Tag: Islam

Not All Are the Same

“The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence,” goes the American proverb. It means, comparing ourselves to others, we always imagine that others don’t have the problems we do. In reality, this usually is not true. It’s just that we really don’t know the situation of others as well as we know our own.
In my experience, in some ways it also applies to religions.
Because of the responsibilities of my job, I get to travel to many different places in the world, meet a great variety of persons, and encounter a great variety of views and beliefs.
Sometimes it’s amusing to talk to religious people who have very little knowledge of Christianity. They seem to imagine that all Christians are pretty much the same and that the Pope in Rome is their head.
Alas, we Christians know better. We’re very aware of the many differences that divide us, sometime bitterly. We classify ourselves into several major branches like Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, and Evangelical. Each of these includes a variety of groups and kinds of belief. There are even some religious groups that many would consider only marginally Christian, if Christian at all.
But, if by Christian we mean those who consider themselves disciples of Jesus, why then it’s not so far off the mark to consider all Christians the same.
Christians who have had little contact with Muslims and Islam have a similar tendency — to consider all Muslims the same — since they all hold that God is one and follow the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad.

Alas, Muslims know better. They’re very aware of the many differences that divide them, sometimes bitterly. They classify themselves into several major branches like Sunni, Shi’i and Sufi. Each of these includes a variety of groups and kinds of belief. There are even some religious groups that many would consider only marginally Muslim, if Muslim at all.
The countries of the Middle East reflect this variety.
In Lebanon, the people are Christians and Sunnite and Shi’ite Muslims — and so, respectively, are the president, prime minister, and president of the parliament.
In Syria, the majority of the people are Sunni Muslims. The government is “secular” Islamic. The president and most senior officials belong to a group known as Alawites. Some Muslims questions whether Alawites are true Muslims at all.
In Iran, almost all the people are Shi’ite Muslims and so are the strict religious authorities that rule them.
In Saudi Arabia, a “fundamentalist” Sunni Muslim group called Wahhabis dominates. Its adherents consider the Islamic world, especially Muslim governments, corrupt, corrupted by the West. They advocate a return to the pure law of the Qu’ran and the obligation to impose it on other Muslims and “non-believers,” by violence if necessary.
Recent events reflect their influence. But, not all Muslims are the same.


(Published in
CNEWA World, 27:6, November 2001)

On the Road to Damascus

On Friday, 4 May 2001, according to the Roman lectionary, the first reading at Mass was the passage from The Acts of the Apostles about St. Paul’s encounter with the risen Lord on the road to Damascus. It was a happy coincidence that we were taking the road to Damascus from Beirut that very morning. The Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, of Alexandria, and of Jerusalem, Gregorios III, had invited CNEWA’s Secretary General, Msgr. Robert Stern; Associate Secretary General, Msgr. Denis Madden; and Regional Director for Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt, Issam Bishara to be his personal guests for the duration of Pope John Paul’s pilgrimage visit to Syria.

Syria

The independence of the Syrian Arab Republic dates from 17 April 1946. However, it proudly cherishes its ancient patrimony as a cradle of civilization and of two great monotheistic religions.
Syria was sometimes the seat of empire, sometimes a part of empire. About 4,500 years ago a great Semitic empire centered in northern Syria extended from the Red Sea to what is now modern Turkey and east to Mesopotamia. Two thousand five hundred years later, at Jesus’s birth, “when Quirinius was governor of Syria,” the entire Mediterranean world was under Rome.
Syria came under Muslim rule in 636. The ancient city of Damascus became the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate, the Muslim empire that extended from Spain to India, from 661 to 750.
For four hundred years before World War I, Syria and all the Near East was part of the Ottoman Empire. After the war, until its independence, Syria was governed by France with a mandate from the League of Nations.
Today Syria is a rapidly developing country of 16,110,000 people, most of whom are Muslim. About 10 percent of the population is Christian, including 309,000 members of various Catholic churches. Although the president must be Muslim, Syria is a secular state. The Christian churches freely maintain their institutions and services to their people and, in some ways, e.g., tax exemptions, are favored by the government.

Welcome ceremony

Thousands of young police officers lined both sides of the road to the Damascus International Airport on the afternoon of Sunday, 5 May. When the Alitalia flight carrying the Pope and his modest entourage landed, the President of Syria, Dr. Bashar Assad, the ministers of his government, and all the patriarchs and bishops of Syria were on hand to greet and welcome the Holy Father.
Syrian and papal flags were flying, an honor guard stood at attention, and the band was playing as the tall young President warmly greeted the stooped and frail visitor who slowly stepped onto Syrian soil, the first pope ever to visit Syria – although eight earlier popes were Syrian-born.
The speech of President Assad was laced with many warm welcomes, as is the Arab way, and references to Syria’s rich Christian and Muslim heritage. However, it had some dissonant words as well. He not only spoke about those who are afflicting the Palestinian people and occupying Arab lands – i.e. Israel, although he didn’t mention the name – but also accused them of opposing “the principles of divine faiths with the same mentality of betraying Jesus Christ.”
From the political perspective, for Israel – and to a large extent the West – Syria is perceived harshly and negatively. For the Syrian government, the opposite holds true – Israel is the enemy. Regrettably they make no distinction between Judaism, Zionism, and the policies of the government of Israel.
In his talk, the Pope eschewed the political, speaking primarily of the religious dimensions of his visit and of his respect for the faiths and people of Syria. The Pope, however, could not ignore the tensions and conflicts troubling the Middle East.
He reaffirmed that “it is time to return to the principles of international legality: the banning of the acquisition of territory by force, the right of peoples to self-determination, respect for the resolutions of the United Nations Organization and the Geneva conventions.”
The Pope also gently offered a counterpoint to the harsh words of the President, stating that “we all know that real peace can only be achieved if there is a new attitude of understanding and respect among the peoples of the region, between the followers of the three Abrahamic religions.”
He said it is important “that there be an evolution in the way the peoples of the region see one another, and that at every level of society the principles of peaceful coexistence be taught and promoted.”

Ecumenical meeting

After his courtesy visit to the President of the Syrian Arab Republic at the Presidential Palace, the popemobile took Pope John Paul II straight to the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Virgin Mary in the old center of Damascus.
There he was warmly welcomed by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Ignatius IV. Two other patriarchs of Antioch stood at his side: Syrian Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I and Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch Gregorios III.
The packed cathedral included not only the Catholic and Orthodox bishops of Syria, but most of the other Catholic patriarchs, many of the Greek and Syrian Orthodox bishops of the two patriarchates from other countries around the world, and an enthusiastic congregation.
Actually Syria is one of the most ecumenical places in the world. The three patriarchs who live in Damascus are truly brothers in Christ. Greek, Syrian, Maronite, Armenian, and Latin Christians live peacefully side by side, often intermarrying and frequenting one another’s churches.
Beautiful symbols of unity were a joint profession of the Creed, warm and loving words from both the Greek Orthodox Patriarch and the Pope, a mutual embrace or kiss of peace, and the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer by all.
Sometimes we talk so much about the need for Christian unity we almost forget how much real unity already exists.

Holy Mass on Sunday

Damascus’ Abbassyin Stadium holds almost 30,000 people. I think most of them were long since at hand when the Pope arrived to offer a public Mass at 9:30 Sunday morning. It was a moment of prayer for all Christians. Catholic bishops and priests concelebrated; Orthodox patriarchs and bishops shared the sanctuary – a great roofed stage at one side of the central oval of the stadium.
Coincidentally, 6 May was not only Good Shepherd Sunday in the Latin calendar but also the World Day of Vocations in the Catholic Church and the Syrian national holiday commemorating the “Martyrs of Liberty.”
It was a long but happy morning for the thousands there. Songs and cheers punctuated the celebration of the liturgy and the homily of the Pope. An orchestra played, choirs sang, and the Latin-rite Mass incorporated elements and chants from the various Eastern churches. Mercifully, there were intermittent clouds to shield the warm sun. Damascus is a city with almost a desert climate – even a day in May can be very hot.
As one of the many concelebrants, I was privileged to help in the distribution of Communion. It seemed like everyone wished to share in the Eucharist. So many young adults were there – Christian faith in Syria is alive and well.

Meeting with patriarchs and bishops

The root meaning of the word “companion” is one who breaks bread with you. Clearly this was an apt word to describe the Catholic and Orthodox bishops who were hosted to lunch with the Holy Father at the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate following the outdoor Mass.
Somehow I had a place at one of the tables too. Much to my surprise I was seated across from Bishop Afram Athnil, Bishop of Hassake, Syria, of the Assyrian Church of the East. Just a few years before he had completed his theological formation at Mundelein Seminary of the Archdiocese of Chicago with a scholarship from CNEWA.
Lunch is an inadequate word to describe this magnificent meal, given through the generosity of a local benefactor. The food was wonderful, but the warm words exchanged by patriarchs on behalf of their churches were rich food for the spirit.

Meeting with clergy and religious

Just a short walk from the Melkite Greek Catholic patriarchate through the narrow streets of old Damascus is the Syrian Orthodox Cathedral of St. George. Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I invited the Pope there to greet the clergy and religious of all the Christian churches – and the Syrian Orthodox laity as well.
The small cathedral was jammed. The overflow crowd followed the service by television in the courtyards. Boy scouts in uniform lined the street. The arrival of the popemobile was heralded by an enthusiastic burst of music from the band.
The Holy Father’s entrance into the cathedral was accompanied by an entrance chant in Syriac, or Aramaic, the language spoken by the Lord and still used by the churches of the Syrian tradition. (There are three villages left in Syria where the spoken language still lives.)
Happily, this day was also the feast of St. George. Although he’s associated with England by many in the West, St. George was actually a Middle Eastern martyr. His veneration began at Lydda in Palestine in the fourth century and gradually spread throughout both East and West.

Meeting with Muslim leaders

An astounding event culminated this challenging first full day of the Pope’s visit to Syria. Toward evening, he traveled through the narrow covered streets of the suq or old market, which was lined with thousands of Muslims. He was on his way to greet the Muslim leaders of Syria in the Umayyad Great Mosque, for 13 centuries one of the most important mosques in Islam.
Hundreds of robed and turbaned sheikhs and scholars awaited the arrival of the Pope in the vast porticoed courtyard outside the doors of the mosque. A small group of bishops was invited to attend along with the papal party from Rome.
The Pope first visited the memorial of St. John the Baptist, which is still venerated in the great mosque. Originally a Byzantine church built to enshrine the head of the Baptist, it was rebuilt and enlarged as a mosque in the seventh century.
After emerging from the mosque, a formal meeting was held in the great courtyard. The sheikh of the great mosque cordially welcomed the pilgrim Bishop of Rome, the first pope to visit a mosque in the entire span of Christian history.
The Minister of Islamic Religious Trusts spoke first, then the Grand Mufti of Syria, Sheikh Ahmed Kaftaro, and finally the Holy Father.
Beforehand, I had the opportunity to greet the Mufti. A friend of many years, he once invited me to speak in his mosque during regular Friday services. Sheikh Kaftaro has long been an advocate of Muslim-Christian dialogue and understanding. Once he had been received by the Pope in Rome; it was a happy reciprocation for the Pope himself to be welcomed by the Mufti in Damascus.

In the footsteps of St. Paul

Monday morning, 7 May, Msgr. Madden and I were waiting in the little church of St. Paul on the Wall. It’s actually built into one of the gates of the old city of Damascus, Bab Kissan, and commemorates how St. Paul escaped the city by being lowered over the wall in a basket from a window.
I could identify with that, for my guest room in the patriarchate was built over the wall too, my window just a few hundred feet from the shrine dedicated to St. Paul.
When Pope John Paul arrived, he was delighted by the welcome of a small group of children from the Melkite Greek Catholic orphanage located by the shrine, and went over to embrace them. I was delighted too – for years, this institution was part of CNEWA’s Needy Child Program.
A brief moment of prayer was all that the Pope’s busy schedule allowed. He then left for another stop, the Memorial of St. Paul, a church in a poor quarter of the city, before leaving for Quneitra.

Prayer for peace in Quneitra

Thirty-six miles south of Damascus are the ruins of Quneitra. Once a large – and in large part Christian – village in the Golan Heights, its houses were blown up by the Israeli army when they pulled back to the edge of a United Nations-monitored demilitarized zone between the Israeli-occupied Syrian territory of the Golan and Syria itself.
No one lives in Quneitra now. The Syrian government leaves the ruins untouched as a reminder of the past – and present – hostilities. For the occasion of the papal visit, thousands of people were there; many of them original inhabitants, long since displaced to poor neighborhoods in Damascus.
A cool breeze blew across the verdant countryside, flowers bloomed alongside shattered, tilted concrete slabs. The Pope, accompanied by Catholic and Orthodox patriarchs, entered the abandoned shell of the Greek Orthodox parish church to kneel in a prayer for peace.
A brief but significant ceremony followed. The Holy Father watered a small olive tree planted as a symbol of peace and memorial of his visit.
“Merciful Father,” he prayed, “may all believers find the courage to forgive one another, so that the wounds of the past may be healed, and not be a pretext for further suffering in the present. May this happen above all in the Holy Land, this land which you have blessed with so many signs of your Providence, and where you have revealed yourself as the God of Love.”
Amen!

Youth meeting

Late Monday afternoon several thousand young people jammed the Melkite Greek Catholic Cathedral of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary and all the courtyards and streets around the patriarchate. Banners were flying, flags were waved, and loudspeakers animated the huge crowd with music and song.
The sight and sound of the young people animated the Pope too. He lit up at the sight of this tumultuous welcome as his special little car brought him to the doors of the cathedral.
By now a familiar sight, the Catholic and Orthodox hierarchs and clergy together awaited him in the church amid the throngs of teenagers and young adults cheering his entrance: “John Paul Two, we love you” they shouted in English amid cheers and songs in Arabic
Several of the youths made brief addresses to the Pope and, of course, he warmly greeted them. Although he spoke in French, his words were repeated in Arabic and often interrupted by applause.
Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch Gregorios III received a tremendous acclaim when, in the course of his address, he said he would change the date of the celebration of Easter in Syria to the same Sunday celebrated by the Orthodox.
The celebration of Easter on separate days by Catholics and Orthodox is very unpopular, especially where Christians are a minority. The papal visit occasioned this important gesture toward Christian unity.

Farewell ceremony

Tuesday morning, 8 May, the Pope and the accompanying officials of the Holy See were once again at the airport. John Paul had barely spent 72 hours in Syria, yet they were three unforgettable days for the country and especially for its Christian population.
President Bashar Assad, escorted by his government ministers, was there once again to bid a formal farewell to the Pope and his group. Again, the President spoke, this time to bid the Holy Father farewell, and the Pope to give his thanks and pledge of prayers for the President, his government, and the people of Syria.
As-salamu ‘alaikum (Peace with you),” were Pope John Paul’s first and final words in Syria – as well as those of the President.
I was there with a small group of patriarchs and bishops. We each had a chance to greet the President and bid farewell to the Pope as he boarded a special Syrian Air flight to Malta, his last stop on the way to Rome.
The Holy Father walked the remaining distance along the red carpet to the plane. An honor guard in full dress uniform flanked the Pope’s way, a stiff wind blowing his robes as he walked. He slowly mounted the stairs to the plane. The door was sealed and the steps removed. As the plane began to move away to the head of the runway, the President himself stood waving goodbye. He stood for all of Syria.


(Published in
CNEWA World, 27:4, July 2001)

Standing in the Other Believer’s Shoes

In 1990, the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies in Rome published an interesting yet unassuming book by Father Robert Caspar and a group of Christians living in Tunisia. Entitled, Trying to Answer Questions, it offered a novel approach to responding to certain questions Muslims raise about aspects of Christian faith and life. The following is based in part upon the very creative work of that book.

Understanding God

In the countries of the Middle East, when Christians make the sign of the cross, before saying “Amen,” they always add the words “one God.” They do this to make clear to the Muslims among whom they live that Christians truly believe in one God.
At the heart of Islam is the frequent and public profession of monotheism, or belief in one God. “There is no god but God” begins almost every Muslim prayer. Most Muslims misunderstand Christian references to God as Father, Son, and Spirit as a profession of polytheism; they seriously question if Christians are really believers.
Muslims are used to using the words “father” and “son” in their primary meaning as describing human relationships flowing from sexual love and procreation – they have no tradition of using them analogously, with spiritual meanings, as Christians do.
Although Muslims prayerfully recite many names and attributes for the one God, “Father” is not one of them. What Christians call “The Lord’s Prayer” is truly that – a distinctive way of talking to and thinking about God that was taught to us by Jesus.
The holy book of Islam, the Qur’an, blames Christians for speaking of three in connection with God and in some places seems to consider the three to be God, Jesus, and Mary. Perhaps this reflects the Muslims’ rejection of some early and obscure Christian heresy.
Christians reassure Muslims of their own monotheism when they recite the Nicean Creed, which begins, “We believe in one God…,” and when they add the words “one God” to the sign of the cross.
When Christians try to explain what they mean by the Trinity, they usually employ the ancient Greek philosophical vocabulary of “person”, “substance”, and “nature” – the words used in the dogmatic definitions of the Trinity. Muslim religious culture, unlike Christian, has not grown historically out of the Greco-Roman world; for Muslims these words have no clear meaning. Another difficulty is that these technical theological terms have radically different ordinary meanings in modern-day usage.
In the past Baghdad’s Christian Arabs searched for metaphors that would explain the Trinity to Muslims. One metaphor often used was “fire”. Fire is one substance, yet at the same time it is heat, flame, and light.
All words and images are inadequate to convey the mystery of God, but we still have to try as best we can.

Understanding Jesus

The first major sanctuary built by Islam, the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, has an elaborate, formal inscription in classical Arabic set in mosaic around its inner walls. It says in part “O you People of the Book, overstep not bounds in your religion, and of God speak only the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, is only an apostle of God, and his Word which he conveyed into Mary, and a Spirit proceeding from him. Believe therefore in God and his apostles, and say not Three. It will be better for you. God is only one God. Far be it from his glory that he should have a son.”
Clearly this is also a charge to the devout Muslim not to accept the distinctive teachings of Christians about God and Jesus. Yet, ironically, it refers to Jesus as the Messiah (the Christ) and as the Word of God.
Islam holds Jesus in high esteem, but does not see Jesus as Christianity does. The Qur’an has many references to Jesus. Many accord with Christian belief – that Jesus was foretold by John the Baptist, was born of a virgin, Mary, worked miracles, was rejected by his own people and will come again at the end of time.
Other references to Jesus in the Qur’an are not accepted by Christians – that Jesus was not killed but miraculously spared by God, that Jesus announced the coming of Muhammad and that Jesus denied that he ever called himself God.
For Muslims, Jesus has an outstanding place among the prophets, second only to that of Muhammad. But, unlike Mary, Jesus does not have a great role to play in the religious and devotional life of Muslims.
Perhaps this is because, from the Muslim point of view, the followers of Jesus have exaggerated his life, committed blasphemy by divinizing him, and done terrible things to Muslims over the centuries under the banner of Jesus’ cross.
Since the absolute transcendence of God is a core belief and teaching of Islam, the Christian assertion that Jesus is both true man and true God is contradictory, unintelligible, and repugnant to Muslims.
Here too, Christians are so used to professing their faith that Jesus is “true God and true man” that they don’t realize how baffling the juxtaposition of these words may sound to those who do not share their faith.
Historically, the followers of Jesus came to this insight of faith with the aid of the Holy Spirit. After Jesus’ resurrection his disciples understood that the Jesus whom they had known and loved was Savior and Lord.
Muslims err if they think that Christians profess faith in the deification of a man, Jesus; Christians believe that God himself became man out of love. This is the mystery of the Incarnation.
Some early Christian Arabs used an analogy to explain Jesus. Muslims believe that the Word of God is eternal in God and was revealed in scripture – the holy Qur’an. Christians believe that the Word of God is eternal in God and was revealed in a human being – Jesus the Christ. The Eternal Word became not a book, but a man.

Understanding the Cross

In his first letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul boldly proclaimed: “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God . . . we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews, and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”
Of course these words were written about 600 years before the birth of Islam, but they apply to Muslims, for whom Christ crucified is indeed a stumbling block and foolishness.
It is inconceivable for them that God would allow one of his prophets to be killed. All the stories of the prophets, in the Islamic tradition, follow the same pattern: the prophet is sent to a nation and is rejected by it, except for a few; people want to kill the prophet, but he is miraculously saved by God.
The Qur’an itself formally denies that Jesus was really crucified; it states “They [the Jews] did not kill him; they did not crucify him; but they had the impression of doing so.” Muslim tradition is not clear as to how this was achieved, but it firmly holds that God took Jesus up to heaven out of the reach of his enemies and that he will come again at the end of time.
The good Muslim is somewhat like one of the downcast disciples on the road to Emmaus, except that the Muslim is so overwhelmed by the notion of the death of Jesus that he rejects the very fact of it.
The faith of Jesus’ disciples was restored by a recollection of the words of the Hebrew scriptures and the powerful presence of the Lord. The followers of Jesus, strengthened by the resurrection, found rich and varied ways to interpret the meaning of his death on the cross.
The New Testament depicts Jesus as the suffering servant spoken of by the prophet Isaiah; Jesus is the paschal lamb offered in sacrifice for our salvation; Jesus’ blood seals the new covenant between God and the new Israel; Jesus makes the great sin-offering of his life in atonement for his people.
Later Christian theology advanced the notions of Jesus’ paying the penalty of sin to redeem us and Jesus substituting himself in punishment for sinful humankind.
All of this tradition is relatively unknown to devout Muslims. Unless they have the opportunity to learn more about the Jesus not only of the Qur’an but of the Gospels, unless they come to a deep understanding of the dynamics of obedience and love that prompted the Lord to give even his life for his friends, unless they are guided by the Spirit into an understanding of the mystery of the resurrection, their very faith in the power and providence of the one God cannot help but prompt them to recoil from the Christian proclamation of the cross.


(Published in
Catholic Near East, 24:5, September 1998)

We Believe in One God . . .

What does the believing Christian think about the believing Muslim?
The Second Vatican Council, in its declaration, Nostra Aetate, taught:

The Church has also a high regard for the Muslims. They worship God, who is one, living and subsistent, merciful and almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has also spoken to men. They strive to submit themselves without reserve to the hidden decrees of God, just as Abraham submitted himself to God’s plan, to whose faith Muslims eagerly link their own. Although not acknowledging him as God, they venerate Jesus as a prophet, his virgin Mother they also honor, and even at times devoutly invoke. Further, they await the day of judgment and the reward of God following the resurrection of the dead. For this reason they highly esteem an upright life and worship God, especially by way of prayer, alms-deeds and fasting.
Over the centuries many quarrels and dissensions have arisen between Christians and Muslims. The sacred Council now pleads with all to forget the past, and urges that a sincere effort be made to achieve mutual understanding.

Reading history, it is clear that the message of Islam often was accompanied by political conquest — as happened with the message of Christianity. When the Byzantines and other Christian nations resisted, there was open warfare, but not always. For example, the introduction and penetration of Islam into Christian Egypt took place gradually over a period of several centuries.

Through the years, Christians in Muslim lands adopted a defensive cast of mind and retreated within themselves. Until recently, the Christian and Muslim worlds had remained very separate with little mutual comprehension.
How should the believing Christian approach the believing Muslim?
The first challenge is to find a common ground and vocabulary. There are many aspects of Christian faith that Muslims share but many they do not understand and reject. It is difficult to say whether they reject them having fully understood them or whether they reject them because of their misunderstanding. The reverse also holds true.
Take prophets, for example. A prophet is one who speaks the word of God. Christians may not accept that Muhammad is “the Seal of the Prophets” as Muslims believe. But, if almost one billion people in the modern world are striving to find their way to God and live a life of prayer, fasting, and sacrifice because of the teachings of Muhammad, can not and should not Christians consider Muhammad as a prophet, as one whom God uses to bring his word to many of humankind?
Once John said to Jesus, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow in our company.” Jesus said to him, “Do not prevent him, for whoever is not against you is for you.”


(Published in
Catholic Near East, 20:5, September 1994)

Brotherhood of Believers

Whenever I visit Damascus, I try to make a courtesy call on each of its religious leaders. Besides paying my respects to the Catholic and Orthodox patriarchs and the apostolic nuncio, I usually ask to be received by the Grand Mufti of Syria.
The mufti, Sheikh Ahmad Kaftaro, is the spiritual leader of Sunni Muslims in that republic. An elderly man, he has devoted much of his life to improving relations between Muslims and all believers.
On 28 January, he sent his grandson — a singular honor — to bring me and my three associates to a meeting with him.
Much to my surprise, when we reached the mufti’s Abu Nur headquarters, instead of escorting us up the stairs to his study, his grandson asked us to take off our shoes — a certain indication that we were about to enter the mosque.
It was noon on Friday, the day of Muslim observance. The mosque was carpeted with men, literally thousands, sitting on the floor, while other men and women looked down from tiers of galleries.
Although the service had already begun, the Mufti’s grandson led us down the center, making a way among the worshipers. We were given special places in the front, next to the central dais upon which the sheikh was seated.
Even simultaneous translation from Arabic into English had been arranged for us, and small radio receivers were at our chairs.
The mufti began to speak. He welcomed me as a representative of the Vatican and the American Catholic Church! Then, he set the theme of his sermon:
How necessary is solidarity and mutual understanding among the followers of Muhammad, Jesus, and Moses.

Confronted by the problems and evils of the modern world, all believers in the one God must stand together as brothers, he said. We are all children of Abraham.
During his long discourse, the sheikh spoke of Mary, the only woman mentioned in the Qur’an. He told his congregation how the Prophet Muhammad taught them to respect Christians.
It was truly extraordinary. Everyone in the mosque hung on his every word.
When he and another speaker concluded, he invited me to speak too! My words were translated into Arabic over loudspeakers in the mosque.
After expressing condolences — for Syria was mourning the recent tragic death of the president’s son — I told them what a treasure they had in their mufti.
If we could behold the throne of God, I said, surely we would see Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, and all the prophets gathered around it. And, if we come one day to paradise, surely we will be all together with them. So truly we must seek to be together in this world.
If the one God sends different messengers to us over the years, I added, how can the messages be contradictory? We are the ones responsible for division and misunderstanding, because in appearance, language. and ways we are strange one to another
Strangest and most wonderful of all—the mufti and a Catholic priest together speaking of God to the children of Islam.


(Published in
Catholic Near East, 20:2, March 1994)

Travel, Truth, and Trust

The old man gently told the story:

Abraham refused the idolater the hospitality of his tent because the idolater refused to accept Abraham’s God . . . But, his God rebuked Abraham: “All these years I have given this man life, health, and my loving care. And you will not offer him food and shelter for even one night!”

The simple tale of the Grand Mufti of Syria, Sheik Ahmad Kaftaro, seems a fitting parable for the Middle East.
During July, I had the privilege of guiding Archbishop Roger Mahony of Los Angeles and Archbishop William Keeler of Baltimore on their fact-finding mission to Syria, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, and Egypt. Their task: together with Cardinal John O’Connor, to draft a new policy statement on the Middle East for U.S. bishops.
The most painful aspect of the trip was to listen to so many sincere and concerned people — simple village folk, educators and professionals, patriarchs and bishops, presidents and government ministers — and at the same time to encounter such profound distrust and misunderstanding. How often, deliberately or unwittingly, each would demand that the other accept his god, his absolute, alone.
For some, the larger conflicts had intimate, personal dimensions.
– In the Palestinian village of Nahalin, the young widow tried to find seats for each of us in her tiny, bare living room. Two little girls clung to her skirt, while, with her small deaf son in her lap, she told how her husband was killed by Israeli soldiers on his way to work.

– In the Israeli West Bank settlement of Alfey Menashe, Mayor Shlomo Kitani proudly showed us his gleaming, new little town. At the monument commemorating the tragic event, a young Jewish widower told us without rancor how his pregnant young wife and child were burnt to death when an Arab hurled a petrol bomb at his car.
We dropped into a clinic in Gaza where a seventeen year old was being treated for a bullet wound in his leg. With a spontaneous eloquence he spoke of being willing to die for his people’s freedom.
Prime Minister Shamir told us of how negotiations for peace must be conducted, President Mubarak spoke optimistically of the possibilities of peace, PLO leaders stressed the sincerity of their quest for a peaceful settlement.
So many different ideas, so many contradictory plans, so many hopes, so many fears…and, running through them all, so much misunderstanding and so much distrust.
There are no easy answers.
In fact, the greatest temptation is to say there can be no answers at all. Much of the area we visited was once the kingdom of Solomon. But, it takes a greater than Solomon to find a way to bring peace to the Middle East.
Please God, he will!


(Published in
Catholic Near East, 15:3, August 1989)