Happy International Women's Day, Reader,

Welcome to a whole bunch of new subscribers! Most probably thanks to the friends of The Power of Storytelling, who interviewed me for their newsletter. I hope I can live up to your expectations.

Writing Week Bali

"So, what do you think of World War III?" My friend Sonia Piscayanti asked me that question, and we laughed. Not because we think it's funny that the U.S. and Israel started an illegal war with Iran, but because the reality seems truly bizarre with the current politicians leading our world.

Sonia is preparing for the Singaraja Literary Festival (3-5 July) in North Bali and also dealing with a government that has more interest in supporting Trump's Board of Peace in Gaza—although with criticism—than funding culture and education in Indonesia.

We invite you to come to Bali during the festival. Sonia and I will organize writing sessions, temple and palace visits, and a tour through the lontar (palm leaf) museum. The theme is Stri Sasana, which refers to a lontar manuscript that contains ethical codes, rules of conduct, and teachings specifically for women. Read more here.

Leading for Transformation

It's the perfect day to also mention that all guest speakers for the upcoming Leading for Transformation course so far are women. They bring experience from leading independent newsrooms, setting up collaborations with Indigenous people, dealing with grief while managing a business, and implementing technology for healthy workflows.

The course focuses on narrative leadership and decision-making, and how to lead responsibly in a complex world, while taking care of yourself, too! Yes, that's possible.

Join us for six sessions where you will be part of a global cohort and make connections across borders. All genders are welcome, and there are two scholarships available; you can tick the box in the application form. More information here, or sign up now:

Sanne

DEEP DIVE

When do we call a war holy?

The White House shared a video of U.S. President Trump inviting pastors to the Oval Office to pray for the attack on Iran. Interestingly enough, not many Western mainstream media outlets covered it. Even in Google Search now, not much comes to the surface besides an article from The Nation (A Conflict Without Reason Has Become a Dangerous Holy War), a mention by India Today, and an analysis by Sarah Shamim for Al Jazeera.

In Why are the US and Israel framing the ongoing conflict as a religious war? Shamim writes that the U.S. and Israel explicitly use religious language to frame the war, and the Muslim civil rights organisation, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), has condemned the Pentagon’s use of this rhetoric, deeming it “dangerous” and “anti-Muslim”.

One US commander apparently has said that Trump has been "anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth."

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said: “Crazy regimes like Iran, hell-bent on prophetic Islamic delusions, cannot have nuclear weapons.” What if we turned the framing around?

Professor Jolyon Mitchell at Durham University is quoted in Al Jazeera's article saying that "the demonisation and dehumanisation of the enemy, the ‘other’, will inevitably make building peace after the conflict even harder."

Strategic narrative construction

Religious language mobilises domestic constituencies, and the rhetoric connects deeply with many evangelicals and Christian Zionists, because they already see Middle East [West Asia, SB] wars as part of a religious “end times” story, says Ibrahim Abusharif, an associate professor at Northwestern University in Qatar.

It's easier to frame wars as stories between good and evil than to justify them in technical strategic language. It connects to what Yuval Harari writes in his book Nexus, how storytelling ties networks and societies together.

Abusharif also says that Israeli leadership has long used biblical referents as political language, and we are all familiar with it.

It's not new for the US either. Former President Bush referred to the War on Terror, calling it a "crusade."

Much of the current strain of Christian Zionism seen in contemporary evangelical churches comes from a similar belief in the United States’ and Israel’s dual role in jump-starting the Biblical End Times, usually involving a battle against Iran, writes Ryan Zickgraf for Jacobin.

Christianity and Western imperialism

If a government in a Muslim country broadcast an Islamic prayer while escalating military conflict, many Western media and politicians would immediately frame the situation as religion entering politics or even describe it as a holy war.

When Christian prayers appear in global politics, we're far more reluctant to name what is happening. Christianity, as the cultural value of the West, is often seen as neutral and not as an ideology that shapes political decisions. It still functions as an invisible default in much of Western political life and media coverage.

Yuval Harari reminds us in his book Nexus of the link between Christianity and colonialism, showing the unmistakable influence of religion on Western imperialism:

Should the media call it a "holy war"?

Most major journalistic style guides advise caution with the phrase "holy war" because it's a loaded term and often used in a sensationalist way when describing conflicts involving Muslims. Unless participants themselves explicitly frame it that way. In that case, isn't it time to call the Iran war for what it is?

The AP stylebook prefers descriptive language like "Leaders frame the war as a holy war", rather than putting "holy war" in a headline. Instead of labeling a war "holy", it's better to describe that the conflict is framed as religious by its initiators.

An opinion piece for ABC Broadcasting in Australia, author Eli Federman mentions the dangers of framing it as a religious war:
1. It undermines the alliances needed to win the war.
2. It mirrors the enemy's worldview.
3. It corrodes domestic debate.

Truth, though, is that this is the reality, and instead of acting like it isn't, it's better to accept it and work from there. Western media aren't used to dealing with the West starting a religious war because:

1. News framing habit: media are used to covering Islam and politics as a topic (Islamism, political Islam). There is far less journalistic vocabulary for political Christianity.
2. Cultural normalization: Christianity is culturally normalized in Western societies and therefore often treated as background.
3. Double Standard: The "religion happens elsewhere" narrative and the "othering" of religious power. Western states describe themselves as secular democracies.

Capitalism as ideology

Ideology and religion share fundamental similarities as organized systems of beliefs that explain the world. They provide moral frameworks that guide our behavior. Besides Christianity, Chinese artist Ai Weiwei wants us to acknowledge another Western belief system: capitalism.

Ai Weiwei returned to his home country last month after a decade in exile. He described his return in The Guardian as

The artist repeatedly argues, also in his work, that capitalism in the West functions as an ideology, even though it is often presented as neutral or purely economic. In an interview with China Change in 2023, he described Western societies as operating under "despotic capitalism," meaning a system where corporate and economic power shapes public discourse and limits real freedom, even if it calls itself democratic.

The key point he makes is about the fact that the West often criticizes authoritarian ideology elsewhere while failing to recognize its own ideological systems, such as capitalism and corporate power.

Ai Weiwei argues that the West misunderstands the nature of censorship. He defines it as “the exercise of power over intellectual space”, both “an indispensable tool of mental enslavement and a fundamental source of political corruption”. It is not just authoritarian regimes, he warns. Liberal societies think that censorship is rare, “but people forget that even on sunny days, shadows are inevitable”.

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(In this short interview with Reuters, Ai Weiwei calls out Western hypocrisy)

Meditation and struggles for justice

Meditation traditions often describe the process Ai Weiwei mentions as mental capture: the mind becomes attached to narratives that feel natural and unquestionable. Vipassana practice trains attention to notice how thoughts arise and shape perception. Seen this way, religious or economic ideologies are not just a political force but also a mental one. The work of journalism, like the work of meditation, is to begin with noticing how stories organize our reality.

I wrote an essay on the Inclusive Journalism website about meditation and social justice.

Seeing the world clearly begins with questioning assumptions It's at the core of what we do at Inclusive Journalism. In our training, mentoring, coaching, advisory work, and research. Work with us!

Opportunities

• The Continent is looking for an African journalist to be its Commissioning Editor starting May 2026. The role is targeted for a journalist "with a passion for storytelling and a knack for coaching reporters." 12-month contract. Send your CV, a work sample, and a 100-word "why me" blurb to jobs@allprotocol.org. Deadline 23 March 2026.
• The Solutions Insights Lab is looking for a Deputy Director, responsible for the operational integrity and scalability of the Lab. Apply by March 22.
• DUNIA, a non-profit independent investigative journalism platform based in South Korea, is seeking story pitches on housing in capital cities across Asia. Send pitches to: contact@thedunia.org. Subject line: Housing in [City Name] Pitch.
• Mongabay launches new desk reporting on, with, and for Indigenous communities. You can be involved by pitching a story, seeking collaboration with Mongabay, or supporting financially. Read more on LinkedIn.

See you next week!

Sanne