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Recorded February 10, 2024
Love with Justice
A Muslim perspective on Palestine/Israel
A live online Community Gathering with Omid Safi
“The path to God goes through that most difficult of beings, the human being”
Our hearts are filled with anguish as Israel continues its relentless bombardment of Gaza following Hamas’s October 7 terror attack, which itself came after decades of Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. So many of us feel helpless, and for some, hopeless, as we bear witness to—or personally experience—seemingly endless cycles of violence, trauma, and dehumanization.
We feel this was a thought-provoking discussion, aimed at the deepest questions of justice and peace.
In this Community Gathering recording with Professor Omid Safi, an Iranian-American Professor of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Duke University, we explored the following topics:
- Can we move beyond condemnation to envision what “love has to say” at such a time?
- Can honoring each other’s grief allow us to reclaim some humanity?
- Can we speak difficult truths yet keep hoping that reconciliation remains possible?
- Can we respond to this crisis in a way that doesn’t reinforce its architecture?
- Can we respond in a prophetic way — calling for real justice, not just an end to external violence?
- What could a sustainable peace, rooted in justice, look like, given the huge imbalance of power?
* Donations for this event will go to Save Gaza’s Children, Defense for Children International Palestine and The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. You can continue to donate after the event is over.
Presenter
Omid Safi
Omid Safi is a scholar of the Islamic mystical tradition of Radical Love and serves as a professor of Islamic studies at Duke University. Ten times nominated for professor of the year awards, Omid has published extensively on the foundational sources of Islam and Sufism. He has authored Memories of Muhammad and Radical Love: Teachings from the Islamic Mystical Tradition. He has offered the annual Martin Luther King lecture and appeared as an expert on Islam in the New York Times, Newsweek, Washington Post, Al-Jazeera, PBS, NPR, NBC, BBC and CNN.
Omid teaches online courses on Muslim mysticism and has his own podcast Sufi Heart. He also offers spiritually oriented contemplative journeys and retreats for the general public. Information about the books, podcast, courses, and tours can be found at illuminatedcourses.com.
