Alfredo Sfeir-Younis at National Press Club

In his 2007 speech at the National Press Club, Dr. Alfredo Sfeir-Younis challenged the conventional peace-building methods of the early 21st century—marked by the height of the Iraq War and global military expansion—by asserting that traditional protests and diplomacy fail without the foundational pillar of inner peace. Amidst a geopolitical landscape defined by escalating military expenditures and the tragic reality of child soldiers and refugees, Sfeir-Younis argued for a "fundamental platform" of meditation, prayer, and self-awareness as the only sustainable path to world peace. He critiqued the era's pervasive individualism and materialism, calling for a radical shift toward collective responsibility and a "humanization of economics" where wealth is managed for the group welfare. Ultimately, he positioned inner transformation and collective silence not as passive acts, but as the most powerful instruments for dismantling the systemic violence and inequality that characterized the global state of affairs in 2007.

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