Dove's Eye View

In Syrian Villages, the Language of Jesus Lives

My dad often spoke of this: In Syrian Villages, the Language of Jesus Lives - New York Times.

When he was growing up in Lebanon, my father's church still used Aramaic in the liturgy, so he knew some psalms and prayers in that language. He was very proud of his connection to that ancient world and spoke often of those villages in Syria where they still used Aramaic.

The article strikes certain sour Orientalist notes - "a vestige of an older and more diverse Middle East that existed before the arrival of Islam" - excuse me, the Middle East has continued to be diverse throughout 1300 years of Islam, so get over yourself. And the little explanation about a man named John Francis "western names are common in Syria and Lebanon." Oh please. Where do you think the names John and Francis come from anyway? Read your Bible, mister. The guy who gave you his name probably goes by Hanna Francis but he said John, the English form of Hanna, for your benefit.

Denied Entry

Earth activist and spiritual leader Starhawk has been denied entry to Israel - she was invited to teach permaculture techniques to several Israeli groups, but she had worked with the International Solidarity Movement in Palestine five years ago, and wrote about that experience. So although she is a Jew, Israel denied her entry.

She sent around this letter today, which I reproduce in part. Update 3/20/08: link to full text here.

Denied Entry By Starhawk

Today is March 16. Five years ago, I was in a small village in the Occupied Territories of the West Bank of Palestine with a group of volunteers from the International Solidarity Movement, which supports nonviolent resistance against the Occupation. We had gone because the villagers were being menaced by tanks from the Israeli military, and wanted witnesses, but by the time we arrived, the tanks had gone. Instead we wandered through the olive groves, studded with pink cyclamen and blood-red anemones, and ate barbecued lamb in the courtyard of an ancient stone house with domed ceilings and arched portals. It was a strangely
idyllic day—until on our way back to Nablus we got a call. Down in Rafah, in the Gaza strip, a young volunteer named Rachel Corrie had been crushed to death by a an Israeli military bulldozer as she attempted to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian family’s house.

Today I sit in a room in Washington D.C. overcome by grief as in the next room my new friend Laurie writes out card after card with the names of the dead—American soldiers and Iraqi civilians, pile after pile of them. I’m grieving for all the dead, and a bit for myself, because I meant to be back in Palestine, or at least in Israel, now. But I have been denied entry and sent home, because of my past work with the ISM. I have been denied entry, even though my intentions this time were strictly to work with permaculture and ecology groups, including the three Israeli groups that have sent me formal invitations, and even though Israel claims to be a refuge of last resort for everyone born Jewish, as I am. The fact that I’m here, not there, is a measure of how much the Israeli authorities fear a movement of nonviolent resistance in general, and the ISM in particular.

Why is nonviolence so threatening? Violence attacks the body, but nonviolence threatens something deeper and more tenuous—the self-perceptions and rationalizations that let basically good people act in cruel and heartless ways. The Israel/Palestine conflict enacts on a mass scale some of the same dynamics as family abuse. Israel is like the abused child who grows up to be an abuser. Abusers generally feel like victims—and truly the Jewish people have been victimized, again and again in history, culminating in the still unhealed wounds of the Holocaust. Every rocket attack, every shooting spree in a Yeshivah, every suicide bomb in a bus reinforces that sense of fear and persecution that seems to cry out for violence in return.

Read the rest of Starhawk's article at her website, linked above.

All those who believe

The Washington Monthly has a thread going about Giuliani's staffer with the religious bigotry problem. In comments I responded to somebody who defined Muslim for us as "those who obey God." This is the story I told:

A dozen years ago, my Lebanese Christian father and I were touring medieval Sidon, Lebanon, near our hometown. I wanted to see an ancient mosque, and since I was wearing a large shawl and modest clothing, I covered my hair and we went in. My dad however started taking pictures, which I thought was uncool; sure enough a man began saying "are they Muslims? They're not Muslims!" A buzz went up, and somebody else asked us to leave. As Dad was putting on his shoes in the vestibule, a crowd gathered around us. People looked mad. I kept calm and yet was a little concerned about the situation.

A man stepped up to my dad and asked again, as if on behalf of the crowd: but are you Muslim?

My dad quoted Koran to him - loose translation: "All those who believe in One God are Muslims." Everybody started laughing and the tension broke - the questioner said, fine, fine, but you have to leave now. We did.

"All those who believe in One God are Muslims." Just remember that.

Pierre Tristam on Season's Greetings

"Candide" says what I've been thinking: Merry Christmas All / Pierre Tristam [Candide's Notebooks].

I remember that Christians and Muslims mutually wished each other Merry Christmas and Eid Mubarak as each occasion came in turn, never worrying about the kind of trashy disclaimers that attach to so many of our greetings these days (“in case you celebrate Christmas”) or the even worse detergent-water greetings that now dull so much of the season’s colors (“Happy Holidays”).

The vapidity of “Happy Holidays” misses the very point of the greeting: we wish each other Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukkah or Eid Mubarak not because we’re necessarily Christian or Jewish or Muslim, but even more so because we may be none of those things, and because others are: the wish primarily celebrates the other person, and only secondarily, if at all, the religion itself. It celebrates our mutual basking in the spirit of the season, whatever its religious stripe. It celebrates our willingness to share a planet, to love the pluralism of it all.

The less Christian I am, the more I welcome Christmas wishes—or wishes of any hue. It would be supremely stupid of me, as a one-time Catholic, to be offended if a Muslim wished me Eid Mubarak, or a devout Christian wished me merry Christmas, or a Jew, even one who spent part of his conscripted years occupying south Lebanon, wished me happy Hanukah

I grew up determinedly secular and non-believing and am becoming more Christian rather than less as I move through life. However I would never feel insulted if someone wished me Eid Mubarak or Happy New Year on Rosh Hashanah. In fact I am always pleased to be included.

This year I sent out cards that said Merry Christmas because that's how I feel about it, it's my tradition, and that's what I say.

I think the whole "Happy Holidays" custom is driven by a desire not to offend the easily offended - atheists who don't want to be Merry Christmased, folk of other religions who might feel touchy about being in the minority. Here in the Free Republic of Berkeley-Oaklandistan, where the churches are empty and the cafes and restaurants are full, being a person of any faith makes you in the minority. Perhaps I'm saying Merry Christmas more just out of pure rebelliousness (wouldn't be the first time). In any case ...

Christmas is drawing to a close and I wish all the peace of the season. Merry Christmas - and have a Happy New Year!

Image of Bishop Salim Ghazal

Bishop Salim Ghazal holding my son, Joseph, in the monastery of Deir MKhalles, September 2000. My late father, Elias Abu-Saba, is in the left background. We had just visited with Father Salim during his Sunday tea hour, and he was about to go down to dinner with the brethren of his order, of which he is still the Superior.

This blog gets about twenty referrals a day from search engines, in which people look for images of Bishop Ghazal. His tour of the States must be prompting all the activity. Here's hoping they all try again and find what I believe is the only close up portrait of the Bishop on the Internet.

Details on Bishop Ghazal Dinner - Irvine, CA

Here's the invitation that went out:

Pacem In Terris peace on earth
You are cordially invited to a formal dinner in honor of Bishop Salim Ghazal
recipient of the 2007 Pacem In Terris Peace and Freedom Award
Please join us on Sunday, November 11 from 3:30 - 7:00 p.m. to celebrate and support Bishop Ghazal's work.
All collected funds will go to Habitat for Humanity - Lebanon. Hosted at the residence of Nabhan and Yola Simaan Red Rock Chateau 17521 Santiago Canyon Road Silverado, California 92676
Kindly RSVP to mideast_peace@yahoo.com before November 7
If you are unable to attend and would still like to contribute, your generosity would be greatly appreciated. Please visit www.habitatforhumanity.org and select Lebanon. Or make your check payable to Habitat for Humanity International and write Lebanon in the memo section.

About Bishop Salim Ghazal
Bishop Ghazal is well known and respected throughout the Middle East and around the world for his unique ability to bridge the divides among Christians, Muslims, and Jews in a volatile region, through dialogue and genuine respect. With almost 50 years of service, he was part of the international delegation for peace in Rwanda after the 1994 massacres, and was invited to Bosnia and Herzegovina to describe how to unify divided communities and build peace. As Chairman of Habitat for Humanity Lebanon, Bishop Ghazal brought people of all faiths together to rebuild 370 homes, and requests our help to rebuild hundreds more.

About the Pacem In Terris Peace and Freedom Award
The Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award has been awarded annually since 1964. Past recipients include Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Cesar Chavez.
About Habitat for Humanity Lebanon (HFHL) (website) From its inception in 2002, Habitat for Humanity Lebanon (HFHL) has sheltered thousands of displaced Lebanese families in more than 40 mixed communities in south Lebanon by providing the necessary support through provision of material, financial, or technical assistance, which enables families to reconstruct, repair, renovate or complete their homes and make them decent, healthy and safe. Father Salim Ghazal, Bishop, regional statesman and Chairman of HFHL, comments: "With Habitat's arrival, many communities are overjoyed with the opportunity to rebuild their simple village homes.”
Working in partnership with volunteers, organizations, and the new homeowner families, HFHL builds more than houses; it builds lives, homes, and unified communities across the divides. Priority is given to those families in greatest need, without discrimination. Homeowners, neighbors, and corporate volunteers join in the construction, reviving the Lebanese village tradition of ‘aouni’, or helping one another. Local volunteers serve as program leaders, and are living examples of the attitude needed to rebuild their villages, a participatory approach that is rooted in firm beliefs of empowerment, transformation, and peace.

Stay tuned for pictures of Bishop Ghazal; if I can figure out the software, I'll excerpt the sermon he preached at my father's memorial - I have it on DVD as a video. My blog gets about ten requests a day recently for pictures of Bishop Ghazal, but the only ones on the internet are fuzzy and small. I took a nice photo of him in 2000, before he became a bishop, but I don't have a scanner at home - another errand to run.

Pacem in Terris Award to Bishop Salim Ghazal

Longtime family friend and former priest of our village, Bishop Salim Ghazal, who is also abbot of the monastery of Deir MKhalles in South Lebanon, will be honored with the Pacem in Terris award in Iowa next month: Diocese of Davenport.

Bishop Salim Ghazal of Lebanon, a man noted for his efforts to advance Muslim-Christian relations and to care for those in need, will accept the 2007 Pacem in Terris award in November in Davenport.

The award was created in 1964 to commemorate Pope John XXIII’s 1963 encyclical, Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth). The honor is given by the Quad Cities Pacem in Terris Coalition, which includes representatives from the Davenport Diocese, Churches United of the Quad Cities, St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., Bridges of Faith and Pax Christi Quad Cities.

Bishop Martin Amos will present the award to Bishop Ghazal on Nov. 4 at St. Ambrose University.
Ordained a priest in the Order of the Savior in 1958, Fr. Ghazal was assigned to an area near Sidon, Lebanon, in 1961. There he taught religion to both Christian and Muslim students, wrote Don Mosley in a nomination for the award. Though Fr. Ghazal’s area of instruction was Christianity, he arranged with the sheikh leading Islam classes to learn and teach each other’s material — thus illustrating the potential for inter-religious cooperation.

Fr. Ghazal kept working for interfaith understanding. In 1990, he and like-minded Muslims and Christians founded the Center for Dialogue and Development, which arranges symposiums, lectures, conferences and weekly discussion groups to encourage inter-religious cooperation. The organization also supports a retirement home, works with Habitat for Humanity to offer no-profit loans and offers computer training and Internet access.

My relative Nabhan Simaan will be hosting a dinner and fundraiser in honor of Bishop Salim in Irvine, California on November 11. You can bet I will be there. I have been hoping to see His Excellency again, but had put this wish aside because of the ominous political situation in South Lebanon. Funds raised at the dinner will go to Habitat for Humanity Lebanon, of which Bishop Salim is director. He has built four hundred houses for the poor through this organization.

If you are interested in attending the fundraiser, post in comments with your email and I will forward your inquiry to the organizers.

Ramadan Karim and Shana Tovah

The Muslim month of fasting and the Jewish New Year coincide today, creating a double holiday for the children of Abraham. Ramadan moves up eleven days each year, so that its date cycles through the seasons as the years go by; when I lived in Egypt in 1983, Ramadan took place in June (ugh - long, hot days); not too long ago Ramadan coincided with Hannukah and Christmas; in 2007 it begins approximately today. The Jewish New Year also moves its date, as do Passover and Easter, but the Jewish calendar has been reconciled somehow so that the High Holy Days oscillate between mid-September and early October.

To all of my cousins, good Ramadan and happy new year!

Leading Rabbi: No More Anti-Muslim Extremism

Eric Yoffie, a leading rabbi representing the Union of Reformed Judaism in the USA, made these remarks to the Islamic Society of North America last week.

I am here as the leader of largest Jewish religious movement in North America, consisting of more than 900 congregations and 1.5 million Jews. My organization is currently discussing with your leadership a joint dialogue and education program that we hope to launch in the very near future, involving our congregations and your mosques. This project is a matter of the utmost importance to my Movement and to me personally, and I would like to share with you why that is so.

There exists in this country among all Americans — whether Jews, Christians, or non-believers — a huge and profound ignorance about Islam.

It is not that stories about Islam are missing from our media; there is no shortage of voices prepared to tell us that fanaticism and intolerance are fundamental to Islamic religion, and that violence and even suicide bombing have deep Koranic roots. There is no lack of so-called experts who are eager to seize on any troubling statement by any Muslim thinker and pin it on Islam as a whole. Thus, it has been far too easy to spread the image of Islam as enemy, as terrorist, as the frightening unknown.

How did this happen? How did it happen that Christian fundamentalists, such as Pat Robertson and Franklin Graham, make vicious and public attacks against your religious tradition?

How did it happen that when a Muslim congressman takes his oath of office while holding the Koran, Dennis Prager suggests that the congressman is more dangerous to America than the terrorists of 9/11?

How did it happen that a member of Congress, Tom Tancredo, now running for President, calls for the bombing of Mecca and Medina? Even more important, how did it happen that law-abiding Muslims in this country can find themselves condemned for dual-loyalty and blamed for the crimes of terrorists they abhor?

And how did it happen that in the name of security, Muslim detainees and inmates are exposed to abusive and discriminatory treatment that violates the most fundamental principles of our constitution?

More after the jump, but follow the link to read the whole thing. I wholeheartedly agree with his assessment of the state of anti-Muslim prejudice in this country, and I am grateful for the leadership of this group. Hat tip to Richard Silverstein of Tikun Olam for alerting us to this important statement.

Holy Father Goes Green

The Pope says: Save the planet before it's too late.

Pope Benedict, leading the Catholic Church's first 'eco-friendly' youth rally, on Sunday told up to half a million people that world leaders must make courageous decisions to save the planet "before it is too late."

This Pope's conservative slant does not appeal to me, so I am pleased that he sees the health of the planet as a spiritual as well as ecological crisis. Let's hope his authority with hundreds of millions of Catholics will help turn humanity away from self-destruction.