Source: Preemptive Love, June 4, 2020
Ihsan Ibraheem grew up under the authoritarian rule of Saddam Hussein. He lived through the US invasion of his country, the sectarian war that followed, and the rise of ISIS. He has put his life on the line to serve those of every background. He writes:
“My friends, I’m very sorry to see what is happening in the US. I have been watching and following from my home in Iraq since the beginning of the events that led to this, and I’m really sad and worried.
“Maybe because we are not so far from this. In the last several months, violence hit Iraq really bad. We still haven’t recovered from it. Not to mention all that’s happened in the past 15 years—from the sectarian war to ISIS.
“You may think that what happened in Iraq was because of many things, any of which could be true. But I believe two of the main things that led to this are sectarianism and nationalism.
“Everywhere else, we all know it as racism.”
“It is a virus within our systems, communities, people, and ourselves—more dangerous than any other virus in the world.”
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» Also from the Middle East, read about how believers in Yemen are responding to the COVID-19 crisis and “turning fears into prayers” (Open Doors).