Jordan, January 23rd, 2025
Your Royal Highness, Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, Chief Advisor to His Majesty King Abdallah II for Religious & Cultural Affairs and His Majesty's Personal Envoy,
Your Royal Highnesses,
Your Beatitude, Patriarch Theophilus,
Your graces, distinguished scholars, esteemed guests, dear sisters and brothers,
I want to begin by expressing my gratitude to His Royal Highness for his generous support and patronage of this international consultation.
Without your moral and financial backing, this gathering would not have been possible. Thank you, Your Royal Highness, for believing in the vision, mission, and work of Dar al-Kalima University to initiate and organize this consultation in partnership with the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought.
Dar al-Kalima University, the first and only institution of higher education in Palestine dedicated to arts, culture, and design, has spent years addressing the topic of Christian Zionism. Two years ago, we hosted a regional consultation to study CZ in the Latin American
context, and we plan another for the Nordic Countries in May and a third for Asia in October.
However, this consultation is distinct for several reasons: it brings together for the first time most of the prominent scholars who have significantly contributed to this topic in a comprehensive international
setting. It centers on an under-researched theme: the impacts of Christian Zionism on Middle Eastern Christians.
This gathering is organized under the auspices of local churches, emphasizing the importance of listening to Middle Eastern Christians rather than merely discussing them. In addition to scholars and church
leaders, we have invited influencers to broaden awareness of this vital issue.
Moreover, this consultation adopts a decolonial approach. Edward Said, a renowned Palestinian Christian scholar, explored the concept of Orientalism in Western literature. If he were to analyze Western theological literature—whether evangelical or liberal—he might label this particular form of Orientalism as Christian Zionism, describing the Western view of the East as inferior and requiring conquest—intellectually, religiously, politically, and ultimately militarily.
Both Orientalism and Christian Zionism provide the ideological framework, that is the software, facilitating the settler colonization of Palestinian land, while Western military support provide the hardware,
enabling ethnic cleansing and genocide. Islamophobia and racism against Arabs are integral to Christian Zionism, often treating the plight of Middle Eastern Christians as collateral damage.
Through this unique consultation, we aim to compile and publish an unprecedented global anthology on Christian Zionism. Three renown international publishers are already waiting to see the manuscript.
This consultation holds significance as it takes place in Jordan, at the site of Jesus' baptism, where John the Baptist preached marking the beginning of Christ's public ministry. We wanted this
meeting to echo the prophetic footsteps of John and Jesus, encouraging us to listen to and inhale the spirit of this sacred place before any of us speaks.
Finally, this consultation's timing is particularly poignant. When we planned this event, no one anticipated that President Trump would assemble the most Christian Zionist cabinet in American history or that the political right with its Orientalist & Christian national views would gain momentum in Europe. The relevance of our discussions here and now cannot be overstated.
As I conclude, I would like to acknowledge the steering committee members: Bishop Munib Younan, Dr. Robert Smith, Dr. Wasfi Kailani, and Dr. Tareq Elgawhary, the staff of His Royal Highness, and my colleagues from Dar al-Kalima University who worked tirelessly to
ensure this consultation's success.
Dear colleagues,
What an extraordinary start to our time together! And we look forward for three exceptional days ahead of us.