| Abrahamic Reunion

Feb 14, 2020

“They Say That Constant Effort and Strength are the Key to Unlocking Our Potential”

Tuesday 20 August 2019

Mohamad Jamous, Palestinian Director.

It is early Monday morning and I have left my house in Jericho to start the two- hour drive to a small village near Ramallah called Aboud.

Aboud is located between Ramallah and Jerusalem. It is one of the oldest Christian Villages in the world, and it is home to many historic churches including the Church of Our Lady, which is in an ancient monastery dedicated to Saint Barbara.

In 2002, the Israeli army blew up and destroyed the church at St Barbara’s, claiming that they were unaware of the church’s significance, and had demolished it by mistake. The church has since been restored.

After the Six-Day War in 1967, Aboud has been under Israeli occupation and Israel has confiscated land from Aboud to construct the Israeli settlements of Beit Aryeh and Ofarim. In 2018, Israeli authorities informed village elders that they intended to confiscate more land to construct an Israeli-only road between the settlements of Beit Arye and Ofarim.

Although historically Aboud’s population has been Christian, today half of its population is Muslim. Aboud is often represented in the media, and on social media as a Palestinian village that does not distinguish between Christians and Muslims. And it is regarded as a model of Christian-Muslim coexistence in Palestine.

The road from Jericho to Aboud was very long. And as I head to the village, I passed through beautiful valleys and mountains with vineyards and olive groves, Palestinian villages and Israeli settlements.

When I arrived, everything was quiet and beautiful, and I went directly to the Latin Church where I waited outside for the other participants who were coming from around Palestine for this event.

There I learned that sadly some of the participants from Bethlehem had returned home due to the death of one of their relatives.

Ultimately, I welcomed 34 participants at the Latin Church and offered my regrets for what happened to the others.

As we entered the church, we were greeted by the Priest of the Greek Orthodox Church, Father Talaat Awwad, and the Priest of the Latin Church, Father Salam Haddad, and the Imam of Aboud Mosque, Sheikh Adnan Diab.

They welcomed us warmly, and then we all went to one of the halls in the church and we sat in a circle.

I opened the session by thanking our hosts for their beautiful reception, then I introduced myself as the program director of the Abrahamic Reunion in Palestine. I talked about the monthly meetings that I hold in which multi faith participants visit religious sites together, to be a model for Islamic-Christian coexistence In Palestine.

Then I turned over the presentation to Father Talaat Awad who explained:

The preservation of Christian-Muslim coexistence is the duty of every Arab. Our coexistence in the Middle East has been an essential and irreversible experience for centuries and the solid ground upon which we have built our present and future work for an equal society in which no one feels like an alien or a pariah.
As Muslims and Christians, we belong to one social and cultural fabric. Christianity and Islam are one party in the Middle East, and the two religions are one party in our Arab region, and especially they are one party in Palestine.

The participants warmly applauded the wonderful words of Father Awwad, and then I invited Father Salam Haddad to give his speech and he said:

I want to start my speech by saying that Muslims and Christians have lived in the Middle East for many centuries. Peaceful coexistence has always been their destiny and their model for partnership in their homeland. Together they built their homeland, and together they have developed it, and together they will continue. Regardless of the diversity in their religious or political affiliations they were, and they still are the children in one family.

After Father Haddad finished his speech, I invited Sheikh Adnan Diab to give his speech, but before we continue, let me tell you about Sheikh Diab.

Sheikh Adnan Diab was born and raised in Aboud. And who was released from the Israeli jails just ten days ago? He has been in prison for a whole year!

He is known for his strong association with, and love for the people of Aboud. He donated part of his land to the village to build a road so trucks loaded with construction materials could travel to rebuild Saint Barbara Church.

Sheikh Diab began his speech by saying:

“As-salam alaykum,” Peace be upon you. First of all, Christian-Muslim coexistence in Palestine is a strategic choice, from the grassroots to the intellectual elite, this is a choice that cannot be abandoned, or reversed, because it is the finest product of our Arab cultural heritage, derived from the Koran and the Sunnah, and the Bible….

We must not stop at superficial examples of coexistence and tolerance, but rather we must model this relationship to the depth of daily human existence….
I thank your organization, The Abrahamic Reunion, for this work which promotes and develops spiritual coexistence here in Palestine.

All the participants applauded Sheikh Diab for his beautiful speech. His rich and wonderful words prompted all of to experience peace and love.

After everyone finished speaking, we had refreshments and talked with each other. Then we took a short tour of the village and visited the church of the Virgin Mary in the old section of town.

When we arrived at the church, Father Talat Awad explained the history of the church, which is one of the oldest churches in the world.

Afterwards we went with him and Sheikh Adnan Diab to the Mosque of Umm al-Mu’minin Aisha, which is the only mosque in the village.

Then we proceeded to the monastery and Church of St. Barbara.

Under the church there are three caves believed to have been the prison for St. Barbara, who is the patron saint of Aboud. The caves have been preserved as a shrine, and every year pilgrimages are made there.

While the group visited St. Barbara’s Sheikh Adnan and I went to the village of Beit Rima, to buy the lunch for everyone.

I was exhausted from this long day. But while I was in the midst of this fatigue, I had a wonderful idea that would make me even more tired.

I called Father Abdullah Yulio in Ramallah, and Remon Sabbagh, the coordinator of the Christian Youth in Ramallah, whom I had visited about a week ago, and I made arrangements to bring the group to visit them.

When we arrived in Ramallah, we were greeted by Father Abdullah Yulio, a beautiful and generous man, who spends most of his time doing good, and Remon Sabbagh, the Christian youth leader.

They welcomed us and we all went to the Christian Youth Hall located next to the church. Father Abdullah Yulio opened the session by thanking us for our continuous work in spreading the spirit of coexistence, brotherhood and love between Muslims and Christians.

After Father Yulio finished his speech, I invited Remon Sabbagh, the youth coordinator, to give his speech and he said:

I have known about you and your beautiful activities in Palestine and abroad by visiting with Mohamad Jamous last week! I love this organization and I love Mohamed Jamous!
I have lived here in Palestine since I was born, and I dreamed one day to meet in a group that works to strengthen the spirit of love and brotherhood between Muslims and Christians in Palestine!
Yes, we are more than brothers. We live in peace and love and share with each other on all occasions, but the presence of an association like yours here in Palestine is working to strengthen this love through their activities and meetings, which I hope will continue forever!!
We are all with you heart and soul! I, and God willing, all of the members of the Christian Youth, are here with you,
I have already met with Mohamad Jamous and I talked with him about many things and I saw in his eyes the meaning of strength, determination and love that lies there in!
We will work together under the name of the Abrahamic Reunion to build youth programs and family programs here in Palestine, and we will cooperate with each other.
Thank you all for visiting us again, and I assure you once again that all the Christian youth in Ramallah will be ready and active to work with the Abrahamic Reunion!

After Remon finished his enthusiastic speech, everyone applauded him, and I thanked him and thanked Father Abdullah for giving their precious time to the Abrahamic Reunion!

By now it was evening, and I thanked everyone for participating in this long and wonderful day and I invited them to meet again next month!

Everyone went to the buses, ready to leave Ramallah and return back to their homes. We had finally finished this beautiful event with hope and peace!

Before I finish, I want to share you some notes on this day:

1- This day was very long and we moved between several cities and villages to deliver the message of the Abrahamic Reunion, and to meet with Muslim and Christian clergy whose hearts are covered with the spirit of faith and love among all religions.

2- Aboud contains Palestinian organizations such as Fatah and Hamas, so some participants were afraid to appear in the pictures for their security.

3- I did not show the banner of the Abrahamic Reunion in the village much, although our banner no longer contains the Hebrew language, I still wanted to avoid questions from the Palestinian security in the future.

4- I tried very hard to hold two meetings in the same program. By this I mean that although main program was intended to be in the village of Aboud, I felt that we could take advantage of this opportunity and continue this meeting by visiting the Christian youth in Ramallah.