Munib Younan's Theology of Martyria: Palestinian Christian Witness

Munib A. Younan (1950–) is a Palestinian Lutheran emeritus bishop of Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and Holy Land and a former president of Lutheran World Federation (LWF). Concept of martyria (witness) is a recurring theme on the work of Younan throughout his career. Martyria is a central concept in Palestinian society, especially in the framework of prolonged political conflict. Concept is also related to Christianity and Islam. Both in the approach of Younan and of contextual liberation theologies, Christian witness is based on defending suffering people. Most of Younan’s work is rooted to his aim to provide a Christian witness, whether it was congregational work, local or global ecumenism, religious dialogue, or even contextualizing Christianity to Palestinians living under occupation and tumultuous contemporary context. Younan’s theology of Martyria is a construction of martyrdom that supports Palestinian Christians in their tumultuous context and denounces violence and extremist interpretations.