Description

Can one percent more empathy change the world?

Dr. Sunil Maria Benedict believes so. In a world increasingly fractured by fear and misinformation, The Heart of the Other offers a rare, insider-outsider perspective on Islamic culture. Having spent over a decade immersed in Middle Eastern traditions, Dr. Benedict challenges the post-9/11 narratives that have reduced an entire faith to a monolith of “extremism”.

Inside this book, you will discover:

The Innocence of War: Raw, firsthand accounts of a childhood spent playing with bombshells and finding magic in the midst of conflict.

The Spiritual Bridge: Why a devout Christian chooses to call God “Allah” and finds a “homecoming” in the mystical depths of Sufism.

A Psychological Lens: How bias and “othering” affect our collective mental health, and how we can heal through cross-cultural understanding.

Personal Sovereignty: The moving story of loss and resilience, anchored by the memory of the author’s sister, Clementina Zainab, who rests in Iraq.

Whether you are seeking spiritual depth, a better understanding of your neighbors, or a moving human story, this book is an invitation to meet “out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing”