The Deep Map

Black Christians in America have three homelands — a national homeland in the US, an ethnic homeland in Africa, and a spiritual homeland in Israel — but the distances and disparities between these places can create confusion. This week, Robert sits down with Krystal Bracy, the Director of Philos Black, to talk through Black identity in 2023 and how it relates to justice issues at home and abroad. What is the significance of the Black church to African-Americans? How do they think about Africa, America, and Israel (and the Palestinians)? And what does global leadership look like for a community still facing local challenges? For more information about Philos Black and its upcoming Global Leaders Summit visit philosproject.org/philosblack. Krystal Bracy is the Director of Philos Black. A native of Oakland, CA, Bracy earned a BA in Political Science from UC Berkeley and an MDiv degree from Duke University with concentrations in Homiletics, Black Church Studies and African and African American Studies. A licensed Evangelist Missionary of the Church of God in Christ, Krystal has traveled throughout Africa, Europe, South America and the continental United States. She is passionate about social justice and improving the spaces in which people of color study, work, worship and live.

America is facing a crisis of faith; Latin America, meanwhile, is seeing revival. In one of the least reported phenomena of the 21st century, evangelicalism has been sweeping the Spanish-speaking world and transforming its societies from the ground up — and not just its societies. In addition to the social effects of this revival are its political and geopolitical effects, as Latin American countries take a new interest in the land and people of Israel. This week, Robert sits down with Jesse Rojo, one of the founding members of The Philos Project, to discuss the evangelicalization of Latin America and its spillover effects among US Hispanics. Weaving together demographic trends with the rich history of Hispanic-Jewish relations, Robert and Jesse explore the causes and effects of one of the world’s most fascinating cultural encounters. Along the way they reminiscence over a decade of friendship and work promoting positive Christian engagement in the Near East through Philos.

It is no secret that a liberal messianic approach to US foreign policy has fueled a number of unproductive wars over the years. But could our latest effort to defend Ukraine in the face of a Russian invasion actually be one of those wars?  It's a question many Americans, both Democrat and Republican, are asking. With US aid to Ukraine nearing $100 billion -- and with thousands of nuclear warheads within arm's reach of Vladimir Putin's desk -- it's a good question. And it's one that got Florida governor and 2024 presidential candidate Ron DeSantis in trouble in March of this year.  This week, Robert sits down with Damir Marusic, opinion editor at the Washington Post, to work through the dilemma of Ukraine. As a realist, Damir looks skeptically on talk of "democracy versus tyranny," preferring to analyze political conflicts through the lens of power and interests. But as a Croatian-American, Damir can't help but sympathize with a small nation fending off a hostile invasion, drawing parallels with the collapse of his native Yugoslavia in the 1990s. What is really at stake in Ukraine, and what does victory look like? What are America's interests and obligations there? And how should we evaluate those interests in light of the moral and humanitarian questions raised by Putin's invasion? In addition to his position at the Washington Post, Damir Marusic is also co-founder of the Wisdom of Crowds podcast and publishing platform. He was previously a resident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center, where he worked with the Balkans Forward Initiative, an effort to foster a democratic, secure, and prosperous Western Balkans integrated in the transatlantic community. Marusic has written extensively on US politics, polarization, US foreign policy, and European affairs, specifically relating to the Balkans and Russia. He received an MA in international relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and a BA in philosophy from Johns Hopkins University.

It only takes one look at the news to see the disturbing state of Western civilization in 2023. Soaring levels of anxiety, a mental health crisis, and an epidemic of loneliness have exacerbated the crisis of identity that is eating our societies from within. Among the hardest hit are teenage girls, victims of both the old-line women's lib movement and third-wave feminist ideology that is pushing the definition of womanhood ever further from its biblical origins. To talk about these alarming trends, Robert sits down with Simone Rizkallah, an Armenian-American Catholic and Director of Program Growth for Endow Groups, who isolates one of the key contributors to Western decline as the “crisis of the feminine genius.” Born to Armenian immigrants from Cairo, Egypt, Simone brings a unique East-West perspective to femininity in the Church and why it’s so necessary to repair our broken culture. In addition to her role at Endow, Simone has previously worked as Theology Department Chair and Senior Theology Teacher at St. Mary's Catholic High School in Phoenix, Arizona, and as the Director of Religious Education for youth and adults at St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Annandale, Virginia.  She is the host of The Endow Podcast, which serves as a forum for women to foster conversations about the intellectual life and intentional community for the cultivation of the feminine genius.

In a surprising turn of events, the Arab world looks ready to bring Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in from the cold after suspending him from the Arab League 12 years ago for his bloody crackdown on civilian protests in 2011. But why are US allies like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates suddenly extending the olive branch to the butcher of Damascus – and why now? How does all of this relate to the massive geopolitical realignment now sweeping the region, and what should the US do in response?  In this episode, Robert talks with someone who knows the brutality of the Assad regime firsthand. Hadeel Oueis is a Philos senior research fellow and Syrian Christian who was imprisoned by Assad in the early days of the Arab Spring before she managed to escape Syria for the US. Drawing on a trove of insider knowledge, Hadeel explains the background of the civil war, its devastating effect on Syria’s Christian community, the emergence of the breakaway Kurdish region in the country’s northeast, the reasons behind the push for Arab normalization, and the failure of American policymakers to articulate a clear response to any of this. In addition to her role at Philos, Hadeel Oueis analyzes Near Eastern affairs for BBC Arabic, Deutsche Welle Arabic, Al-Hurrah, and other major Arabic networks. She also has advocated for the rights of Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews through JIMENA, and lobbied for peace and pluralism on a variety of other platforms.  

Ninety-nine percent of the people who live in the Holy Land are Jewish or Muslim, as are 99 percent of the violent incidents that take place there. But what about the 1 percent who are Christian? What role do they play? To answer that question, Robert talks with his colleague and friend Khalil Sayegh, a Palestinian Christian from Gaza who recently finished five years with The Philos Project. In a heartfelt conversation that veers from analysis and debate to personal reflection, Robert and Khalil discuss the causes of recent violence in the land, the internal dynamics of Israeli and Palestinian politics, the role of religion, the prospects for peace, and the real value of peacemaking efforts between the two sides. Khalil Sayegh worked with Philos as an advocacy fellow, research fellow, and Rami Ayyad Scholar while earning an MA in Comparative Politics at American University. Before moving to America, Khalil led Philos’s grassroots efforts in the West Bank where he organized support programs for Palestinian Christians, facilitated dialogue between young Israelis and Palestinians, and spoke to visiting delegations about the local situation. He now lives in Washington, DC. 

We would all like to see a secular, democratic Iran – but is it really possible in a place long governed by kings and strong men? How could democracy ever rise so long as the ayatollahs control the levers of state power? And are we sure the Iranian people even want it? In this episode, Robert sits with Philos Senior Research Fellow Farhad Rezaei to ask these questions in light of widespread protests sweeping the country since September 2022. Farhad, an outspoken critic of the regime and a political asylee, believes that these protests offer a window into changing sentiments on the Iranian street – changes he sees as part of a slow-motion revolution – and insists that the goal of US policy should be nothing short of toppling the regime. He also discusses Iran’s nuclear ambitions and paramilitary activity around the region, and, as a Kurdish convert to Christianity, explains how religion and culture shape the geopolitical situation. Farhad Rezaei is a senior research fellow at The Philos Project, where his work focuses on Iran and its violations against religious minorities in the Near and Middle East. He is the author of numerous books and articles on Iran's foreign and defense policy, and his research has appeared in many prestigious magazines and journals. His latest Philos publication is Invisible Jihad: The Treatment of Christians by Iran’s Proxies.

“Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief,” proclaims Article 18 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights. But while the Islamic Republic of Iran is party to the UNDHR, religious freedom inside the country is elusive and only partial at best. Of special concern is Iran’s total restriction on the changing of one’s religious belief and its policy that abandoning Islam is not just apostasy but betrayal of the body politic. With popular unrest still simmering in Iranian streets following the September 2022 murder of Mahsa Amini, Robert sits down with Marziyeh Amirizadeh, an Iranian convert to Christianity, to talk about her 2009 arrest for the crime of evangelism and her subsequent incarceration in the infamous Evin Prison, where she experienced months of intense interrogation and physical hardship until international lobbying efforts secured her release. In a heartfelt conversation, Robert and Marziyeh discuss the regime’s religious oppression, the underground church, and the importance of outside advocacy for religious minorities inside the country.  Marziyeh Amirizadeh is an Iranian immigrant born just a few months before the 1979 Iranian Revolution, which toppled the Shah of Iran and brough a radical Islamic regime into power. Marziyeh grew up as a Muslim under this authoritarian regime, but converted to Christianity more than twenty years ago and began sharing her faith with fellow Iranians. After her release from prison, she immigrated to the United States where she earned a Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in International Affairs from Georgia Tech University. Today, she is a speaker and author who continues to her testimony in order to shed light on the situation in Iran and to inspire faith in others. Her latest book, A Love Journey with God: From Pain to Love, Captivity to Freedom, Iran to the US, details how God can turn any situation into triumph.

What on earth is happening in Israel right now? Widespread protests, political clashes, and rising violence in the West Bank paint a grim picture as the country approaches its 75th anniversary. In this episode, Robert visits controversial Israeli scholar Benny Morris to talk about this chaotic moment in historical context, and specifically about the ongoing battle between Israel’s various tribes over the meaning and purpose of a Jewish state. Benny Morris is a journalist and historian of the Arab-Israeli conflict who served in the Israel Defense Forces as an infantryman from 1967 to 1969 where he was wounded in combat during the War of Attrition. In his 12 years as a correspondent for the Jerusalem Post, Benny covered Israel’s conflicts with Arab states, notably the 1982 Lebanon War. He was also a longtime professor of Middle East Studies at Ben-Gurion University and Goldman Visiting Israeli Professor at Georgetown University's Department of Government. His work on the Arab-Israeli conflict has won him praise and criticism from both sides. 

The invasion of Iraq on March 30, 2003, initiated a sea change in U.S. foreign policy. In this first episode of season 2, Robert sits down with Darren Duke, a retired U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer who was on the ground and saw the War in Iraq firsthand. In a wide-ranging conversation, Darren reflects on the civilizational barriers of American soldiers fighting an Islamic insurgency, struggling to make sense of the cultural limits on their mission. Together, Robert and Darren reflect on the legacy of Iraq 20 years on.  Darren Duke is a non-resident Senior Research Fellow at The Philos Project. He is currently a graduate student studying Semitic languages at The Catholic University of America. Prior, Darren spent 30 years as a Marine Corps officer, serving in both military and diplomatic assignments in the Near East, Africa, and the Far East. He served as a military attaché to Israel during the Second Lebanon War (2006) and later as a member of the U.S. Roadmap for Peace security sector negotiating team (2008-2009). He also led a U.S. special operations task force in support of African Union counter-insurgency operations against the Lord's Resistance Army in 2014-2015. He holds a BS in Political Science from the U.S. Naval Academy and a MA in National Security Studies from the Naval.