Christian Arabs Research Articles

Legitimacy and Deeply Embedded Core Normative Values in Different Social Groups

Core normative value theory asserts that perceptions of the legitimacy of law enforcement authorities are not just a product of these agencies’ conduct and performance, but are also based on deeply embedded ideological worldviews. This study further tests the theory, exploring the diverse relationships between values and legitimacy in multicultural societies. We use Israel’s highly divided society as a case study. Our data were derived from a survey among a representative sample of more than 1,600 Israelis from seven social groups—mainstream Jews, ultra-Orthodox Jews, Jewish residents of the occupied territories, immigrants from the former Soviet Union, Druze, Muslims, and Arab Christians. The results point to significant differences in levels of the core normative values and legitimacy across the seven groups, and differences between the groups in associations between the values and legitimacy, controlling for socio-demographic variables. The findings support the main premises of the theory.

Brick by brick bias: Arab Muslim experience of intersectionality in housing

ABSTRACT The study presented in this paper examined intersectional discrimination against individuals with multiple minority identities in the housing market, specifically those identifying as Arab Muslims. By sending inquiries from three fictitious applicants – a Swedish Christian, an Arab Christian, and an Arab Muslim – to 1,200 landlords in Sweden, we analyzed differences in landlord responses. Results showed the Swedish Christian received the most positive replies, followed by the Arab Christian, with the Arab Muslim receiving the fewest. The study underscores the compounded discrimination faced by those with multiple minority identities and challenges the conflation of ethnic and religious identities in prior research.

Diplomats and Betrayers: Christian Negotiators and the Confessional Rewriting of Surrender during the Islamic Conquest (634–642 AD)

ABSTRACT Combining evidence from Muslim and Christian sources, this paper attempts to offer some plausible readings as to the identity of the mediators who negotiated the submission of the main Byzantine cities in the context of the Arab conquest (mid. 7th. c.). It also explores how later Christian attitudes towards Islamic lordship and the definition of sectarian confessional groups were retrojected into the portrayal of the actors involved in the negotiations. It argues that ecclesiastical hierarchs, supported by local Arab–Christian elites, had to get involved in the negotiations to fill the void left by Constantinopolitan officials as result of Heraclius' foreign policy. It also contends that the involvement of Roman Arab leaders conjured up images of treachery and betrayal in later normative narratives which remodelled them as apostates and collaborators.

The Commentary in the Melkite Lectionary

Abstract This article investigates a little-known yet highly significant facet of the Arabic liturgical Gospel books – the commentary that was introduced into the Gospel readings from at least the 11th century to the 19th century, notably during the time of Patriarch Athanasios III Dabbās, the last publisher to include this commentary. This study aims to shed light on the origin and evolution of this commentary, categorize its contents, and evaluate its theological importance in the context of the Arab Christian tradition. By offering fresh perspectives on the composition of Lectionary commentaries, this research enriches our comprehension of the history and theology of the Arab Christian tradition.

Арабское книгописание в горах Самцхе: к истории антиохийско-грузинских связей второй половины XV в.

The 15th century was a period of deep decline and isolation of the Rum Orthodox Church of Antioch. Nevertheless, exactly in this time contacts between the Arab Christians and Georgian lands became more intense. In 1460-s political disintegration of Georgia began. Rulers of western and southern Georgian lands strived for independence not only from political power of kings of Kartli but as well from ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Catholicos of Mtskheta and tried to find moral support from the Patriarchs of Antioch. About 1462–1464 Patriarch of Antioch Mikhail IV gave the autocephaly to the Catholicos of Abkhazia previously subordinate to Mtskheta. At the same period atabegs of south-Georgian principality of Samtskhe maintained close contacts with the Church of Antioch intending to receive ecclesiastical autocephaly of their lands from the Patriarch of Antioch. Among the evidences of these contacts there were two Arabic Christian manuscripts written in Georgian lands in 1478 and 1488 by order of Kaykhosro, the son of atabeg of Samtskhe Kvarkvare. Presumably from the very beginning these books were intended to be a donation to Sinai monastery of St. Catherine, the main spiritual center of the Christian East. Scribe who composed the first manuscript, deacon Ephrem, was prominent copyist and author of the earliest Arabic description of Mount Sinai. The second scribe Elias from Damascus was calligrapher and poet who undoubtedly belonged to elite of the Melkite intellectuals. Both scribes in one way or another were connected with Melkite community of Damascus which at that period dominated in ecclesiastical affairs of the Orthodox East.

The Dialogical Paths with Islam in the East: Homage to Arabic Christian Theology

This is an opinion article, based on a lifelong syncretic study of the dialogical paths taken by Eastern theologians, Greeks and Arabs. At the crossroads of three continents, in direct relation with the Byzantine and Syriac traditions, with the Mediterranean and its Greco-Roman culture, but also with the Asian and African hinterland, Arab and Arabic-speaking Christian theologians have formed a culture of dialogue. They managed to engage with Islam in shapes and forms that are of very great interest and could point the way to a different approach to Islam today. The article, written by a Greek author, proposes a better integration of Arabic Orthodox theology as an enrichment to Orthodox theology as a whole, serving at the same time a broader connection between the Greek and Arab worlds. The article also proposes that discovering the heritage of the Orthodox East is interesting for Christian theology on a global scale. In primarily Christian/Western academia, one should be open to a genuine encounter with the Islamic world beyond geopolitics and other concerns extrinsic to religion; this is an encounter that would open up paths beyond the “clash of civilisations” impasse and allow for the rediscovery of the humanizing factor of religion. This is of interest to Christian and Muslim theologians as well as serving humanity and creation as a whole.

"We Try to Fix Things Quietly, and We Do Not Take Revenge": Christian Arab Teachers' Experiences Coping with Child Sexual Abuse Among Their Pupils in Israel.

Teachers are at the frontlines of the fight to identify and cope with child sexual abuse (CSA) among their pupils. Their methods of coping with CSA cases, both personally and professionally, are strongly influenced by their socio-cultural contexts and religious beliefs. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the experiences of Christian Arab teachers in Israel coping with the CSA of their pupils. Twelve Christian Arab elementary school teachers in Israel were recruited for the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and a qualitative thematic analysis was employed based on a descriptive phenomenological-psychological approach. Two key themes emerged from the analysis: (a) The teachers' intense emotional reactions regarding the CSA of their students and the empowerment some found in handling such difficult situations, and (b) The teachers' Christian beliefs and identity strongly affected their understanding of CSA and their approach to intervention. The findings indicated the dialectical position of the teachers' religio-cultural context, particularly the duality of the Christian value of forgiveness, a powerful resource for their coping, yet with adverse implications for children's vulnerability. This unique risk should inform training teachers regarding CSA matters. Teachers must also have systems that support them and allow them to reflectively examine their coping styles.

Ḥurriyya – Freedom, Human ‘Will’, and Related Notions in ‘Ammār al-Baṣrī’s Kitāb al-masāʾil wa-l-aǧwiba

The study of ‘Ammār’s understanding of freedom complements previous research on Arabic Christian formulations of the subject. Studies either relate them to the concept of ḥērūṯā in Syriac tradition or the context of Christian-Muslim controversy. I demonstrate that in ‘Ammār’s discussion, on a terminological-lexical level, engagement with Islamic thought is less evident while Syriac influences and Patristic and Greek philosophical parallels can be identified. I reconstruct the meanings of his terms through a close reading of extensive passages and group the occurrences lexically-thematically into the following units: 1. freedom (ḥurriyya, derivations from ḥ-r-r, related or synonymous expressions); 2. capacity, choice (istiṭā‘a, iḫtiyār); 3. acquisition, deserving, necessitating (iktisāb, istiḥqāq, istīğāb); 4. intentions, moral responsibility.

Media Representations and Capabilities: An Intergroup Analysis of Muslim Arabs, Bedouin, Druze, and Christian Arabs

ABSTRACT This study examines the media representations of the four Palestinian-Israeli subgroups (Muslim Arabs, Bedouins, Druze, and Christian Arabs) in the Israeli broadcast media. This breaks with the empirical tradition to research Palestinian-Israelis as a whole while ignoring intergroup differences. The study employs a quantitative content analysis of 1,722 interviews conducted with individuals from the four subgroups on Israeli news and current affairs programs. Results reveal that each of the four subgroups was portrayed differently in the media aligning with the subgroups’ unique circumstances and their relationship with the Jewish-Israeli majority. These results relay the importance of measuring subgroups separately as each subgroup is uniquely represented and each unique representation can enable or hinder the capabilities of its members differently. Thus, this study invites a fairer distribution of media resources in society, particularly to subgroups of marginalized communities, contributing to their freedoms, prosperity, and well-being.

Teologi Islam: Argumen Alexander Treiger tentang 'Ilmu Kalam

This article examines the ideas of Alexander Treiger in conceptualizing the origins of Kalam in the debate culture of Late Antiquity. Treieger's ideas refer to Michael Cook and Jack Tannous who argue that the Kalām style of argument originates from Christological debates which are then absorbed into Muslim practice through the mediation of Arab Christian circles in Syria and Iraq. Treiger reviews the Science of Kalam on ontological historical aspects and terminological debates, which are rarely highlighted by Muslim scholars. From the results of the analysis of what was studied by Treiger, it was concluded that Treiger argued that the originality of Kalam was divided into three parts namely; the origins of the kalam argument, the debate about Qadar (human free will versus God's destiny) and in the final section discusses three Muslim texts on Qadar which are associated with Hasan bin Muhammad al-Hanafiyah, Umar bin Abdul Aziz and Hasan Al-Bashri. Alexander Treiger is of the view that the science of kalam in general is the influence of Muslim-Christian interactions in Syria. However, unfortunately Treiger does not have enough argumentative data to support his assumption that theology has been influenced by Christianity.

Use and barriers to the use of telehealth services in the Arab population in Israel: a cross sectional survey

BackgroundStudies conducted in Israel and in other countries show that minority populations typically underuse telehealth services notwithstanding the advantages inherent in the use of these services. The goal of this study was to examine telehealth use patterns and the barriers to the use of telehealth services in the Arab population in Israel, which is a culturally and ethnically varied minority population with a unique language and culture.MethodsA telephone survey was conducted among a representative sample of the adult Arab population in Israel from October 29 to November 4, 2020. Of the randomly sampled 1,192 adult Israeli Arabs 501 participants responded to the entire questionnaire, representing a response rate of 42%.ResultsThe study found that the majority of the adult Arab population in Israel faced no technology or Internet accessibility barriers. Thus, the majority of adult Israeli Arabs (87%) use the Internet on a daily basis and have smartphones (96%) and an Internet connection (93%). However, although they have high technology and Internet accessibility, their use of telehealth services is mostly a telephone appointment with a doctor (66%). At the same time, significantly lower use rates were found with regard to advanced telehealth services delivered through the Internet, e.g., consultation with a health care provider by email or chat (34%) or video chat (8%) and ordering of medications (14%). It was found that Arab Christians are more likely to use digital services than Arab Muslims, even when background characteristics are statistically controlled. Lack of awareness was found to be the major barrier to the use of telehealth services, specifically advanced services such as ordering of medications (23%) and video medical consultation (15%). A high rate of women cited the unmet need for the discreet provision of telehealth services as a barrier to their use of the services. It was also found that the majority of the adult Arab population had no objection in principle to the use of email or chat (75%) or video chat (51%) for consultation with a health care provider. It was further found that facilitating factors promoting the use of telehealth services include previous acquaintance with the health care provider, a stable internet infrastructure, the provision of the services in the Arabis language, guidance in the use of the service, a recommendation by a health care provider, and the participation of a family member in the online medical consultation.ConclusionsThe study findings highlight the need for the provision of accessible and customized telehealth services for minority populations. Whether delivered over the phone or through the Internet, the services have to be culturally (for Muslims and Christians) and linguistically (Arabic) adapted, guidance in the use of the services should be provided, and service marketing should be tailored to the target minority population. Specific solutions should be developed for the discreet provision of telehealth services for women, maintaining their privacy in online consultation with a health care provider, while the option of having a family member participate in the online medical consultation should be clearly indicated. In addition, awareness of telehealth services should be enhanced through promotional activities culturally adapted to the Arab society, for instance, through recommendation by the family doctor.

La ṣadaqa des chrétiens des Banū Taġlib : un enjeu tribal et administratif d’époque abbasside (v. 153–193/770–809)?

Abstract The fiscal tradition regarding the taxation of the “Christians of the Banū Taġlib” is related to a ṣulḥ established by caliph ʿUmar b. al-Ḫaṭṭāb. He is said to have ordered to double the social contribution of Muslims, called ṣadaqa, in return for their renunciation of baptizing their children. This contribution analyzes the chronology of the emergence of this case in Abbasid literature. By studying the isnād on which scholars, beginning with the Grand Qāḍī Abū Yūsuf (d. 182/798), relied, I suggest a new theme at the end of the eighth century CE. On the one hand, all the issues of the ṣadaqa levying, the social bonds with Christian Arabs, and finally, the category of the Banū Taġlib itself, are related to the ongoing construction, and then to the freezing, of two social categories: the ethnical “arabness” and the genealogical tribal organization. On the other hand, Miaphysite ecclesiology confirms a consistent timeline for the rise of the Taglibōyē bishopric. In order to explain this late inrush of information, two events of ca. 153/770 and 171/787, respectively from the Syrian-Orthodox and the Arab-Muslim literatures, refer first to the migration/invasion of pastoralists and farmers of Banū Taġlib towards the north, and second to their anti-ṣadaqa revolt in the steppe of the hinterland of Mosul. The second occurrence takes place amidst numerous local insurgencies whose motivation are in part tribal, khariji, and – perhaps foremost – anti-fiscal. Indeed, the dynamics of formation of this peculiar Mosulian tribe were partly generated by the irruption of the state in Northern Iraq and the Jazīra during the 170s/790s, between al-Mahdī’s founding of Rāfiqa in ca. 154/772 and Hārūn al-Rashīd’s strengthening of administrative pressure. The key factor for state building at this time was the development of a new set of taxation on agricultural incomes of (Muslim) Arabs, called ṣadaqat al-māl or zakāt, whose first traces are attested in Middle Egypt during the late Marwānid period. A generation later, the anonymous author of Zuqnīn, who lived at the beginning of this period, is not only the first Syriac writer to mention the Taglibōyē, but also bears witness of the first extension of the levy of ṣadaqa to Northern Mesopotamia. He even gives data about its ex officio settlement (taʿdīl) as a non-proportional (ʿalā misāḥa) and in-cash tax, exactly the same as for the properties of the (Christian) Syrians. Both kinds of rural landlords probably petitioned against this system during the following decades, aiming to switch to a proportional (muqāsama) and in-kind method of taxation. This resistance perhaps involved the anti-ṣadaqa revolt of the Taġlib in 171/787, as it was decisive to transform the kharāj on the Muslims into a tenth (ʿushr). Whereas Abū Yūsuf suggests an analogical doubling of the tax on a Muslim land to convert it into kharāj for a Christian purchaser, the very idea of a double ṣadaqa as kharāj for Christian Arabs had perhaps been invented a very short time before.

Are Christian Arabs' business models different from those of Muslim Arabs?

PurposeThe study aims to test a measurement scale to examine social business networks (Wasta) surrounding Arab Christians and Arab Muslims.Design/methodology/approachA 31-item scale was used to capture Wasta, consisting of the following: Mojamala (emotional), Hamola (conative) and Somah (cognitive) tri-components. A total of 149 Christian Arab and 304 Muslim Arab respondents were sampled and multi-group structural equation modeling was used to confirm the concept and test several hypotheses.FindingsThe findings from the study reveal that in order for success to occur within the Arab context, a sequential process of first developing Mojamala is necessary, before Hamola can prevail. Christian Arabs are motivated to integrate with society and form relationships via generalized trust. Muslim Arabs meanwhile tend to retain their distinct culture, using social networks to forge particularized trust. Shariah principles may also play a significant role in explaining why satisfaction was not found to be a necessary condition for Arab Muslims in driving relationship performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe study suggests that the 370 million Arab population may not be totally cohesive and should be refrained from being grouped together. In-group identification is a major contributor in explaining why business models are different between Arab Muslims and Arab Christians. The findings further support that Muslim Arab business models are based on tribalism or sheikocracy, whilst Christian Arab business models are based on legalistic frameworks and integration.Practical implicationsThe study supports prior research associated with Muslim Arab business models based on tribalism or sheikocracy (Ali, 1995). The findings suggest that Arab Muslim business models focus on particularized trust as opposed to generalized trust that is common in Arab Christian business models and in most western countries. The study demonstrates that Mojamala (the emotional construct), Hamola (empathy) and Somah (particularized trust) are useful constructs for building Wasta and they serve a core element for Arab Muslim business models. Mojamala and Somah both directly affect satisfaction. Somah and satisfaction have a direct influence on performance.Originality/valueThe findings provide evidence to support institutional theory. Also from a stakeholder theory perspective, viewing companies, not only through an economic lens, but also building social institutions, can lead to a better understanding of business models drawing on diverse cultures and faiths. The study may therefore serve as a useful reference for academics and practitioners as they grapple to enhance satisfaction and leverage performance advantages within this context.

The Eucharist in Eleventh-Century Jerusalem: New Evidence on the Hagiopolite Communion Rite from Arabic Christian Sources

The article focuses on eucharistic practices in the Patriarchate of Jerusalem prior to Byzantinization. An analysis of a crucial testimony from Cardinal Humbert of Silva Candida’s Adversus graecorum calumnias and a variety of Arabic Christian sources—the Martyrdom of Anthony Rawḥ, Ṣāliḥ ibn Saʿīd’s Marginal Notes, and Elias of Nisibis’s Book of Demonstration— confirm that by the eleventh century, the Melkite Church in Jerusalem had abandoned the ancient practice of receiving communion separately in two kinds (the consecrated Host in the hand and the Blood from the chalice) in favour of receiving communion simultaneously in both kinds. Yet, in contradistinction to the Constantinopolitan practice of mixing both in the chalice, in Jerusalem the pre-intincted consecrated Host was taken by the celebrant from the paten and placed directly into the communicant’s mouth. The evidence of the Martyrdom of Anthony Rawḥ further suggests that this practice arose in the late ninth or early tenth centuries.

An Orthodox Atlantis: Bishoprics of the Patriarchate of Antioch in Eastern Anatolia (16th — 19th Centuries)

The article is devoted to the Greek Orthodox presence in Eastern Anatolia in the Modern period. The main sources of the research are historical works of the christian arabs, manuscripts, publications of archival documents, the press of the 19th — early 20th centuries. The objects of the analysis are bishoprics of the Church of Antioch in Upper Mesopotamia, Upper Euphrates valley and southern Georgian territories (Samtsckhe, Akhaltzih) included into the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Antioch after the Ottoman conquest. The research deals with demographic, linguistic and cultural situation of the local Greek Orthodox population, as well as reasons of their decline and disappearance.

Из поэтического наследия Сулеймана, епископа Газского (X–XI вв.)

The publication presents a commented interlinear and literary translation of two qasidas (poems) from the Divan (collection) of the first known Arab Christian poet – Sulayman al-Ghazzi, bishop of Gaza in Palestine (Xth-XIth cent.). His poetic work is the earliest attempt at using the metrical and stylistic tools of classical Arabic poetry for purely Christian subjects. The Divan also contains multiple autobiographical data and important historical evidence of Christian persecution under the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim, including the destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Despite their unique significance, very few of Sulayman’s poems have been translated into a modern language. The two selected qasidas belong to the opposite traditional genres of Arabic poetry – reproach and praise. In the first one the Jews who rejected Christ are targeted; the other one is focused on righteous Christians and their liturgy. In addition, the first qasida is rich in biblical allusions and quotations, loosely reworked by the author in a poetic vein, and the second one gives a detailed description of the divine service and is therefore a valuable evidence of the liturgical life of Palestinian Christians in Sulayman’s era.

Changing Attitudes Toward the West Bank in Jordan

Changing Attitudes Toward the West Bank in Jordan Michael Sharnoff (bio) A quarter of a century after King Hussein’s disengagement from the West Bank, and nearly two decades after the signature of the Wadi Arabah Peace Accord with Israel, Jordan’s western border has still not been fixed and the fate of the Palestinian refugees on the East Bank remains uncertain. —Tariq Mreyoud al-Tal1 This quote, expressed by Jordanian scholar Tariq Mreyoud al-Tal probably appears strange to most Westerners and perhaps even non-Jordanian Middle Easterners. Jordan’s boundaries in question refer to its relationship with the West Bank, a landlocked territory bordering Israel and Jordan and home to around 3 million Palestinian Arabs and half a million Israeli Jews. Jordan occupied this land during the 1948 war and subsequently annexed it in 1950. The West Bank became an integral part of Jordan until Israel conquered the land from Jordan during the 1967 war. Despite Israel’s occupation, Jordan continued to assert sovereignty claims on the West Bank until King Hussein severed all legal and administrative ties in 1988 in favor of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Today, Jordan, along with nearly the entire international community, regards the West Bank as an Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory. The official position of the Hashemite Kingdom supports ending Israeli rule of the West Bank and establishing an independent Palestinian state [End Page 44] there, along with the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem as its capital. However, despite Jordan’s disengagement from the West Bank, the Hashemite monarchy’s stance obfuscates Jordan’s complex and historical, political, and legal relationship with this territory. Indeed, Jordan’s attitudes toward the West Bank have evolved, as explained by Adnan Abu-Odeh, former political advisor to both King Hussein and King Abdullah II, from an indivisible part of Jordan, to an occupied Jordanian land with Israel, to a territorial dispute with the PLO, and to an occupied Palestinian land.2 Jordan’s disengagement from the West Bank in 1988 and peace treaty with Israel in 1994 sought to affirm that Jordan is not Palestine, that Jordan would not become a substitute Palestinian homeland, and that the PLO was principally responsible to end the occupation and establish an independent state. This article aims to explain the changing attitudes toward the West Bank in Jordan from 1948 until the present. It will expand on Abu-Odeh’s remarks about the fluidity and evolving perceptions of Jordan’s attitude toward the West Bank and explain why some Jordanians espouse views toward the West Bank which challenge official Hashemite policy. In doing so, this article will demonstrate how Jordanian perceptions of the West Bank are influenced by Israeli and Palestinian politics and will assess how attitudes in opposition to official regime policy seek to defend the kingdom’s national security and protect the Palestinian people. Historical Context During World War I, the Allied Powers recognized Britain at the San Remo Conference in April 1920 to serve as the mandatory power in Palestine. The Allies endorsed the establishment of a Jewish national homeland in Palestine based on the Balfour Declaration of November 2, 1917, which would comprise land on both banks of the Jordan River. The League of Nations, the precursor to the United Nations, sanctioned the British Mandate of Palestine in 1922, which remained in effect until 1948. However, in 1921, Britain severed three-fourths of the original Mandate to Abdullah I, son of Hussein bin Ali, Emir of Mecca, based on agreements signed with London before the start of the Great Arab Revolt (1916–1918) against the Ottoman Turks. This new Arab entity became known as Transjordan and comprised territory east of the Jordan River. Transjordan, which gained semi-independence in 1923 and full independence from Britain in 1946, [End Page 45] consisted of vast territory with sparsely populated cities such as Irbid, Salt, Karak, and Ma’an. The ruling Hashemite dynasty governed over a quarter of a million Bedouin and non-Bedouin Muslim Arabs, settled Christian Arabs, and small numbers of Armenian Christians, Druze Arabs, Muslim Circassians, and Muslim Chechens.3 Abdullah I had grand territorial ambitions that Transjordan alone could not satisfy. Coveting a...

تجليات الآخر المسيحي في الشعر الجاهلي من منظور "سيميائيات الثقافة"

This study incorporates "culture semiotics" to present an accurate reading of the revelations of the ‘Other’ that belongs to Christianity in pre-Islamic poetry, and it reveals the various signs that represent this ‘Other’ that belongs to Christianity in the aesthetic text in order to know the levels of self-awareness of the poet of the ‘Other’ that belongs to Christianity and the nature of the relationships between the pagan Bedouin culture and the Christian culture within the semiotic space of this text. The study is divided into two parts: a theoretical part which discusses the critical foundations of cultural semiotics theories, the relationship between the semiotics and cultural analysis of texts, and the position of the cultural system in the structure of the sign. A practical part which studies the semiotic cultural revelations of the ‘Other’ that belongs to Christianity in pre-Islamic poetry through three axes: the image of the ‘Other’ that belongs to Christianity as a cultural threat, the image of the ‘Other’ that belongs to Christianity as a source of enlightenment, and the image of the ‘Other’ that belongs to Christianity as a model of religiosity. The study concluded that the pre-Islamic poets were concerned about cultural identity, which made them insist on isolating the ‘Other’ that belongs to Christianity, and stigmatize it as weak. However, their indirect invocation of this ‘Other’ that belongs to Christianity reveals the consolidation of his model in wisdom and reliable knowledge, with the cultural desires of these poets to satisfy the needs of a spirituality that is not satisfied by the pagan culture nor the political model of Arab Christianity.

"You feel like a second-class guest": Customer discrimination against Arab guests in Israeli hotels

This article examines the experiences of discrimination and social exclusion among Christian and Muslim Israeli Arabs while vacationing in hotels in Israel. The in-depth interviews conducted raise five key expressions of discrimination: (1) perception of Israeli Arabs as a security threat; (2) discriminatory behavior by other guests; (3) discriminatory behavior by staff; (4) disregarding the expectations of the Arab market segment; and (5) communication problems between Arabic-speaking guests and Hebrew-speaking staff. This exploratory study is of social, political, and managerial importance, and sheds light on a form of discrimination that has thus far been overlooked in the hospitality literature.

Early Islam: An Arab Christian Perspective

The essay provides an Arab Christian perspective on early Islam. It examines the geopolitical and ecclesial context in which early Islam emerged in the seventh-century Middle East. In a context marked by religious fluidity and national churches, the essay argues that Qur’anic verses form the basis for viewing early Islam as part and parcel of the reception history of the Judeo-Christian tradition of late antiquity.