The rise of Christian nationalism under Trump
Christian nationalism has gained significant ground under US President Donald Trump.
This rise has led to growing concern about the movement's influence on US policy – both at home and abroad.
So what does this mean for the future of American democracy? And with the influence of Christian Zionism – how is it shaping the US response to the war in Gaza?
This week on Upfront, Marc Lamont Hill discusses these questions with the chair of the department of religious studies at the University of Pennsylvania and author, Anthea Butler.
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Al Jazeera
20 minutes ago
- Al Jazeera
A ship called Madleen: Gaza's first fisherwoman inspires solidarity mission
Gaza City – As the Madleen sails towards Gaza to try to deliver life-saving aid to its people, little is known about the woman the boat was named after: Madleen Kulab, Gaza's only fisherwoman. When Al Jazeera first met Madleen Kulab (also spelled Madelyn Culab) three years ago, she had two children, was expecting her third and lived a relatively quiet life in Gaza City with her husband, Khader Bakr, 32, also a fisherman. Madleen, now 30, would sail fearlessly out as far as Israel's gunship blockade would allow to bring back fish she could sell in a local market to support the family. When Israel's war on Gaza began, the family was terrified, then heartbroken when Israel killed Madleen's father in an air strike near their home in November 2023. They fled with Madleen nearly nine months pregnant to Khan Younis, then to Rafah, to Deir el-Balah and then Nuseirat. Now, they are back in what remains of their home in Gaza City, a badly damaged space they returned to when the Israeli army allowed displaced people to head back north in January. Madleen sits on a battered sofa in her damaged living room, three of her four children sitting with her: baby Waseela, one, on her lap; five-year-old Safinaz beside her; and three-year-old Jamal – the baby she was expecting when Al Jazeera first met her – at the end. She talks about what it felt like to hear from an Irish activist friend that the ship trying to break the blockade on Gaza would be named after her. 'I was deeply moved. I felt an enormous sense of responsibility and a little pride,' she says with a smile. 'I'm grateful to these activists who have devoted themselves, left their lives and comforts behind, and stood with Gaza despite all the risks,' she says of the group of 12 activists, who include Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament. 'This is the highest form of humanity and self-sacrifice in the face of danger.' Khader sits on another sofa with six-year-old Sandy. He holds out his phone with a photo of the Madleen on it, flying the Palestinian flag. Madleen has been fishing since she was 15, a familiar figure heading out on her father's boat, getting to know all the other fishermen and also becoming well-known to international solidarity activists. In addition to bringing home the fish, Madleen is also a skilled cook, preparing seasonal fish dishes that were so famously tasty that she had a list of clients waiting to buy them from her. Especially popular were the dishes made with Gaza's ubiquitous sardines. But now, she can't fish any more and neither can Khader because Israel destroyed their boats and an entire storage room full of fishing gear during the war. 'We've lost everything – the fruit of a lifetime,' she says. But her loss is not just about income. It's about identity – her deep connection to the sea and fishing. It's even about the simple joy of eating fish, which she used to enjoy '10 times a week'. 'Now fish is too expensive if you can find it at all. Only a few fishermen still have any gear left, and they risk their lives just to catch a little,' she says. 'Everything has changed. We now crave fish in the middle of this famine we're living through.' After the air strike near the family home in November 2023, Madleen's family's first displacement was to Khan Younis, following Israeli army instructions that they would be safer there. After searching for shelter, they ended up in a small apartment with 40 other displaced relatives, and then Madleen went into labour. 'It was a difficult, brutal birth. No pain relief, no medical care. I was forced to leave the hospital right after giving birth. There were no beds available because of the overwhelming number of wounded,' she says. When she returned to the shelter, things were just as dire. 'We didn't have a mattress or even a blanket, neither me nor the kids,' she said. 'I had to sleep on the floor with my newborn baby. It was physically exhausting.' She then had to tend to four children in an enclave where baby formula, diapers and even the most basic food items were almost impossible to find. The war, she says, has reshaped her understanding of suffering and hardship. In 2022, she and Khader were struggling to make ends meet between Israel's gunship blockade and the frequent destruction of their boats. There was also the added burden of being a mother with small children and undertaking such physically taxing work. But now, things have gotten far worse. 'There's no such thing as 'difficult' any more. Nothing compares to the humiliation, hunger and horror we've seen in this war,' she says. Throughout the war, Madleen remained in touch with international friends and solidarity activists she had met through the years. 'I would share my reality with them,' she says. 'They came to understand the situation through me. They felt like family.' Her friends abroad offered both emotional and financial support, and she is grateful for them, saying they made her feel that Gaza wasn't forgotten, that people still cared. She is also grateful for being remembered in the naming of the Madleen, but she worries that Israeli authorities will not let the ship reach Gaza, citing past attempts that were intercepted. 'Intercepting the ship would be the least of it. What's more worrying is the possibility of a direct assault like what happened to the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara in 2010 when several people were killed.' Regardless of what happens, Madleen believes the mission's true message has already been delivered. 'This is a call to break the global silence, to draw the world's attention to what's happening in Gaza. The blockade must end, and this war must stop immediately.' 'This is also a message of hope for me. They may have bombed my boat, but my name will remain – and it will sail across the sea.'
Al Jazeera
2 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Trump, Merz discuss trade, NATO spending and Russia's war on Ukraine
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called on the US to apply more pressure on Russia to end its three-year-old war on Ukraine. 'You know that we gave support to Ukraine and that we are looking for more pressure on Russia,' Merz told US President Donald Trump at the start of their meeting on Thursday at the Oval Office. Merz emphasised that Germany 'was on the side of Ukraine', while Trump likened the war to a fight between two young children who hated each other. 'Sometimes, you're better off letting them fight for a while and then pulling them apart,' Trump said. He added that he had relayed that analogy to Russian President Vladimir Putin in their phone conversation on Wednesday. Asked about Trump's comments as the two leaders sat next to each other, Merz stressed that both he and Trump agreed 'on this war and how terrible this war is going on,' pointing to the US president as the 'key person in the world' who would be able to stop the bloodshed. Al Jazeera's Kimberly Halkett said that, while the two men agreed that the war needed to end, how that happens 'seems to be a point of contention'. 'What we saw there was the German chancellor suggesting and pointing out that … Russia continues to hit back at civilian targets, whereas, when it comes to Ukraine, the focus in the eyes of Germany has been strictly on military targets inside Russia,' she said from Washington, DC. Halkett added that Trump revealed during the meeting that he 'implored the Russian president not to retaliate for that attack that took place over the weekend … and Vladimir Putin said he was going to attack regardless.' Thursday's meeting marked the first time that the two leaders sat down in person. After exchanging pleasantries – Merz gave Trump a gold-framed birth certificate of the US president's grandfather, Friedrich Trump, who immigrated from Germany – the two leaders were to discuss issues such as Ukraine, trade and NATO spending. Trump and Merz have spoken several times by phone, either bilaterally or with other European leaders, since Merz took office on May 6. German officials say the two leaders have started to build a 'decent' relationship, with Merz wanting to avoid the antagonism that defined Trump's relationship with one of his predecessors, Angela Merkel, in the Republican president's first term. The 69-year-old Merz, who came to office with an extensive business background, is a conservative former rival of Merkel's who took over her party after she retired from politics. Merz has thrown himself into diplomacy on Ukraine, travelling to Kyiv with fellow European leaders days after taking office and receiving Zelenskyy in Berlin last week. He has thanked Trump for his support for an unconditional ceasefire while rejecting the idea of 'dictated peace' or the 'subjugation' of Ukraine and advocating for more sanctions against Russia. In their first phone call since Merz became chancellor, Trump said he would support the efforts of Germany and other European countries to achieve peace, according to a readout from the German government. Merz also said last month that 'it is of paramount importance that the political West not let itself be divided, so I will continue to make every effort to produce the greatest possible unity between the European and American partners.' Under Merz's immediate predecessor, Olaf Scholz, Germany became the second-biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine after the United States. Merz has promised to keep up the support and last week, pledged to help Ukraine develop its own long-range missile systems that would be free of any imposed range limits. At home, Merz's government is intensifying a drive that Scholz started to bolster the German military after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In Trump's first term, Berlin was a target of his ire for failing to meet the current NATO target of spending 2 percent of gross domestic product on defence, and Trump is now demanding at least 5 percent from allies. The White House official said the upcoming NATO summit in the Netherlands later this month is a 'good opportunity' for Germany to commit to meeting that 5 percent mark. During their meeting on Thursday, Trump described Merz as a good representative of Germany and also 'difficult,' which he suggested was a compliment. He said US troops would remain in Germany and said it was positive that Berlin was spending more money on defence. Another top priority for Merz is to get Germany's economy, Europe's biggest, moving again after it shrank the past two years. He wants to make it a 'locomotive of growth,' but Trump's tariff threats are a potential obstacle for a country whose exports have been a key strength. At present, the economy is forecast to stagnate in 2025. Germany exported $160bn worth of goods to the US last year, according to the Census Bureau. That was about $85bn more than what the US sent to Germany, a trade deficit that Trump wants to erase. 'Germany is one of the very big investors in America,' Merz told reporters Thursday morning. 'Only a few countries invest more than Germany in the USA. We are in third place in terms of foreign direct investment.' The United States and the European Union are in talks to reach a trade deal, which would be critical for Germany's export-heavy economy, but Trump said he would be fine with an agreement or with tariffs. 'We'll end up hopefully with a trade deal,' Trump said. 'I'm OK with the tariffs, or we make a deal with the trade.'
Al Jazeera
2 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Trump: Russia, Ukraine like ‘two children fighting in a park'
NewsFeed Trump: Russia, Ukraine like 'two children fighting in a park' 'Sometimes you let them fight for a little while.' Donald Trump said Russia and Ukraine are like two children fighting in a park and sometimes it's better to wait before breaking them up. He was speaking in an Oval Office meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz who said America is in a strong position to end the war.
