Can you love Islam and be Christian at the same time?
For the community at a desert monastery north of Damascus, this question is not just theoretical, but deeply practical. On Monday, 22 September at 14:00, Father Jihad Youssef, the leader of Deir Mar Musa Monastery, will visit Sankt Ignatios College in Södertälje to share his vision for The Role and Mission of Christians in the Future of Syria.
The monastery was rebuilt in the 1980s by Jesuit Paolo Dall’Oglio and has since developed into a meeting place for peace and reconciliation. When the community gathered for a general chapter in 2021, Father Jihad was elected as the new leader, thereby taking on the responsibility of carrying forward the vision left by the founder.
He is a trained theologian with a doctorate in biblical theology from the Gregorian University in Rome, where his research focused particularly on the Christian Arabic heritage and Ibn al-Ṭayyib’s 13th-century commentary on Deuteronomy. As abbot, he leads both the spiritual life and the many social and humanitarian projects that have grown out of the monastery’s activities. Under his leadership, Mar Musa continues to be a place where people of different religious backgrounds can meet, but also a center for practical aid in a country severely affected by war and economic collapse.
The monastery runs a preschool, supports university students, helps families in need, and organizes medical initiatives. At the same time, there is a strong commitment to ecological issues through cultivation, tree planting, and work to restore land and water resources.
Father Jihad emphasizes, however, that Mar Musa must not be reduced to a relief organization. He sees it as crucial that the monastery preserves its heart in monastic life—prayer, silence, contemplation, and hospitality—while remaining open to the world. He reflects on how the community can also welcome laypeople who share its calling, and how the monastery’s future can be built on a balance between practical work and spiritual deepening. In a time of uncertainty and difficulty, he wants to hold fast to the vision of Mar Musa as a bridge between religions and a place of hope and peace in the Middle East.