Ignorance about the role of religion in people’s lives, or a secular fundamentalist attitude which essentialises religion, seeing all religions as th… - Azza Karam

No one religion on its own is “the answer” or the solution to all of society’s ills, and thus it is imperative that all religions, whether majority or minority in size, are consulted and engaged as part of a nation’s social infrastructure and by extension part of a global civic community.

The 1980s was a very intense period for the Arab world in terms of the growth of religious politics. There was a strong politicization of religion throughout the Arab region and the Middle East in general. Thinking back, I realize that while we only focused on the Islamic political domain, plenty was going on within the Christian communities also across the region, though frankly that has not been well studied.

...the role of civil society is not only about providing the service that governments do not provide, but also about defending and nurturing the principles of human rights and democracy that we are convinced make us human. Principles that make us safe and help us protect our climate.