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Andrew Thompson (priest)

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Andrew Thompson
MBE
Reverend Canon Andrew Thompson at St Andrew's Church in Abu Dhabi, UAE
Personal life
Born (1968-06-23) 23 June 1968 (age 56)
Crawley, England
NationalityEnglish
SpouseNavina
Children3
EducationHeart of England School
Religious life
ReligionAnglican
DenominationAnglican
ChurchSt. Margaret's Church in Uxbridge, London Diocese
ProfessionAuthor, magician and interfaith activist
OrdinationJune 2000

Andrew Thompson (born 23 June 1968) is an English Anglican priest, who has done extensive religious work with churches throughout the Middle East and North Africa region, currently based at St. Margaret's Church in Uxbridge, London Diocese. He is also an author, magician, and interfaith activist.

Early life and education

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Thompson was born in Crawley and went to the Heart of England school in Balsall Common;[citation needed] he was born with a hearing impairment, which affected his speech. His parents were both officers in the Church Army, an Anglican organisation which provides evangelists for the Church of England and other places in the Anglican Communion. He studied Behavioural Sciences at the Polytechnic of Wales (now the University of Glamorgan). He has an MA by research on the subject of 'Christian and Muslim relations in Oman' from University of Gloucestershire and awarded a PhD by publication for his research on the subject of 'Christianity in the Arabian Gulf'.

Ministry

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After graduating, he spent several years working with churches in the Middle East and North Africa. He then returned to the UK and served as a Youth Worker at Holy Trinity Church, Matlock Bath in the Diocese of Derby. During this time, he developed his skills in magic and used this as a teaching tool for the Christian faith and released his first book; Gospel Magic for Preachers.[1][2]

He was ordained in Derby Cathedral by Jonathan Bailey in June 2000. He served his curacy at the Oakwood Ecumenical Church[3] from 2000 – 2004, while studying for a Master's Degree from the University of Nottingham, in which he studied the Muslim community of Derby and issues of identity, theology and cultural integration.

He then returned to the Middle East, where he was the chaplain at St Paul's Church, in Kuwait from 2006 – 2010[4] and was made an Honorary Canon of Bahrain Cathedral.[5][6] He sparked controversy when a newspaper article recorded a statement, in which he declared that it "was easier to be a Christian in the UAE than in the UK".[7][8][9][10]

This statement was subsequently used by the UAE ambassador to the US in support of the tolerant ethos his country.[11]

In 2010, Thompson became the chaplain at St Andrew's Church, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates,[12] this church is part of the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf.

In 2020, he was appointed Team Vicar of St. Margaret's Church in Uxbridge, London Diocese.

Interfaith Work

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Thompson is chairman of the board for the Al Amana Centre,[13] which is in Muscat, Oman. This is the only Muslim-Christian relations interfaith institute run by the church in the Arabian Peninsula, the centre provides scriptural reasoning and other interfaith encounters between visiting groups of Christian students, pastors, scholars and local Omani Muslims.[14][13]

He has had the opportunity to promote a better understanding of life for Christians in the Persian Gulf region, in various contexts, including at the House of Lords in London,[15] the G20 Interfaith Summit in Australia,[16] he has spoken at the Doha Trialogues,[17][18] in Parliament in Denmark,[19] and met Pope Francis in the Vatican as part of a delegation from the United Arab Emirates.[19] He has also attended the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C.[20] and the Religious Pluralism Conference in Athens,[21] as a representative of the Christian community in the United Arab Emirates.

Honours

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Thompson was awarded an MBE in 2011, for his "services to human rights and promoting interfaith dialogue between Christians and Muslims in Kuwait".[22] In 2019, he was awarded the 'Pioneer of the Emirates Medal'[23][24][25] from the Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum.

Books

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Christianity in Oman: Ibadism, Religious Freedom, and the Church (Christianities of the World)[26]

Christianity in Oman explores the relationship between the distinctive Islamic beliefs (Ibadism) of Oman and how they define the experience of the church with regards to religious freedom.  

Celebrating Tolerance: Religious Diversity in the UAE[27]

Published in 2019 during the UAE's 'Year of Tolerance'[28] Celebrating Tolerance is a collection of representatives of diverse faiths sharing their migration and experiences in the UAE.

Jesus of Arabia[29]

Jesus of Arabia explores the teachings of Jesus through the culture of the Persian Gulf region, the book has received favourable reviews.[30][31][32] and has been translated into Arabic, Korean, and soon to be in Chinese.

Christianity in the United Arab Emirates[33]

This book considers the history and significance of the Christian faith in the United Arab Emirates, the author discusses the increasing importance of Muslim-Christian relations in enabling international security, he calls for and gives examples of bridge building activities.[34] The book launch was hosted by the British Ambassador to the UAE, Dominic Jermey and was attended by Prince Andrew, Duke of York and Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the Minister of Culture for the UAE.[35]

The Christian Church in Kuwait[36]

Gospel Magic for Preachers: Theology & Praxis[37]  

Gospel Magic. How to use Magic Tricks as Visual Aids[1][38]

Films

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Thompson has been the subject of two films:

One.

One. was directed and produced by Daniel Malak,[39][40] it is a short documentary based on the friendship and hope for religious tolerance between a priest and an imam.

Hartom

Hartom is a documentary written and directed by Arkus Arksus,[41] based on the professional life of Andrew Thompson.

It has been screened at various film festivals and won the best producer award at the 2016 Arab Film studio,[42] as well as best documentary short at the 2017 Whatashort Independent International Film Festival in India.[41]

Personal life

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Thompson is married to Navina and they have three children.[43]  

References

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  1. ^ a b Gospel Magic: How to Use Magic Tricks as Visual Aids (Evangelism S.). ASIN 1851744819.
  2. ^ "Let Harry Potter Conjure Up 'Gospel Magic', Says Christian Magician". Christianity Today. 1 December 2001. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  3. ^ "Welcome to The Church on Oakwood | The Church on Oakwood". www.thechurchonoakwood.org. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  4. ^ contentmgr. "Saint Paul's Church of Kuwait". Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  5. ^ "The reality of being a Christian in the Gulf | Letter: Rev Canon Andy Thompson". The Guardian. 31 December 2014. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  6. ^ "Welcome to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia, Bahrain". Archived from the original on 7 November 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  7. ^ "'It's easier being Christian in Abu Dhabi than in UK'". Gulf News. 9 May 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  8. ^ Khashan, Hilal (1 June 2016). "Religious Intolerance in the Gulf States". Middle East Quarterly.
  9. ^ Khashan, Hilal. "Christianity's Claim in the Birthplace of Islam" (PDF).
  10. ^ "DUBAI – An Oasis of Christian Faith". 13 February 2017.
  11. ^ Otaiba, Yousef Al (2 December 2015). "A Vision for a Moderate, Modern Muslim World". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  12. ^ "St. Andrew's Church - Our Chaplain".
  13. ^ a b "Our People / Our Centre – Al Amana Centre". Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  14. ^ "What We Provide – Al Amana Centre". Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  15. ^ "Christians in the Middle East: A Different Perspective – Christians in Parliament". Christiansinparliament.org.uk. 2 November 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  16. ^ "G20 Interfaith Forum - 2014 Speakers & Special Guests" (PDF).
  17. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). www.dicid.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. ^ "9th Doha Conference of Inter-Faith Dialogue". qatarconferences.org. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  19. ^ a b "Sheikha Lubna makes the case for tolerance". wam. 6 February 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  20. ^ "UAE Minister of Tolerance attends National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC". wam. 2 May 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  21. ^ "2nd Athens Conference on Religious and Cultural Pluralism and Peaceful Coexistence in the Middle East (30-31.10.2017) - Embassy News". mfa.gr. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  22. ^ "New Year Honours List 2011 in full". The Daily Telegraph. 31 December 2010. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  23. ^ "UAE Pioneers". uaepioneers.gov.ae. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  24. ^ "Mohammed honours Emirati pioneers of tolerance". Gulf News. 26 November 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  25. ^ "Dozens honoured at UAE Pioneers Awards". The National. 26 November 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  26. ^ Thompson, Andrew David (13 November 2019). Christianity in Oman: Ibadism, Religious Freedom, and the Church. ISBN 978-3030303976.
  27. ^ "Celebrating Tolerance: Religious Diversity in the United Arab Emirates". booksarabia.com. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  28. ^ "Year of Tolerance 2019". theyearoftolerance.ae. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  29. ^ "Booksarabia.com - Jesus of Arabia". booksarabia.com. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  30. ^ "What Jesus of Arabia says about the modern-day UAE". The National. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  31. ^ "Abu Dhabi minister hopes to foster interfaith dialogue with 'Jesus of Arabia'". The National. 29 December 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  32. ^ "Jesus of Arabia". goodreads.com. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  33. ^ "Booksarabia.com - Christianity in the UAE - Life in Arabia - Books". booksarabia.com. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  34. ^ "Book review: Thompson offers a solid insight on UAE's Christian community". The National. 30 March 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  35. ^ "Queen sends National Day message". Gulf News. 25 November 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  36. ^ The Christian Church in Kuwait, Religious Freedom in the Gulf. ASIN 9990698724.
  37. ^ "Gospel Magic for Preachers / 978-3-639-50006-6 / 9783639500066 / 3639500067". blessedhope-publishing.com. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  38. ^ Pulford, Cedric (December 2001). "Let Harry Potter Conjure Up 'Gospel Magic', Says Christian Magician". ChristianityToday.com. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  39. ^ "One". Abu Dhabi Film Festival. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  40. ^ DanMalak (25 December 2014), One (Religious Tolerance in the UAE) | (واحد (التسامح الديني في الإمارات, retrieved 19 July 2019
  41. ^ a b Hartom, retrieved 19 July 2019
  42. ^ "Image Nation Abu Dhabi crowns winners of coveted Arab Film Studio programs". Image Nation Abu Dhabi. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  43. ^ "Our Chaplain". St Andrew's Anglican Church. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
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