Although it is well known that China has become the world’s largest and fastest growing economy in the world- outpacing the USA since the unveiling of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, it is too often forgotten that this dominant position is not new, but merely a return to the “normal” state of world…
Category: Dialogue of Cultures
The Forgotten Jewish-Christian-Muslim Alliance and China's Silk Road
By Matthew Ehret Today, I would like to go a little deeper into the longer wave of history shaping our presently confused age by taking a look at the forgotten Jewish Kingdom of Khazaria (7-11th century CE). Taking the time to investigate this important part of world history is additionally important as China’s New Silk…
La Convivencia: A Time of Muslim, Christian, Jewish Coexistence
By Fred Haight This video on my visit to the southern part of Spain, known as Andalusia, is about 7 years old. I went there, because I was fascinated by the idea that Jews, Christians, and Muslims lived together in the area peacefully, and, that under Muslim rule, Andalusia was way ahead of anywhere else…
A Pax Americana or A Republic If You Can Keep It?
By Cynthia Chung “Fortune thus blinds the minds of men when she does not wish them to resist her power.” – Livy It seems quite evident to many that the United States has been consumed by the same ambition and thus fate with that of the Roman Empire. That one of the most notorious periods…
The Spirits of Confucius and Socrates Smile on the Growing China-Greek Partnership
By Matthew Ehret Many people have a difficult time thinking about the common themes linking Confucian China with the Christian west. As of the November state visit of Xi Jinping to Greece, it was demonstrated that the leading representatives of two of the oldest cradles of modern civilization had no troubles understanding each other. Prime…
Unifying Spirit between East and West: Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766), Jesuit painter in the Forbidden City.
By Matthew Ehret-Kump “In pursuing the Belt and Road Initiative, we should ensure that when it comes to different civilizations, exchange will replace estrangement, mutual learning will replace clashes, and coexistence will replace a sense of superiority. This will boost mutual understanding, mutual respect and mutual trust among different countries” -Xi Jinping, Belt and Road…
Russia Before the Revolution: A Voyage Along the Silk Road in Colour
Sergey Mikhaylovich Prokudin-Gorsky (1863 – 1944) was a Russian chemist and photographer. He is best known for his pioneering work in colour photography, in particular, his colour portrait of Leo Tolstoy. It was this fame that, in 1909, brought him to the attention of Tsar Nicholas II who would provide funding and the authority for Prokudin-Gorsky to…
Atoms for Peace vs. Atoms for War: A Constructive Outlook for US-Iran Relations
By Matthew Ehret As tensions rose in the Middle East over recent weeks, many people have falsely been led to believe that Iran really intends to build an “Islamic bomb”, and has no other need for nuclear power since oil is so abundant in the region. Hogwash. As we will see, Iranian leaders were already…
Hussein Askary Discusses the New Silk Road's Advance Across the Middle East
Anyone looking at a map of the Belt and Road Initiative will notice that Syria, Iraq and Iran’s stability and active participation are vital for this world changing program to function. Anyone not realizing that this program of win-win cooperation is in direct opposition to the dismal paradigm of “a clash of civilizations” would be…
The Emerging Eurasian Alliance as an Opportunity not a Threat
by Cynthia Chung This article is based off of a presentation done at the RTF symposium on Nov 16th titled “The Art of Peace: The New Silk Road Counters an Age of Turbulence” Last month was the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and along with its celebration the continuation of a false…
