Belonging is a growing multi-disciplinary field of study that is slowly superseding identity-related studies. With global challenges of social integration, globalization, and marginalization, belonging is an existential issue that is becoming a testing ground even for leaders in their spiritual formations. By way of example, albeit an ancient text, the story of Abraham in the book of Genesis serves as a case study of narrative-based struggles for belonging of a foreign leader in the way of becoming Father of Nations. I suggest that belonging could be a new reading of Abraham’s story: A migrant-stranger in the struggle of belonging, whose covenantal relationship with God necessitated migration as in-between (or Metaxys as per James Greenaway’s Philosophy of Belonging) life journey. If migration is the means for belonging, then what is the goal of belonging from Abraham’s scriptural narrative? What would it mean for nations to be under his inspiration and blessings to one another?
Dr. Sami Helewa
Dr. Sami Helewa, SJ, is a Canadian Jesuit since 1998. He is of Palestinian origin, born and raised in Lebanon, where he completed his High School Studies and one year of university education at the American University of Beirut. The civil war that stormed Lebanon in the 1970s forced Dr. Helewa to immigrate to Canada in 1981 where he continued his studies in Economics (University of Toronto) and worked for several years in the financial sector. During these years, his vocational life started to redirect him into a brief period of editorial work at the G-7 Report, a Canadian magazine in finance, and eventually to religious life. As a Jesuit, his inter-religious interests led him to Islamic Studies (PhD, University of Edinburgh, UK, 2012), and shortly after he started full-time teaching at Campion College, Regina, Saskatchewan. In 2018, he was asked to lead Campion College as its President, and he held that role till 2025. His first book was on the Islamic tales of the prophets, Models of Leadership in the Adab Narratives of Joseph, David, and Solomon: Lament for the Sacred (2018). Currently, he is working on a new book-focussing on “belonging” due to the alarming needs of today’s refugees, displaced people and migrants.
Dr. Helewa’s interests extend to short story writings, photography, music appreciation and reading poetry. Currently, he lives in Guelph, Ontario, and serves as a Visiting Jesuit at St. Jerome University College, Waterloo.