On the Way to the Parliament of the World’s Religions with Sheikh Ghassan Manasra

Sheikh Ghassan Manasra, Zainab Manasra, and Katie Emmons went on a speaking tour for the Abrahamic Reunion on the way to Toronto for the Parliament of the World’s Religions 2018. They left Sarasota, Florida on Friday, October 26^th and will arrive in Toronto on Wednesday, October 31^st. Along the way, they have events in Atlanta, Charlottesville, and Montreal. Katie Emmons, the Research and Social Media Manager for the Abrahamic Reunion, is writing blogs about the trip.

Blog 3: A Morning at Dawson College

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Yesterday was the big driving day of our road trip to Canada. Ghassan, Zainab, and I started by picking up Chris Miller, the AR Executive Administrator, and his wife Jessica in Richmond. The five of us then set our sights on Montreal.

Before we got to Montreal though, we stopped in my hometown of Binghamton, New York for dinner. My mom made a delicious dinner for us and gave us a chance to rest before continuing on. My parents were very excited to meet everyone, especially Sheikh Ghassan, because I have told them so much about him. My mom loves music, so Ghassan and I planned for him to surprise her by singing her a song. It was a wonderful evening. Eventually, we had to get back on the road, so we said goodbye and left, with lots of snacks for the journey from my parents.

We arrived in Montreal very late last night. We crossed the border into Canada around midnight, and got to our Airbnb around 2 in the morning. We moved our things into our rooms and immediately went to sleep. We were all exhausted, especially Sheikh Ghassan. He did all of the driving from Florida to Canada. He loves driving, and he must be part machine to have driven so much in such a short time.

This morning, we had delicious croissants from a local bakery for breakfast. Daniel Goldsmith, a professor at Dawson College, came to the Airbnb to meet us. He had the same idea as us and brought us croissants from the very same bakery!

We all rode together to Dawson College, where Ghassan spoke in front of 150 students. Some of them were in Prof. Goldsmith’s class “Know Thyself,” and many others came from various humanities classes on ethics, psychology, journalism, and anthropology.

Ghassan described his work for the Abrahamic Reunion and his journey of becoming a peacemaker. He explained how important it is to ask yourself the question “Who am I?” and warned that finding the answer is not easy. The best way to learn about oneself is by getting to know people who are different from you. This can be difficult, especially if there is a language barrier, but as Sheikh Ghassan explained, “Sometimes you don’t need language. You don’t need anything. You just need to look at the other and your hearts will connect.”

He then offered students the opportunity to ask questions. Many good questions were asked, but the one that stuck out to me was one that I had been wondering myself. One student asked “How do you know that you know yourself and that you don’t just think you know yourself?” Ghassan considered this, and replied that there is no one, standard way to know. It is different for each person, and they can only answer that question for themselves. However, he said that there are steps that let you know you are on the right track. If you do not know or understand your environment and the people around you, then you cannot know yourself. If you do not know the other, then you can be certain that you do not know yourself.

Ghassan closed the event by encouraging the students to start the journey of self-knowledge right away. He urged them to reach out to the other and get to know them, rather than waiting for the other to approach you. This, he explained, is the only way to guarantee a connection with them, because they may be waiting for you to connect with them.

We lingered in the auditorium for a while after the event ended, and a few more people came forward to ask Ghassan questions privately. Now we are back at the Airbnb, resting and preparing ourselves. Tomorrow we drive to Toronto and on Thursday, the Parliament of the World’s Religions begins!

Blog 2: An Evening Gathering in Charlottesville

Monday, October 29^th, 2018

Ghassan, Zainab, and I got into Charlottesville, Virginia late Saturday evening. The Poviches, Rabia and Zakir Amin, greeted us warmly with a delicious dinner. We were exhausted from driving nine hours a day two days in a row, and went to bed pretty early.

The next morning, we woke up to a delicious breakfast, then Rabia and Zakir Amin took us on a tour of Charlottesville. We visited the walking mall, where there is a “free speech wall.” There, people can write anything they want. Thinking about riots that happened in Charlottesville just over a year ago, it brought me hope to see hearts and prayers for peace written on the wall, alongside many people’s names and other quotes. None of the messages I saw contained any hate.

After the mall, we went up into the mountains. We walked around for a little while, but did not get very far. Mountains in Virginia are quite a bit colder than beaches in Florida!

We returned to the house for dinner and to prepare for that evening’s event. 22 people came to the house of Rabia and Zakir Amin to see Sheikh Ghassan and hear from him.

The event took place the day after the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting. We first heard about it on the road, and it hurt us all deeply. We began the evening with a vigil for the victims. After a moment of silence, prayers were offered in Hebrew, Arabic, and English. We read the names of each person who was killed and lit a candle in their memory.

After another moment of silent prayer, Sheikh Ghassan began his talk.

He spoke about the beauty of “ya-Salaam,” one of the 99 beautiful names of God. He taught that it means more than simply “peace,” but encompasses joy, love, and harmony as well. He challenged everyone to say “ya-Salaam” twenty times in the morning and twenty times at night every day for a week. He then went on to talk about the Abrahamic Reunion and its work.

When he finished, he invited Zainab to speak. She told a story about how when she was young, she assumed her religion was the correct religion. She thought that Muslims were right and therefore everyone else had to be wrong. When she told her father this, he did not correct her. Instead, he organized a three day retreat for Jews, Christians, and Muslims around Zainab’s age. There were no adults around.

She explained that at first, everyone stayed with people from their own religion. Then, slowly, they began to work together to prepare food, organize sleeping arrangements, and other things. Gradually, they opened up to each other. By the end, they were all close friends and had learned a lot about each other and their religions. Zainab learned that every religion has value and no religion is better than the others.

The event ended with prayer and singing together, led by Sheikh Ghassan. Everyone was invited upstairs for cookies, tea, and cider. Although the event was scheduled to end around 8:00 pm, most people stayed until about 9:00, enjoying each other’s company and taking the opportunity to ask Ghassan questions.

Now it is Monday morning, the day of our longest drive. Tonight we will be in Canada, in Montreal.

 

 

Blog 1: Visiting Hillel at Emory University

Saturday, October 27^th, 2018

Yesterday, Sheikh Ghassan Manasra, his daughter Zainab, and I started our speaking tour on the way to the Parliament of the World’s Religions. We woke up early in the morning and drove from Sarasota, Florida to Atlanta, Georgia. We got to the house of Prof. David R. Blumenthal and his wife Ursula around 5 o’clock in the evening. David and Ghassan have been friends for years and taught in Tel Aviv together. They have not seen each other for eight years, but as soon was we arrived, David greeted him warmly with hugs and kisses. We settled in and chatted with the Blumenthals before getting ready for the night’s event.

Then we headed over to Emory University for Shabbat with Hillel. Hillel has its own building on campus, with multiple rooms for different styles of student-led services. We attended the conservative services. Although I was raised Christian, I often went to Shabbat services when I was in college at the University of Rochester. It was nice to go to services again and sing the familiar songs and prayers.

The parsha (Torah portion) that evening was the story of the Tent of Abraham. In the story, Abraham and Sarah invite three visitors to rest and eat with them in their tent. Because of their generous hospitality, the Lord promised to give them a son. Later in the same parsha, after Sarah has had Isaac, she is jealous of the son Abraham had with his handmaid Hagar. She demands that Abraham drive them out, because she does not want Isaac’s inheritance to be split with Hagar’s son. The student speaking on the text suggested that as we go about the week, we should think about which story we want our lives to be like, and whether we want to be like the Sarah who was kind and generous to the visitors, or the Sarah who drove out Hagar and her son.

After services ended, everyone gathered for kiddush, the blessings over bread and wine (or grape juice). Then we went to the dining room for an absolutely delicious meal. 125 students and faculty shared a meal of challah, matzoh ball soup, salad, potatoes, and chicken.

When we were all full, Prof. Blumenthal introduced Sheikh Ghassan and gave him a chance to speak. The students were very interested in learning about his life experiences living in Israel and the challenges he has faced as a peacemaker there. He explained that “strong people bring peace. And weak people bring war.” He said that it is not enough to bridge the gap between the people. Instead, we should work to close the gap, so that no bridge is needed.

He concluded by reminding the students the important role they play. “You are our future,” he told them. “Your parents planted the seed, and it grew in you. You have to plant the seed of peace for your children too, so there can be peace.”

After he finished, everyone was invited to enjoy tea, coffee, and baklava in the lounge area. Many students stayed to ask Sheikh Ghassan questions and talk with him. Students were eager to know what they could do to help bring peace to the Holy Land and wanted to connect with the Abrahamic Reunion and its work. It was a truly beautiful night.

The next morning, the Blumenthals hosted breakfast. Three Muslim students joined us to meet Sheikh Ghassan and hear from him. The Muslim Students’ Association had an event going on the evening before, so they were unable to come to the event at Hillel, but they wanted to hear from Sheikh Ghassan. Professor Yitzhak Reiter also joined us for breakfast. He is a visiting professor from Jerusalem and is a good friend of Sheikh Ghassan and his father, Sheikh Abed Elsalam Manasra. Sheikh Ghassan was surprised to see him in Atlanta. He had no idea Prof. Reiter was in the United States!

The breakfast was lovely and there was a strong sense of connection between everyone at the table. It was the perfect way to start the day. When we finished eating, we said goodbye to the Blumenthals and thanked them for their hospitality. Then we packed our bags and got back on the road.

Right now we are on our way to Charlottesville, Virginia. We don’t have any events tonight, so we will get a chance to relax and regroup before our event tomorrow night.