Father Bob Maguire – the Larrikin Priest – is a kindred spirit. Indeed, he has been an inspiration to me for many years. If he didn’t live a thousand kilometres away, I’d have tried to spend a lot more time with him and be properly mentored by him. We have a common leaning towards those […]
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Finding prominent Muslim women to interview for this book was a challenge. It’s not just that Islam doesn’t ordain women. In the Arabic and Persian communities I’m involved with, men tend to spend most of their time with other men, and women with women. As a man, I naturally didn’t develop as many friendships with
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Dr Hassoun is one of my favourite people in the world, and someone I pray for every day. He made a deep impression on me the first time I met him. I see him as an archetypal spiritual leader. They say that ‘a fish rots from the head’, meaning that if the leader of an
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Father Toufic, in my view,  is an archetypal priest. As Parish Priest of St George’s Melkite church in Maaloula (Syria), he has pastored his parish through the worst possible crisis.  Jabhat Al Nusra over-ran his town in 2013. Three years later, the signs of destruction are ever-present. St George’s church has been rebuilt but, as Father Toufic says,
Why I love the Grand Mufti of Syria by Father Dave There are only two people who have ever brought me to tears the first time I’ve met them. The first was Dom Helder Camara, the late great Archbishop of Recife in Brazil – the man who said “when I give food to the poor
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I like to refer to Dr. Chandra Muzaffar as my friend. In truth, I only met him in person once, but he has always been very gracious to me in correspondence since. I met him back in the 80’s in his home-town of Penang. Dr Muzaffar had come to my attention because of the way
Dr. Chandra Muzaffar – Islam & the Politics of Hegemony Read More »