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Omid Safi


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Essay

September 12, 2015

The Shoes

The image of a small boy's body washed onto the beach awakened the world to the largest refugee crisis in decades. Omid Safi shares his heartbreak, reminding us that love and compassion must lead toward action and must reach across geographical boundaries and borders of faith.
There are many connections most of us do not see. Stories of hope about educating the "whole child" in North Carolina and a village in Afghanistan using pizza party donations and Rumi's poetry as a bridge.
We have charms to ward off harmful glances, but what might they teach us about more gracious and loving communication? Omid Safi studies the significance of the "evil eye," and wonders if it can inspire us to better interaction.
A true friendship doesn't only bring support and joy, but also challenges us to grow. Omid Safi reflects on the importance of nurturing relationships that acknowledge our imperfections, and nourish the best in us.
It can be hard, sometimes embarrassing, to admit we don't have the answers. But there's grace and wisdom in owning up to what we don't know — and giving space for the strengths of those we might overshadow.
Following the president's decision to move the capital of Israel to Jerusalem, our columnist reminds us that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not a simple question of theology. It is wrapped up in political, historical, and colonialist motivations that prevent the Jewish, Muslim, and Christian communities from reaching a peace in the holy city that all can share.
Our overscheduled lives leave little time for contemplation and reflection. How do we enable each other to pause and reflect together and ask how our hearts are doing?