TEHRAN- nspired by the Gospel story of feeding the four thousand, an Iranian writer asks: if Christ were alive today, would he stay in the Vatican—or sail with the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza?

Feeding the Four Thousand

On one of those days, a large crowd gathered around him, and they were hungry again. Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will faint on the way, for some of them have come from a long journey.”

His disciples were amazed and said, “Where can we get enough bread in this deserted place to satisfy these people?

Jesus asked, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.” Then he ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples. The disciples gave them to the people. They also found a few small fish. He blessed them and told them to set them before the people.

And they all ate and were satisfied. And the disciples took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces that were left. And there were about four thousand of them. Then Jesus dismissed the multitude, And immediately he got into a boat with his disciples, and went into the region of Dalmanutha.

The Pharisees Seek a Miracle

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus was coming, they gathered together to dispute with him. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven to prove his authority. And Jesus sighed deeply in his spirit, and said, “Why does this generation always seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, I will not give it a sign.”

And he left them, got into a boat, and went across the lake.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Herod

But the disciples had forgotten to take enough bread with them, and they had only one loaf in the boat.

As they were walking along the lake, Jesus warned them, “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.”

So the disciples began to argue with one another about the fact that they had brought no bread.

Jesus knew what they were discussing with each other. So he said, “Why are you discussing the matter of having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Is your heart so hardened that you cannot understand? You who have eyes, why do you not see?

Why do you not open your ears and hear? Do you remember how I fed the five thousand with the five loaves? How many baskets full of fragments did you take up?” They replied, “Twelve.”

He said, “When I fed the four thousand with the seven loaves, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?”

They said, “Seven baskets!”

He said, “Do you still not understand?”

I am a university professor and Muslim writer & Director, but as much as I respect my Prophet Muhammad, I also love other religious leaders and prophets, especially Moses and Jesus, and I read the books of the Old and New Testaments and quote them to my students.

It has been a long time since I saw the ceremonial ceremony of your successor as Pope in Rome. Those large tables, luxurious clothes, and the tranquility that begins in the secluded corners of the monasteries and ends in Rome. In the New Testament, I know you, O Christ, as a man who not only felt compassion for the hunger and thirst of the people, but also moved from city to city to save the people from hunger. And this question grew in my mind: if you were present today in the Vatican instead of this respected Pope and his magnificent institution, would you, like your successor, have written an ineffective message at nine o'clock at night on the Vatican sites through your advisors, and then content yourself with a prayer for these enraged people of Gaza, crucified by demons at the foot of this statue, and then sleep comfortably in a luxurious bed until morning? Or, according to these same Bible stories, would you now be on a ship heading to Gaza to bless the hungry children there?

Tell me, which is true, the writings of your Bible or the actions of your successor?

If your successor really believed in your Bible, he should be in the middle of the sea and on the ships of this caravan.

I say with courage that for me, these brave men and women in the Global Sumud Flotilla are your true successors. Just as I do not consider most of the leaders of Islamic countries to be followers of Muhammad and true Islam. Just as Netanyahu's actions should not be linked to Moses and the Jewish religion. And just as Trump and Western leaders are not symbols of democracy and humanity.