Event organized by Abed Manasra. Report written by Chris Miller, with material from Abed Manasra. Full blog about the event by Abed Manasra available here. Click below to watch the video of the event.
October 27, 2019
On a beautiful October day, 65 Jews, Muslims, Druze, and Christians came together at the sunny hilltop village of Ein Karem, just west of Jerusalem. Each came to build peace in the Holy Land by meeting and getting to know people of other religions, and their religious practices, in a day of interreligious community building, education, and dialogue.
“You are welcome here!” Father Nour said to the group, some wearing hijab, some yarmulke, others a cross, receiving the group at the Church of St. John the Baptist. According to tradition, St John was born in a cave underneath the church. During a tour of the Church the group got to experience Christian prayer, and Fr. Nour shared his belief that all prayer, no matter its religious form, is of the same value and message.
Lunch was served in the church restaurant, and Sheikh Jamaluddin from Jerusalem, a longtime AR leader, spoke on the importance of coexistence, love, and brotherhood, and the upcoming birthday of the Prophet Muhammad.
Sheikh Ghassan Manasra, Abrahamic Reunion’s International Director, echoed Sheikh Jamaluddin, saying that, “The most important thing in our life is how to treat each other [and] to love the other without giving up our identity or our rights.” He continued, “We will continue to meet together because Christians are our brothers, sure, and Jews are also our brothers.”
“We always emphasize to offer our participants food,” explained Sheikh Abed Elsalam Manasra, who coordinated the event. “First, it was the habit of our father Abraham, long ago, and second, in order to gather people of all the religions at a single table where they can eat and talk together, as this creates affection and mercy amongst them.”
After lunch, Rabbi Shlomo Dov Rosen, Director of Yakar Jerusalem and nephew of Rabbi David Rosen, shared his belief that interreligious coexistence in the Holy Land is providential. “[We Jews] have been dreaming about coming back (to the Holy Land) for so many years, and we find that there are other people here as well, who are also dreaming about this place. You can say that’s a mistake, but if you’re a believer you can’t believe that’s a mistake.”
The day continued by seeing the area, visiting Essene EcoSpiritual Farm and Community, the Spring of Mary and its Mosque, and enjoying the nature trails and scenery at the Monastery of Yohanan HaMatbil (St John of the Wilderness).
Said Abed Manasra of the AR’s work and this program: “All we are trying to offer is a society of love and a society that challenges all odds, for the people to get the opportunity to live and express themselves without fear or war, opportunity for self-search and opportunity to harness the positive energy within us to form an ideal society.”
To read the entire first-person account from Abed Manasra, click here.
Abed Elsalam Manasra is the Israeli Programs Director for the Abrahamic Reunion, a Sheikh in the Qadiri As-Salaam, and a third-generation interfaith peacemaker from Nazareth, Israel.
Chris Miller manages communications, fundraising, and administration for the Abrahamic Reunion.
