As a former tour guide on Nile cruise boats and now a professor of religious studies at Santa Clara University in California, David Pinault is no stranger to the Middle East. He was there during the demonstrations in Tahrir Square in January 2011. He recently went back again and wrote an article, "Ready To Be Martyrs." It offers us a unique perspective from which all Christians can learn.

KNOXVILLE, TN (Catholic Online) – As a former tour guide on Nile cruise boats and now a professor of religious studies at Santa Clara University in California, David Pinault is no stranger to the Middle East. He was there during the demonstrations in Tahrir Square in January 2011. He recently went back again and wrote an article, "Ready To Be Martyrs." It offers us a unique perspective from which all Christians can learn.

According to his article, two things stood out for Pinault on his most recent trip to Egypt: the modern-day martyrdom of Christians in Egypt and the Egyptian heritage of the Coptic Christian community. He recalls his driver in Cairo, a Copt by the name of Sami, telling him about the persecution of the Copts by Islamists since the demonstrations in 2011. Islamists want an Islamist government with sharia law as its foundation. But sharia law discriminates against non-Muslims and more liberal-minded Muslims.

Sami said that it had not been as bad for the Copts when President Mubarak was in power because he had suppressed the Islamists. But since Mubarak was forced to step down, the Islamists have felt emboldened. Now, they are burning churches, inciting riots against the Copts and openly calling for the expulsion of Christians without fear. As a result, over 100,000 Copts are believed to have fled Egypt since Mubarak was ousted; but Sami insisted, "I’m staying. I’m not leaving my country."

Sami added, "We’re ready to be martyrs. We’re ready to be with Christ, to live with Christ. . . . Christ is testing us. I tell my friends to stay. Christ could end this suffering, this trial, at any time. How will you feel, I tell my friends, if you’re in Canada instead of Egypt when Christ returns?" Pinault pondered Sami’s statements as they passed by the burned-out ruins of the Institute of Egypt, and he felt something stir within him.

He recalled how the institute had been founded by the French after Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt in 1798. Its archives contained many ancient maps, books and manuscripts. Then in 2011 when Egyptian soldiers stood on its roof and shot at the demonstrators in the square below, some demonstrators responded by fire bombing the building to shouts of "Allah is great" and "there is no god except Allah." Much of the priceless collection was destroyed. Kamal ‘Arafah, an Egyptian poet and commentator, compared the destruction of the institute to the burning of the Library of Alexandria and the destruction of the learning centers in Baghdad by the Mongols.

Washington D.C., Sep 13, 2012 / 04:01 am (CNA).- Religious freedom in the United States has historically been understood as allowing religion to “flourish unfettered from government intrusion,” said Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York. “Simply put, government has no business interfering in the internal life of the soul, conscience, or church,” said the cardinal, who serves at the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Cardinal Dolan delivered the John Carroll Society Lecture at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 10. He voiced concern that “the promotion and protection of religious liberty is becoming caricatured as some narrow, hyper-defensive, far-right, self-serving cause.” “Nothing can be more inaccurate,” he said. “Rather, freedom of religion has been the driving force of almost every enlightened, un-shackling, noble cause in American history.”

Cardinal Dolan attempted to “restore the luster” of religious freedom by outlining its role throughout American history. The American Revolution itself was influenced by the Great Awakening and spurred on by ministers who encouraged participation in the fight for freedom, he observed. Churches served as “an essential partner” in the American Revolution, and freedom of religion was praised in the new nation’s foundational documents, securing “a spot in the public square for the voices of those speaking from a faith-formed conscience,” he said. In the fight against the slavery, abolitionist leaders were “mostly inspired by religious conviction,” he noted, listing prominent figures whose “devotion to the cause to end slavery flowed from a conscience formed by faith.” “In a land where loyalty to conscience and freedom of religion were not guaranteed, emancipation would have come at a much tragically later date,” he said.

Catholic news – The Pope called upon the Christians in the Middle East to help create peace in their often troubled countries. “I exhort all Christians of the Middle East, both those born there and the newly arrived, to be builders of peace and architects of reconciliation,” said the Pope at the Vatican Sept. 12. “Let us pray to God that he may fortify the faith of Christians in Lebanon and the Middle East, and fill them with hope.”

Only 48-hours before his Apostolic Visit to Lebanon begins, Pope Benedict XVI has called upon the Christians of the Middle East to help create peace in the troubled region. “I exhort all Christians of the Middle East, both those born there and the newly arrived, to be builders of peace and architects of reconciliation,” the Pope said at the conclusion of his General Audience at the Vatican Sept. 12. “Let us pray to God that he may fortify the faith of Christians in Lebanon and the Middle East, and fill them with hope.” The Pope is making the 3-day trip to the Mediterranean state Sept. 14 – 16 to sign his Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Church in the Middle East.

He flies into a region, though, which is still a state of often violent flux following several years of anti-government uprisings known as the “Arab Spring.” In Lebanon’s neighboring country of Syria tens of thousands of lives have been lost since an armed revolt against President Bashar al-Assad got underway in March 2011. The United Nations refugee agency estimates that nearly 250,000 Syrians have now fled to surrounding nations including Lebanon. Meanwhile in the wider Arab world, both Egypt and Libya have witnessed anti-American riots in recent days leading to the killing of the United States Ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, in the city of Benghazi Sept. 11. The violent protests were sparked by the posting on YouTube of extracts of a low-budget US film mocking the Prophet Mohammed, the founder of the Islamic religion.

“The history of the Middle East teaches us the important and sometimes primordial role played by the various Christian communities in inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue,” observed Pope Benedict.

  William Harris, professor at the University of Otago in New Zealand and sometimes NOW Lebanon contributor, is one of the premier contemporary historians of Lebanon. Author of other highly acclaimed books on Lebanon and the Levant, his latest, Lebanon: A History, 600-2011, was published in July by Oxford University Press. NOW spoke to Professor Harris […]

  Prime Minister Najib Miqati announced readiness on Wednesday to reexamine a government decision to increase the public sector’s salaries after criticism over the boost in the wages of the country’s top three leaders, ministers and lawmakers, Information Minister Walid al-Daouq said. “Miqati said that it is possible to review the salary scale in terms of […]

  Lebanon stunned Iran 1-0 Tuesday to claim their first ever win against the regional giants and raise hopes of gaining a shock World Cup berth. China-based midfielder Roda Antar headed home a free-kick on 28 minutes for Lebanon’s famous victory, in front of their home fans in Beirut, which lifted them off the bottom of […]

  Rome, Italy, Sep 10, 2012 / 12:07 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Christians and Muslims will come together for a prayer vigil on Sept. 12 to invoke the protection of God and the Virgin Mary over Pope Benedict XVI’s upcoming visit to the country this week. Vatican-based Fides News Agency reported that four processions of young […]

outcomes of several U.S. Senate primaries this summer. A new case study broke down just how the social network propelled one tea party candidate in Texas from a virtual unknown to a political insider.

The politico’s handbook, Campaigns & Elections, features a profile of Senate candidate Ted Cruz’s recipe for primary success by his digital strategist, Vincent Harris. Cruz was a featured speaker at last month’s Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla.

One of the takeaways is the boost that social media can give unknown candidates who lack the resources to launch radio and television advertising.

For example, Cruz spent money on Google search ads, as well as advertising on Bing and Yahoo, which yielded a 10-to-1 return on investment.

Here’s a look at how Cruz’s Facebook strategy played out:

• Facebook ads supplemented Cruz’s organic support on Facebook, as well as Twitter.
• On the day of the election, the digital team ran a get out the vote (GOTV in campaign parlance) promoted post to fans and fans of their endorsements, which generated 793,432 impressions, 1,136 clicks, 1,880 likes, and 1,098 shares. This way, if the content wasn’t organically showing up on voters’ news feeds, it made our way onto their screens with ads reminding them to go vote.
• The Cruz Facebook page was updated 11 times that day, with a total of 2,646 shares and 14,253 likes on its posts. The David Dewhurst campaign updated its Facebook page just once, yielding 49 shares and 392 likes.
• Harris said tools to promote the campaign were shared with voters, such as a Facebook timeline cover image and profile pictures that touted its #ChooseCruz hashtag.