Cancer Hits Home

Dear Readers,

I'd like to thank all of you who have recently prayed for my father.
A few weeks ago I went to the emergency room, only to be told that my dad has terminal cancer and less than a year to live. He is still young, and our family considered the doctors' analysis as very devastating.
During these stressful days I have searched for a cure. They do exist, and we have spoken with the survivors.
Those of you who read my blog know that I am a Christian. My faith, wavering and perhaps doubtful at times has been surely tested. Cancer, that hateful, dreaded word, has become not uncommon in my mind and home. Science is wonderful, but a doctor's ability to heal is limited. Survivors--sent home to die--continue to fight and exist. They have prepared homemade vegetable juices, had traditional chemo, eaten raw clams daily, and found Oriental herbs.
What I have come to know is this, the human spirit is strong, and with faith, it is indomitable.

Nazareth Christian Center

A new Christian center has just been opened in Nazareth --the Nazareth Center for Christian Studies.
Native Nazarenes will recognize the YMCA building in the photo.

From Come and See:
A new Christian publication that intends to write theology on current
and relevant issues was recently launched in Nazareth under the title
"Al-Kalima" meaning "the Word" in Arabic.

The publication is aimed at the level of church members as the
intention is to produce a theology for the people. It is published by
the Nazareth Center for Christian Studies (NCCS), the newly launched
center of learning in Nazareth. NCCS is an initiative of the
Association of Baptist Churches in Israel (ABC). The ABC is the single
largest evangelical group in Israel.

To read more about this or see a PDF version of Al-Kalima, cut and paste this link - http://www.comeandsee.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=784

Strange Words

Strange words have entered our vocabulary, borrowed from Arabic: Jihad, Wahabi, Salafi, Akbar, Dhimmi, Kuffar, Fatwa, Islam, Dar, Shia, Sunni.
Until the last few years, most of us were rather clueless about the Middle East. I would expect that the majority of us Americans still are, although a minority have tried to educate ourselves.

The first chapter of Future Jihad, by Dr. Walid Phares outlines the Historical Roots of Jihad. I have to say, unless you're a Middle Eastern scholar or a history buff, it may be rather intense, but necessary reading. Without the knowledge of Islamic history, we cannot comprehend the reasons for the war today.

Chapter one is summed up in three parts:
"....three currents emerged from the ashes of the world official boy of jihad: one that rejected it and adhered to international law; another one that ignored the debate while adhering practically to the new international community; and a third, the jihadists, which resuscitated it, reshaped its doctrines, and wages wars and conflicts in its name." p. 45

My understanding is that the third group are those who mean to harm others and also, it is different sociologically and psychologically from the other two branches of Islam.
Chapter 2 "Who Are The Jihadists?"

Dr. Walid Phares

I received a new email today, highlighting Dr. Phares in tonight's special about Radical Islam on Fox News. The following is an excerpt:

"Islamism and Jihadism"

Terrorism expert Walid Phares will appear on Fox News special on "Radical Islamists" on Saturday at 9 PM and at midnight. The documentary, moderated by ED Hill, will feature a number of experts on radicalism and Jihadism and will air on Monday as well. Dr Phares is a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and the director of its "Future Terrorism Project."

Dr. Walid Phares

I just received an email, Dr. Walid Phares will appear at 10:35AM EST on Fox News today--2/1/07.

A Death

This week someone in our family passed away, a patriarch, well loved by us all.

His grown son, long a man, is abroad. The question--how do we tell him?
But first, find out if it's true.

We Americans hear facts..a family member is sick or has died.

Middle Easterners sometimes handle these details a little differently.
Part of this is due to the separation of living on opposite ends of the world.

The Phone Calls:
So...what to do? I've known some immigrants here who become deathly ill, but will not call home. They do not want to upset their old mother overseas. Problems made in America, are pretty much kept in America.

On two other occasions, I remember anonymous phone calls made deceitfully to a family member about a loved one's death. These are a type of revenge for a wrong made against the caller. As an American, I find this extremely shocking, especially if it occurs within extended family.

What Happens:
Traditionally, the deceased is buried in our family crypt within 24 hours. Funeral homes and embalming do not exist in the community. Family members assist with preparation of the body. Sometimes in smaller villages, a bell is rung, signifying a death and imminent burial.

Occasionally the deceased is held from burial an extra day, allowing for those abroad to possibly return. (This is nearly impossible though.)


Most often, a phone call arrives, explaining that someone back home is ill. A short while later, another call comes in, stating that the loved one is critical. Finally, the death nell is rung, posthumously of course.

I used to find this type of behavior condescending, but after twenty years, I certainly do understand its purpose. For the immigrant, who lives far from his family, it prevents an immediate shock.
Overseas, loved ones will come to the immediate family's home every day, for at least a week. They will sit together and try to comfort the grieving spouse and children. Extended family is the support structure during extremely stressful times.

Unfortunately, the immigrant abroad rarely has the same support. Depression and guilt are significant issues.

Life in the United States

Walid Phares: Intro to Future Jihad

It's 9/11. Americans are asking poignant questions.
Dr. Phares reiterates these thoughts through the introduction of Future Jihad.

We all remember where we were on that ominous day, what we did, what we thought.

Dr. Phares was with his students. While most of us were in the Twilight Zone, Dr. Phares, because he'd studied the jihad phenomenon for a lifetime and had been analyzing it for twenty-five years, saw what was happening and knew who the enemy was.

That night as Americans sat glued to tv news networks, questions formed in their minds. I might add that these questions are still ongoing, as citizens attempt to resolve some issues they don't really understand.

From the Introduction, Dr. Phares lists those key questions:

"Why do they hate us?"
"Who are they?"
"What did they want to happen?"
"Why did they launch the attacks of 9/11?"
"Are they at war with us?"
"What did they want to achieve?"
"Why didn't we know about it?"
"Who obstructed our knowledge of it?"
"Are they planning on future wars?"
"Have these wars already started?"
"What can we do about them?"

Hindsight is 20/20, but I would say that Future Jihad is also 20/20. Though 9/11 is behind us, Dr. Phares's Future Jihad allows us to possibly view what's coming.