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- Written by: Kamran Mofid
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First posted on 20 March 2013, updated on 8 April 2026
On Tuesday 7 April 2026, the US president, Donald Trump, declared that “a whole civilisation will die tonight.” Words and sentiments that the world must never, ever, forget.
And then, in contrast to Mr. Trump, in 539 BCE, Cyrus the Great, the King of Persia, The Prince of Peace, who had conquered Babylon, issued the decree that altered the trajectory of Jewish civilisation permanently. The Edict of Cyrus permitted the Jews to return to Jerusalem, rebuild the Temple, and reconstitute their national life in the land from which they had been torn. He did not merely allow the return; he financed it, sending back the sacred vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had plundered and providing resources for reconstruction.
Cyrus the Great is the only non-Jew ever referred to in Jewish scripture as Mashiach – God’s anointed. The Persian king who freed the Jews is embedded in Jewish consciousness not as a political ally but as a divine instrument – and the gratitude is not metaphorical. It is theological, liturgical, and civilisational. Words, sentiments, and actions that the world must never, ever, forget.
The world must never forget that humanity is sacred, empathy is a strength, and kindness is a choice that must be made regardless of circumstances.
No need to kill civilisations, build a path to dialogue amongst civilisations
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Roots of Renewal
A Call from the Heart: A Moral and Spiritual Approach to Economics
Throughout the many years of teaching, I tried repeatedly to make economics relevant, interesting, and appealing to my students.
Schools of economics that cultivate the mind but neglect spiritual/ moral economic education leave their students unanchored in a challenging world
For the Love of Teaching
...'I have just three things to teach:
simplicity, patience, compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures.
Simple in actions and in thoughts,
you return to the source of being.
Patient with both friends and enemies,
you accord with the way things are.
Compassionate toward yourself,
you reconcile all beings in the world.'-Lao Tzu
“No one should teach who is not in love with teaching”- Margaret E. Sangster
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Springing back in April with a Renewed Sense of Hope and Optimism
A selection of April poems, thoughts, reflection and hopes by my guest editor, my wife, Anne Mofid, which was originally published online on 22 March 2021.
Photo: World Meteorological Organization
‘Heaven is my father and earth is my mother,
and I, a small child, find myself placed intimately between them.
What fills the universe I regard as my body;
what directs the universe I regard as my nature.
All people are my brothers and sisters; all things are my companions.’- Zhang Zai (1020–1077)
- The 250th anniversary of The Wealth of Nations is the greatest opportunity to discover the true and real Adam Smith
- ‘I have nature and art and poetry, and if that is not enough, what is enough?’
- My Message to us: Don’t give up on compassion
- My Message to us: Don’t give up on kindness
- Sahar and the entire brave youth of Iran, this is for you all, Happy Nowruz