This time of year when believers begin their Easter pilgrimage, we publish the God Edition. This has been a tradition at the Mail & Guardian for 26 years.
Our young, dynamic team who produced this year’s edition reflects our diverse religious heritage and our collective fears of a world imploding in real time before our eyes.
This year’s edition lands in the middle of war. Literally. The theme, God of War, is a reflection of the times we live in today: a time of war. A time when, collectively, the world asks God for answers and prays for sanity to prevail.
The geopolitical shifts in the Trump era of renewed American hegemony has reached the Middle East, the birthplace of Christ, which is in turmoil after the US-Israel military attacks on Iran, which began in February.
The senseless US-Israel war has caused economic tremors across the world and sucked all of us into an unprecedented crisis characterised by soaring oil prices, the wanton destruction of infrastructure, killings, a humanitarian crisis and uncertainty.
We don’t know when the war will end, because the world has learnt not to believe a word that comes out of Trump’s mouth. What we do know is that by the time it does, the world would have changed forever.
This Easter, we join hands with those calling for an end to the bloodletting and destruction of nations by those whose military budgets are being deployed to extend superiority over others.
We call for peace.