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Ramadan Scenes of 2025 - A Visual Journey of Ramadan on the Ground
Editorial Team Ramadan, the holy month when Muslims around the world fast from sunrise to sunset, is being observed this year from...
The Situation of Syrian Refugees After the End of the War
David Cheon Member of the Middle East and Arab Studies Association After nearly 15 years of war between the Syrian government forces and...
Islamic Extremism: A Case Study of Pakistan
Stephen Jang(Head of the South Asian Studies Association), Cheol-young Lee(Head of the International Affairs Research Association),...
Global Terrorism and Missionary Work: A Growing Challenge
Cheol-young Lee Head of the International Affairs Research Association New York, September 11, 2001 – The world watched in shock as...
The History and Evaluation of U.S. Involvement in Middle Eastern Issues After the Cold War
Cheol-young Lee Head of the International Affairs Research Association Introduction Since the establishment of Israel in 1948, the United...
Jordan's Perspective and Challenges Amid a Changing Middle East: An On-Site Interview
The Middle East continues to experience persistent turmoil due to numerous variables. Amidst these changes, the responses of various...
Recent Situation in Syria and Prayer Requests
Hyun-ji Jin Head of the Middle East and Arab Studies Association On November 28, the day after Israel and Hezbollah entered a temporary...
The Collision of Israel’s and Iran’s Long-standing Dreams, Yet Hoping for True Vision and Restoration
Joseph Kwon Editorial Board Member The Middle East (West Asia) has been a region where important ideas, civilizations, and religions...
The Myths of the Israel-Palestine Conflict
Joseph Kwon Editorial Board Member Historical Background of the Israel-Palestine Conflict When explaining the Middle East, it’s often...
The Turbulent Arab Middle East and the Islamic World
Joseph Kwon Editorial Board Member Introduction The war that began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israeli...
How Can We End the Israel-Hamas War? (On Israel’s Strategy Against Hamas)
Cheol-young Lee Head of the International Affairs Research Association It has now been over a year since the Israel-Hamas war began, and...
Analysis of Israel's "New Middle East Order"
Joseph Kwon Editorial Board Member The current wars—Israel vs. Hamas, Israel vs. Hezbollah, Israel vs. Iran and its proxy...
One Year Since the War Began, Today
Rebecca Kim Member of the Middle East and Arab Studies Association <Israel> On the one-year anniversary of the war’s start, memorial...
Modern Arab Islamist Theology and a Turning Point: Focusing on the Muslim Brotherhood
Jin Hyunji (Middle East Arab Research Association) 1. Introduction In the modern Arab world, Islamism is generally defined as “a modern political ideology and movement that seeks to construct a state and society consistent with Sharia by making Islamic beliefs and norms the central principles of political, legal, and social order” (Shepard, 1987; Tibi, 2007). Based on this definition, modern Islamism can be categorized into several types according to two axes—whether it uses
Characteristics of Traditional Turkish Islam and Its Transformation in the Context of Modernization
Lee Ji-eun (Asia Minor Research Association) 1. Introduction Türkiye is a democratic republic that constitutionally adopts secularism as the fundamental ideology of the state. The state has taken the separation of politics and religion as a principle and has restricted the direct intervention of religion in the public sphere. Nevertheless, the vast majority of the population is Muslim, and the identity perception of “Turk = Muslim” is widely shared throughout society. This
Iranian Regime at the Brink — Is Spring Coming to Iran?
Ju-el Yun (Member of Persian Studies Association) Captured Image from Protest Footage in Tehran Escalating Protests and the Regime’s Double Game Protests that began in late 2025 among market merchants in Tehran have now entered their third week. What started locally has spread nationwide and continues to intensify. In response, the Iranian regime’s crackdown has grown increasingly brutal. From the perspective of a minister who has served among the people for many years, the c
A Study on the Causes of the Decline of the North African Church after the Islamic Conquest
Jung Hae-won(Head of the African Studies Association) 1. Introduction to the North African Region Figure 1 . Map of North Africa Note. Map of North Africa | Download Scientific Diagram North Africa generally refers to five countries with shared historical backgrounds and political-economic alliances: Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania. These nations are part of the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), an organization aimed at establishing a single market. A common m
The Need for Business Missions and Its Practical Operation as Experienced by a Field Missionary
Song‑won Kim(Africa Research Association) Abstract This article discusses the need for business missions as experienced while planting churches in the field, and the practical operations that followed. It describes the connection between church-planting ministry and business, approaches to business and finances as a missionary, the beginning of actual entrepreneurial efforts, and the preparations needed to conduct business in the field. Additionally, it mentions various bu
The Concept of Ethnicity in the Bible and the Contemporary Significance of Genetic Research
Cheol-young Lee Head of the International Affairs Research Association The question “What is a nation?” has produced diverse definitions...
China’s National Strategy and the Outlook for the International Order
Professor Minho Ma (Director of the Global Mission Institute, Handong Global University) Chapter 1. Introduction Today’s international order has moved beyond a simple shift in the balance of power among great powers and entered an era of structural competition over who designs the fundamental rules and standards that govern the world. Whereas past conflicts often unfolded separately in military-political and economic domains, the current U.S.–China hegemonic rivalry conver
Islam That Gently Took Root, Churches That Remained Static: Indonesian Islam and the Trajectories of Christian Mission
Young-ung Park (Member of the Acean Studies Association), Cheol-young Lee (Head of the International Affairs Research Association), Ji-eun Lee (Editorial Board) Indonesia, home to the world’s largest Muslim population and an expansive plural society encompassing hundreds of islands and cultures, offers a crucial setting for examining how religion and culture shape social life. In this context, Islam did not spread through warfare or coercion, as occurred in various other r
Cappadocia – Early Christian Heritage Sites of Türkiye
Jun-woo Son, Jae-hyun Park, Sang-o Geum, and Ji-eun Lee Members of the Asia Minor Studies Association Cappadocia is mentioned twice in the Bible: Acts 2:9 and 1 Peter 1:1. From these passages we learn that an early Christian church existed in Cappadocia, and even today numerous church ruins remain as evidence of its presence. The relics of Cappadocia reveal what the lives and faith of early Christians and their successors were like and continue to offer deep insight for belie
The Changing Spiritual Landscape of Europe — Focusing on Italy
Cheol-young Lee Head of the International Affairs Research Association When people think of Europe, they often envision magnificent...
Chechnya - The Pain of War Reflected in Folk Songs
Young-rae Cho Head of the Russian Ethnic Minority Studies Association Chechnya is located in the northern part of the Caucasus Mountains,...
Liberalism and Evangelism
Cheol-young Lee Head of the International Affairs Research Association Introduction Humanity has long lived in an era dominated by...
China’s National Strategy and the Outlook for the International Order
Professor Minho Ma (Director of the Global Mission Institute, Handong Global University) Chapter 1. Introduction Today’s international order has moved beyond a simple shift in the balance of power among great powers and entered an era of structural competition over who designs the fundamental rules and standards that govern the world. Whereas past conflicts often unfolded separately in military-political and economic domains, the current U.S.–China hegemonic rivalry conver
Iranian Regime at the Brink — Is Spring Coming to Iran?
Ju-el Yun (Member of Persian Studies Association) Captured Image from Protest Footage in Tehran Escalating Protests and the Regime’s Double Game Protests that began in late 2025 among market merchants in Tehran have now entered their third week. What started locally has spread nationwide and continues to intensify. In response, the Iranian regime’s crackdown has grown increasingly brutal. From the perspective of a minister who has served among the people for many years, the c
Trump Reshaping the Middle Eastern Order
Sang-min Lee (Editorial Advisory Board Member) Figure 1. Map of the Middle East . Note. CC0-licensed image provided by Pixabay. U.S. President Donald Trump signed legislation on December 19 repealing the Syria sanctions law (the Caesar Act) that had been imposed during the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since 2019. The bill, which had previously passed both chambers of the U.S. Congress, was something President Trump had promised during his first meeting with ne
Modern Arab Islamist Theology and a Turning Point: Focusing on the Muslim Brotherhood
Jin Hyunji (Middle East Arab Research Association) 1. Introduction In the modern Arab world, Islamism is generally defined as “a modern political ideology and movement that seeks to construct a state and society consistent with Sharia by making Islamic beliefs and norms the central principles of political, legal, and social order” (Shepard, 1987; Tibi, 2007). Based on this definition, modern Islamism can be categorized into several types according to two axes—whether it uses
Characteristics of Traditional Turkish Islam and Its Transformation in the Context of Modernization
Lee Ji-eun (Asia Minor Research Association) 1. Introduction Türkiye is a democratic republic that constitutionally adopts secularism as the fundamental ideology of the state. The state has taken the separation of politics and religion as a principle and has restricted the direct intervention of religion in the public sphere. Nevertheless, the vast majority of the population is Muslim, and the identity perception of “Turk = Muslim” is widely shared throughout society. This
China’s National Strategy and the Outlook for the International Order
Professor Minho Ma (Director of the Global Mission Institute, Handong Global University) Chapter 1. Introduction Today’s international order has moved beyond a simple shift in the balance of power among great powers and entered an era of structural competition over who designs the fundamental rules and standards that govern the world. Whereas past conflicts often unfolded separately in military-political and economic domains, the current U.S.–China hegemonic rivalry conver
Response to Song-won Kim’s Article
Cheol-Young Lee (Head of the International Affairs Research Association) First, I want to express my deep gratitude to Teacher Kim Kwon-se for writing such a valuable piece. In your writing, I could strongly feel your heartfelt love for the local people and their souls, and it made me reflect on how much thought and prayer you must have offered while witnessing the bleak reality in Tunisia. Although I cannot claim to be an expert in BAM (Business as Mission), I would like
The Need for Business Missions and Its Practical Operation as Experienced by a Field Missionary
Song‑won Kim(Africa Research Association) Abstract This article discusses the need for business missions as experienced while planting churches in the field, and the practical operations that followed. It describes the connection between church-planting ministry and business, approaches to business and finances as a missionary, the beginning of actual entrepreneurial efforts, and the preparations needed to conduct business in the field. Additionally, it mentions various bu
The Dream of Kingdom Business / Workplace Church Rising from the Frontiers
Seong-Wook Lee(formerly, Department of Economics, University of Suwon) 1. Kingdom Business / Workplace Church to Channel God’s Wealth For a nation to become wealthy means that its citizens’ incomes increase, and income growth reflects higher productivity in the labor they provide. So, how is productivity increased? It is said that a nation’s productivity growth stems from seven types of capital . First Capital: Human Capital Human capital does not simply refer to a popula
Modern Arab Islamist Theology and a Turning Point: Focusing on the Muslim Brotherhood
Jin Hyunji (Middle East Arab Research Association) 1. Introduction In the modern Arab world, Islamism is generally defined as “a modern political ideology and movement that seeks to construct a state and society consistent with Sharia by making Islamic beliefs and norms the central principles of political, legal, and social order” (Shepard, 1987; Tibi, 2007). Based on this definition, modern Islamism can be categorized into several types according to two axes—whether it uses
Characteristics of Traditional Turkish Islam and Its Transformation in the Context of Modernization
Lee Ji-eun (Asia Minor Research Association) 1. Introduction Türkiye is a democratic republic that constitutionally adopts secularism as the fundamental ideology of the state. The state has taken the separation of politics and religion as a principle and has restricted the direct intervention of religion in the public sphere. Nevertheless, the vast majority of the population is Muslim, and the identity perception of “Turk = Muslim” is widely shared throughout society. This
China’s National Strategy and the Outlook for the International Order
Professor Minho Ma (Director of the Global Mission Institute, Handong Global University) Chapter 1. Introduction Today’s international order has moved beyond a simple shift in the balance of power among great powers and entered an era of structural competition over who designs the fundamental rules and standards that govern the world. Whereas past conflicts often unfolded separately in military-political and economic domains, the current U.S.–China hegemonic rivalry conver
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