Tea with Hezbollah
Sitting at the Enemies Table Our Journey Through the Middle East
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Is it really possible to love one’s enemies?
That’s the question that sparked a fascinating and, at times, terrifying journey into the heart of the Middle East during the summer of 2008. It was a trip that began in Egypt, passed beneath the steel and glass high rises of Saudi Arabia, then wound through the bullet- pocked alleyways of Beirut and dusty streets of Damascus, before ending at the cradle of the world’s three major religions: Jerusalem.
Tea with Hezbollah combines nail-biting narrative with the texture of rich historical background, as readers join novelist Ted Dekker and his co-author and Middle East expert, Carl Medearis, on a hair-raising journey. They are with them in every rocky cab ride, late-night border crossing, and back-room conversation as they sit down one-on-one with some of the most notorious leaders of the Arab world. These candid discussions with leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas, with muftis, sheikhs, and ayatollahs, with Osama bin Laden’s brothers, reveal these men to be real people with emotions, fears, and hopes of their own. Along the way, Dekker and Medearis discover surprising answers and even more surprising questions that they could not have anticipated—questions that lead straight to the heart of Middle Eastern conflict.
Through powerful narrative Tea With Hezbollah will draw the West into a completely fresh understanding of those we call our enemies and the teaching that dares us to love them. A must read for all who see the looming threat rising in the Middle East.
Carl Medearis
Thirty years of living in and traveling to the Middle East have given Carl Medearis (www.carlmedearis.com) a true insider's view of the region, making him one of a handful of American expert voices in the field of Arab-American and Muslim-Christian relations.
Carl serves as a catalyst for a number of current movements in the Middle East that come together around the life and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth in order to promote peacemaking, as well as cultural, political, and religious dialogue leading toward understanding and reconciliation. He is the author of the acclaimed books on these issues: Muslims, Christians, and Jesus as well as Tea with Hezbollah, and most recently, Speaking of Jesus: the Art of Not-Evangelism.
Carl, his wife, Chris, and their three kids lived in Beirut, Lebanon, for 12 years. Through their unique and strategic approach around the Arab world, they encouraged university students, business professionals, and political leaders to live their lives by the principles and teachings of Jesus in order to change their societies and nations.
Today Carl spends much of his time working with leaders both in the Arab world and in the West with the hope of seeing the Middle East and the West experience full and fruitful relationships through Jesus of Nazareth. He is also the director of The Middle East Studies Program at William Jessup University.
Carl leads a grass-roots movement in America to reconnect with Jesus called "Simply Jesus," anchored in a yearly conference. Speakers include N. T. Wright, Philip Yancey, and Tony Campolo. Learn more at the website www.SimplyJesusGathering.com.
Carl has spoken several times at Harvard, been the Chairman of an Arab League meeting (in Baghdad), preached in mosques, churches, and universities across the Western world, and most of all he's loved Jesus, his wife, and his three kids.
More by Carl Medearis
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