SENTINEL WATCH February 1, 2010 Issue

THE MIDDLE EAST (STILL) NEEDS OUR PRAYERS

COLLEEN DOUGLASS

With Stories such as the US troop surge in Afghanistan, Dubai's economic crisis, terrorist activities in Yemen, and concern regarding Iran's development of nuclear weapons, the Middle East continues to capture headlines. Yet many people have begun to turn their attention elsewhere, to issues such as the American economy, healthcare reform, and their own family affairs.

After decades of strife, and eight years of war in the Middle East, world citizens might justifiably feel a bit battle-weary. But while I can't speak for others, I've found I need to be alert so that I don't slip into a mental malaise with respect to praying about this region of the world.

In my prayers for the Middle East, I've come back time and again to the universal law of love found in the Golden Rule, or ethic of reciprocity. Every major world religion, from Christianity to Islam, from Judaism to Hinduism, articulates this law in some form. Its thread runs through the lifework of Mahatma Gandhi in Asia, Martin Luther King, Jr., in North America, and Nelson Mandela in Africa—three people whose influence has been felt globally. Barack Obama referred to the Golden Rule in his Nobel prize acceptance speech last year.