verses to mark today’s mystic occasion…

If the whole world were gripped by sadness,
Without sorrow is the one who holds love tightly.
If love makes one dance, even a little —
That little becomes the universe
that holds the two worlds…

— Rumi

I had an amazing time studying the towers and tombs of Bat — a UNESCO World Heritage Site — at sunset with archaeology colleagues in the Sultanate of Oman. Even my chihuahua Anubis found some bones, while digging in the desert on our heritage adventure…

This Monday, the first museum in the Middle East to adopt Arabic Braille in its display cases will be opening in Oman. As a scholar and advocate who publishes on both archaeology and disability, I’m really looking forward to viewing the archaeological collection at the new National Museum of the Sultanate of Oman — which will be the first public building in Oman featuring advanced facilities for people with special needs…