Faith to Faith

The media has been clamoring to hype the passing of Pope Paul II, who indeed was a remarkable man and leader, a suffering and generous soul who escaped the marble graveyard of the Vatican to meet his flock on hundreds of trips around the world. He supported Catholic dogma, and guided a vast bureaucracy, but also had a profound interest in human nature, and the spirit. He wrote, “We must go below the marble floor, with its generations of footsteps, and drill through the rock to find the man trampled by the hooves of sheep. They knew not whom they trampled—a passing man?”

It is important to recognize the human bravery and inspiration of those on other spiritual paths, though we may not agree with some of their ideas. Only extremists give interfaith dialogue no value. However, last week, intelligent non-Muslims laughed to read that the religious leaders of Jerusalem finally united —to prevent a convention of religious Gays. Why did they laugh? It seemed to them (and to some Muslims too) that there were more significant things these Christians, Jews and Muslims need to unite upon. Gays seem an easy target. How about Israeli apartheid? How about the widening spiral of violence on both sides during the last several years? Where was the unity then? And why am I suspicious of this sudden unity?

As the New York Times noted on its front-page article, “Interfaith agreement between leaders of these three religions is unusual, especially in Israel. Their opposition (to the convention) was initially sparked by the Rev. Leo Giovinetti, a little-known evangelical pastor from San Diego who is both a veteran of the American culture war over homosexuality and a frequent visitor to Israel, where he has formed relationships in recent years with rabbis and politicians.” In other words, there is right wing Christian Zionist activity here.

Of course, many of us may share concern about inappropriate public behavior in Jerusalem. "We can't permit anybody to come and make the holy city dirty," added Abdel Aziz Bukhari, a Sufi sheikh in Jerusalem. "This is very ugly and very nasty to have these people come to Jerusalem." But Sheikh, what about Ariel Sharon?

There are already plenty of sinful people in Jerusalem. It is not Mecca. It is a big city, flowing with tourists, capitalists, and politicians. Yet this Naqshabandi Sufi leader seems to believe that Jerusalem would be desecrated by the entrance of a few more sinful people. Indeed, Sheikh Bukhari’s website states that he, “believes that, spiritually, living in Jerusalem is better than any good deed, since living in Jerusalem means being constantly beneath God's gaze. He feels that people of all religions are failing to keep Jerusalem spiritually clean. He said that, during the Ottoman rule of Palestine, Muslims visiting Jerusalem would remove their shoes before entering the city, as they do outside a mosque” (see jerusalempeacemakers.org).

It is a beautiful idea, though I doubt it was really true except for special occasions. My own trip to Jerusalem was over 20 years ago, and I certainly remember wearing shoes as I walked those uneven marble streets! I also remember walking the Via Dolorosa, where Jesus was said to have carried his cross, where a man was beating his sheep really savagely as he drove it to market.

I also do not think that living in Jerusalem is better than any good deed. Is the Sheikh in real estate? Correct me if I am wrong but such words are a little—cheap? Yes, faith leaders can easily make judgmental pronouncements. Instead we need them to educate, to heal. We need them to remind us to love; as the pope wrote, “ Love and move inward, discover your will, shed the heart’s evasions and the mind’s harsh control.” We hope the Sufi Sheikh will understand!

We can condemn sin, and misbehavior. But the point is that this reactionary approach is a game of cat and mouse that never ends. It is more useful to gently show people why their behavior is wrong. For example, last week in this paper, Asra Nomani was really insulted in an article, and while I do not support all her tactics, I am very uncomfortable with hearing someone call her a prostitute over and over. Some of our holier than thou Muslim brothers should remember that many of us have family members who are not Muslim and who may have children out of wedlock. Indeed, many Muslim brothers have the same situation, but no one is calling them prostitutes, are they?

However, while I believe that there should be no forbidden words, and disagree with the Christian Right’s simple-minded crusade against decency wherever it imagines it, it is true that much in our media and culture is off balance. But we Muslims will not change that until we learn to communicate with insight and with humanity. As the Pope observed to the African Bishops, “I feel your thoughts like mine; if they diverge the balance is the same; in the sales of truth and error. There is joy in weighing thoughts on the same scales, thoughts that differently flicker in your eyes and mine though their substance is the same.” Are we communicating-- or just expressing how righteous we are?