Washington, DC: In the West, "A mufti, a Christian and a
rabbi…" is often how a good interfaith joke begins. But I live inside this
reality. I am a rabbi and my Syrian colleague, Hind Kabawat, is a
Christian Arab. We have worked for four years with the grand mufti of
Syria, Sheikh Ahmad Hassoun, in both Damascus and Aleppo.
Over the last four years, the three of us, along with many
others of courage, have put on public events in Syria that no one thought
possible. No one believed Protestant, Catholic, Sunni, Shia and Jewish
clerics would sit together at a table, in front of cameras, working out
the foundations of a tolerant civil society and making commitments to
peace – in the heart of Syria.
We did this not only in the shadow of American
neo-conservative efforts to attack Syria but also surrounded by militants
in the region. Neither the militants nor the extremists in America have
faith that the people of this region can come together in respect and
equality.
But we proved that even in tough political environments we
can galvanise religious and secular people alike to envision the future of
a civil society at peace in the Middle East. Our last conference was
viewed by over a million households on Dunya TV and Al Jazeera and we did
it without any help from foundations or major donors.
The secret to our success has been to embra
ce the positive
elements of all cultures and groups, and build friendships. This is
difficult work but we are strengthened and amazed by those who come forth
in gratitude after each event and thank us for what we have stimulated.
We love the mufti because he inspires us with hope, reminding us by his
words and deeds that peace is possible. Sheikh Hassoun is loved by
thousands in Syria because he works tirelessly to provide for poor people.
He also insists upon apologies and forgiveness between civilisations and
among Muslims.
The mufti champions those who are in a vulnerable position in the
Middle East, from women to Ismailis, which angers the extremists. He told
us on this past trip that he increasingly embraces the secular state as
the proper vehicle in which decent religion should operate, a point he
also explicitly made before the European Parliament last month (February).
All three of us feel that religion has much to contribute to the moral
fibre of a nation but only if religion confines itself to teaching and
helping others, never controlling.
Does that mean that any one of us believes in bombing religious
militants rather than talking to them and even loving them? Of course not.
We are not pacifists but we have each seen the power of care over
callousness and love over hate, even with the most hard line political and
religious ideologies.
Our job as people of spiritual conscience is to speak out, particularly
where modern civilisations and states are failing the poor, failing the
earth and using religion to pursue and crush enemies. We look at endless
cycles of revenge in the region in the name of god and ask where the
positive outcomes are.
Why not work together to establish a treaty of Abraham based on
respect, remorse over the past and a mutual future in which all people –
Israeli Jewish and Palestinian, Christian and Muslim, Wahhabi and Sufi –
are absolute equals?
This is a choice that many of us in the family of Abraham have already
made, right in the heart of war and conflict. Religions must be de-weaponised
so that their life-exalting message can finally triumph. When the pulse of
a mufti, a Christian and a rabbi beat as one, we know where the essence of
faith and hope lie but we wish we could convey this experience to billions
of others.
We cannot do it without the support of political leaders. President
Bashar Assad of Syria gave us the chance to begin this process; why should
the new president of the United States, the leader of a noble democracy of
religious pluralism, do any less?
Global political leaders must aid efforts by the people of the region
to hammer out a cultural and spiritual vision of a new future. This is our
hope, and I know it will come one day, as I look into the eyes of my
brother, the mufti.
(Marc Gopin is the James Laue professor of World Religions, Diplomacy
and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University in Washington, DC.)
Courtesy: Common Ground News Service; www.commongroundnews.org