Archive for June, 2008
The Times of London reports the launch of Faithbook, an Interfaith social networking initiative by the British Movement for Reform Judaism, supported by The Muslim Institute.
Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, director of the Muslim Institute, said that the group would be a success regardless of the differences between the major faiths. He added: “Irrespective of whatever cultural baggage we carry, racial background or faith that we follow, we have to recognise that our creator is the same whatever we call him.”
The site itself says that “Faithbook is where we harness the positive power of the net, the different religions’ sacred texts or ‘faith books,’ to share, learn and build inter faith relationships.”
June 6th, 2008
Forward reports on a recently released musical collaboration between Maria Krupoves (Christian) and Gerard Edery (Jewish), a collection of Middle Eastern and Eastern European music, including Turkish, Tatar, Belorussian, and Sephardic songs.
Dr. Maria Krupoves, is a vocal artist, folklorist, and interpreter of the folksongs of Central and Eastern Europe, especially those of her native Vilnius. She’s a practicing Christian, very devoted to her faith, and completely enthused about the connections between Christians and Jews.
Edery says he’s “… hell-bent on bridging the divide between different cultures and faiths in his work, and … finds himself drawn to the repertoire of pre-expulsion Spain, a place where Muslims, Christians and Jews once coexisted — if only briefly — in relative peace and harmony.”
Here’s a YouTube clip:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCYzCBnlbw4]
June 5th, 2008
TED – Technology, Entertainment, Design – is one of my favourite organisations and web sites, basically a compendium of inspirational short lectures. I don’t watch much TV any more, but I do spend a significant amount of my viewing time on TED.
Karen Armstrong, a former Catholic nun turned writer on comparative religion, recently won TED’s 2008 prize. The main prize is that you get a “wish to change the world” – oh, and they throw in USD 100,000 too. Armstrong’s wish is:
“I wish that you would help with the creation, launch and propagation of a Charter for Compassion, crafted by a group of leading inspirational thinkers from the three Abrahamic traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam and based on the fundamental principles of universal justice and respect.”
You can watch a watch a video or a read a transcript of her inspirational speech.
More importantly, you can help Karen achieve her wish, by nominating 12 leaders to help write the charter.
This isn’t just another silly initiative by a powerless organisation – TED has a huge amount of intellectual horsepower behind it, and a huge following as well. Let’s help them out!
June 4th, 2008
Lights went on in my head at the recent Jewish-Christian-Muslim Association Conference in Melbourne. I am still inspired to act, to go beyond dialogue and on to active peace-making. Or as Dave said, to go “beyond tolerance”. I’m keen to work out what it means to transform ourselves so we move past the violent forms of language, to go beyond stereotypes, to actively call people in all our faiths to stop telling lies about each other. How can we have peace when there is no justice?
Peacemaking will be hard work. I want to be ready for the next time violence breaks out in Melbourne. If the US decides to bomb Iran, and people start burning synagogues, mosques, and any churches with Arabic signage, I’d love to see groups praying and surrounding each place to prevent the madness. I know it will take a lot of work to build such active ready-response networks, but for the first time in awhile I feel optimistic.
I was challenged at the conference by the stories of the (Christian) Berrigan brothers and their protests against war, and their connection with (Jewish) activist and mystic Abraham Joshua Heschel, while “Pakistan’s Gandhi”- (Muslim) Badshah Khan, also connected with the real (Hindu) Gandhi. I wonder what would happen if all 4 met in the same room? In 2008? In Jerusalem? What would they do… Hmm. May we learn to be peacemakers.
A few final inspiring quotes from Abraham Joshua Heschel: “All it takes is one person… and another… and another… and another… to start a movement”. “God is of no importance unless He is of utmost importance.” “In regard to cruelties committed in the name of a free society, some are guilty, while all are responsible.”
Fr. John
June 2nd, 2008
Altmuslim recently ran a post by Muqtedar Khan called “The Imam and the Rabbi“, describing a dialogue between Rabbi David Kalender, a senior Rabbi from the congregation Olam Tikvah in Fairfax, Virginia and Imam Muhammad Magid, the Imam of ADAMS Center in Northern Virginia and the Vice President of the Islamic Society of North America.
Magid argues that we need to be willing to handle the tough issues in good faith and also be willing to examine the religious texts that can be source of discord or misunderstanding. Kalender goes further to argue that it is politics and not theology that is problem between Muslims and Jews (a position I took two years ago in my AEN paper). Kalender also attributes a competitive cycle of victimhood to exacerbating the situation.
But it is Muqtedar Khan who jumps to the heart of the problem: “I couldn’t ignore the nagging feeling that most advocates of dialogue assume that conflict is a consequence of misunderstandings and therefore, dialogues can foster understanding and eliminate conflict. Perhaps just understanding the other might not be enough. Even inculcating respect for the other may not douse the fires of conflict. At the core of all conflicts are competing and incompatible interests that may have material as well as moral basis. Conflicts will dissipate when understanding is followed by the replacement of competing interests with common interest.
“In simple terms, it is not enough that we talk. We must find common goals to pursue together.”
Readers, this is your turn to jump in: being realistic about scope and avoiding political collision, what practical projects and common goals can you think of to work on together? Please add your idea in the comments to this post, and together as a the Abrahamic family we can get together and make a real, positive difference for ourselves, our religions, our communities, and the world.
June 1st, 2008
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