Writing on Muslim-Christian Relations, Interreligious Dialogue, & Islamophobia
In the spring of 2012, when I first lived in Amman, I started a series on my blog called “Peeling Oranges.” It was a place where I hoped to publish short vignettes or poem-like reflections on moments throughout my days where I experience “Divine-human mingling,” as spiritual writer Fr. Anthony Oelrich calls it. Now, as …
Continue reading "A moment at maghrib: “Peeling Oranges” series"
As I finish up my writing about Jordan and Palestine, I’d like to share some final snapshots.Faces My host mom, who walks by my room and says a cheerful “Keefik ya Jordan?” after a long day at work. My baby sister, who sits on my lap, pressing the tops of my fingernails and squeezing the skin between …
Continue reading "Things I won’t forget (“Peeling Oranges” final installment)"
No wonder we find metaphors about shepherds and sheep all throughout the Bible—here, in Jordan and the Holy Land, they are abundant. Just drive a bit outside Amman and you’ll see little boys cleaning their sheep in the river or an old man guiding his flock across the highway. So it seemed quite appropriate with the …
Continue reading "City-Dwelling Shepherds: Thoughts Upon Leaving Jordan"
On Friday, I said I'd be posting two more reflections on 9/11 this weekend, one yesterday and one today. But nothing was posted last night, and it's likely nothing will be posted today. I wrote a lot yesterday, didn't finish, and didn't finish a lot of important homework. I've got to deal with …
Here is a great op-ed written by John Esposito, one of my former professors at Georgetown. His piece addresses the wide-spread and unnecessary backlash against the planned Cordoba House, an Islamic and interfaith community center that is to be built blocks from Ground Zero. Esposito's views to me seem like common sense, but sadly, there …
JORDAN DENARI DUFFNER 