Syriology

Franciscan Blessing

May God bless you with restless discomfort, holy anger, tears and foolishness.

زمن الخراف

قصيدة بقلم: أحمد مطر نزعم أننا بشر لكننا خراف ليس تماماً.. إنما في ظاهر الأوصاف نُقاد مثلها؟ نعم نُذعن مثلها؟ نعم نُذبح مثلها؟ نعم تلك طبيعة الغنم لكنْ.. يظل بيننا

ماذا يجري داخل سجن الأحداث في قدسيا؟

بقلم: كرم منصور.
داخل مدينة قدسيا، التي تبعد عن دمشق حوالي 10 كم، ويستغرق الوصول إليها من مركز العاصمة نحو 45 دقيقة، توجد مساحة تبلغ ما يقارب خمسة دونمات، يُحتجَز داخل أسوارها اليوم نحو مئة وأربعين طفلاً، هم أطفال سجن الأحداث الذي عاش جميع فصول الحرب السورية التي مرت على المدينة.

من هو السوري؟

بقلم: د. فيصل القاسم.

ماذا تعني كلمة “سوري” مثلاً؟ ماذا يعني مصطلح “الشعب السوري”؟ ماذا تعني “الثورة السورية”؟ ماذا تعني كلمة “السوريون”؟ ماذا يعني “النظام السوري” أو “الحكومة السورية”؟

Spiegel im Spiegel

Spiegel im Spiegel is one of the works of which the composer as well as the musicians have created numerous versions for various instrument combinations. It has often been used in ballet and dance performances, films and documentaries and even in DJ remixes.

The Paradox of Our Age

We drink too much; smoke too much; spend too recklessly; laugh too little; drive too fast; get too angry; stay up too late; get up too tired; read too seldom; watch TV too much and pray too seldom.

The Kingdom of God Is Inherited By Those Who Nap…

By Adnan Mouhiddin

He is napping. It might be that he is tired walking the city, trying to sell tissues. Or it might be that reality has become unbearable, so he closed his eyes for a while and made it to the dreamland… You know, dreams are free and are for free…

We were sinless when we were nude

By Adnan Mouhiddin

I wonder why nudity in this photo, and nude art in general, offends “moral” people. It offends religious people deeply. It offends those claiming to have been raised on solid moral grounds. It offends them as if nudity is a sin and/or immoral behaviour.

After the liberation…

Viktor E. Frankl sharing his experience after being liberated from the concentration camp in WW2. (Man’s Search For Meaning)

Restorative Justice

By Adnan Mouhiddin

In 1789, Gabriel de Mably, a French Philosopher, argued that punishment should strike the soul rather than the body. His statement was considered revolutionary in his era standards, when criminals were physically tortured under horrifying methods and techniques. The rise of alternatives to punishment is as old as the history: In the face of the ‘eye for an eye’ law, Jesus the Nazareth offered those who were without a sin to cast the first stone. But has anything changed since Mably’s statement?