A Lesson on Courage: Monks, Martyrs, and Muslims—but Strangers No Longer in Algeria

Abstract

This article uses the work of Heinz Kohut and Julia Kristeva to reflect upon and interpret the experience of nine Trappist monks—especially Brother Christian—in Algeria in the mid-1990s who shared an incredible bond of faith with the Muslim villagers living around the monastery in Tibhirine. Specifically, I examine how an understanding of Kohut’s nuclear self and Kristeva’s stranger may assist us in transforming resistance concerning interfaith dialog in seminary classes and faith communities alike when we bring these two ideas into conversation around the religious and community experiences of the monks and the villagers. I argue that if individuals are able to “make peace” or establish rapport with the stranger within they will exemplify the kind of narcissistic balance Kohut describes in his theory of a nuclear self that allows for a demonstration of courage in the face of difficulty.