Rabbis and imams unite against religious extremism
A few minutes before Europe observed three minutes of silence on Wednesday January 9th in memory of the tsunami victims, Jewish and Muslim clergy who had convened at Egmont Palace decided to join them. Two days earlier, the clergy had come together to seek means of greater involvement for religion in quietening the bloody Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
At exactly noon, all the participants got to their feet around the tables in the magnificent conference hall. Rabbis and imams, along with several Christian clerics, stood side by side and bowed their heads in utter silence.
Suddenly, Rabbi Shlomo Chelouche, the chief rabbi of Haifa, recited a short prayer for the victims. When he finished, all those present said "amen."
Then Zimer Omar Farouk Turan, the former mufti of Istanbul, recited verses from the Koran. No sooner did he finish than Rabbi Yosef Azran, chief rabbi of Rishon Letzion, chanted a psalm, his voice choked with tears. When the moments of silence were over, the hundreds of clergy in the room remained standing. Some wiped away a tear.
"This proves that rabbis and imams can work together for a common goal,"
said Rabbi Rene Sirat, the former chief rabbi of France. "In all my years
as a rabbi, I never experienced a moment like this," Sirat added, invoking
the traditional Jewish blessing for reaching a special milestone.
Hojat al-Islam Muhammad Mehatali, a senior Iranian cleric, looked at his
colleagues in amazement. "These moments were the cream of the whole
conference," he said. "Where have you ever seen Muslims and Jews praying as
if they were one family?"
There was no shortage of moving moments during the unprecedented "Rabbis
and Imams for Peace" conference, which was sponsored by the organization
Hommes de Parole. The conference hosted more than 200 rabbis and imams as
well as Christian clergy from all over the world to convey the message that
religion does not send people out to kill and that anyone who takes a life
in the name of religion transgresses a commandment of God.
The conference concluded on Friday with a pledge that the Jewish and Muslim
clerics would work to put an end to bloodshed between Israelis and
Palestinians and would struggle with all their might against hatred,
ignorance and extremism on both sides. When the declaration was read, the
participants got to their feet and applauded.
The delegates grew close during the conference. Rabbis who had never met an
imam spoke freely with them during the meetings. At first, they ate at
separate tables - Jews here, Muslims there, eyeing each other suspiciously.
A day later they had moved closer; a day after that, they were sitting
together and even taking pictures arm in arm.
By Wednesday, they were praising each other's faith. "We are all the
children of one father - Abraham the Patriarch," said Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi
Doron.
Sheikh Talal Sidr of Hebron moved the audience when he called on them to
visit every mosque and synagogue to preach peace and dignity. "This is the
divine commandment; we must educate a generation to peace and love," he said.
"How is it that every Jewish prayer ends with the word peace and every
Muslim prayer ends with the word peace and we are killing each other?"
asked Sheikh Abdul Jalil Sajid, the imam of Brighton, England.
Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, chief rabbi of Ramat Gan and a leading opponent of
disengagement, surprised the audience with his conciliatory tone. "Judaism
and Islam have a common task," he said, "to bring a message to the whole
world. Don't we all have one father? So why should we hurt each other?"
The imams represented most of the countries of Africa and Asia, dressed in
traditional robes and head coverings in a rainbow of colors. The former
president of Indonesia, Abdul Rahman Wahid, canceled his participation
because of the tsunami damage to his country.
"The extremists have taken God hostage," said Andre Azoulay, adviser to the
king of Morocco. "Unfortunately they are stronger than the Jewish and
Muslim people of peace." Participants made great efforts to distance
themselves from the horrors perpetrated by fanatics in the name of God.
Paramount during the conference was the clergy's desire to participate in
the political process. Several noted that without religious legitimization,
no political agreement will last and realizing that if they do not rein in
the extremists, the latter might touch off a powder keg of religious hatred
that will ignite the whole region.
At the end of the conference, participants held hands and sang Haveinu
Shalom Aleichem, a Hebrew song of peace. "We made history," said Alain
Michel, a French Christian and president of Hommes de Parole.
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Source: Ha'aretz, January 9, 2005
Visit Ha'aretz website at: http://www.haaretz.com/
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service.
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.
