No More Taking Sides

In recent days we've heard the news of a cab driver in New York stabbed because he is a Muslim http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/31/nyregion/31cabby.html and another incident in Seattle where an employee wearing a turban in a 7-Eleven store was beaten and told: "“You’re not even American, you’re Al-Qaeda. Go back to your country.” http://peterdaou.com/2010/09/man-beats-man-in-turban-youre-not-even-american-youre-al-qaeda-go-back-to-your-country/

And today the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority will sit down at the State Department with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to begin a process of trying once again to find a road to peace and to end a conflict that has afflicted that region for more than 60 years.

Will the new peace process work? We can't know yet, of course, but it seems to me that all people of good will have to hope and pray that it does. And what about our country, are these recent incidents of anti-Muslim feelings, even Islamophobia perhaps, isolated events, or are they signs of what is to come, of where our nation is going? Those questions must remain unanswered right now too, left to be answered by future historians in light of what tomorrow’s news reports may bring.

All this was on my mind this morning as I dutifully spent my hour on an elliptical trainer at the gym. I used to listen to music on my iPod while exercising, but over the past couple of months I've been enjoying some very intellectually stimulating and educational podcasts from "Speaking of Faith", a program produced by National Public Media and wonderfully hosted by Krista Tippett. I could go on and on about how much I've come to love this program, the people to whom the recorded shows have introduced me, and the website that expands upon and broadens the potential scope of the learning the show offers in ways that are truly amazing. But I'll resist that temptation, at least for this post, and speak only about the show I listened to today. "No More Taking Sides". http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/2010/no-more/

If you follow the link to the page for that particular show, you'll see that the introductory blurb describes it this way: "Robi Damelin lost her son David to a Palestinian sniper. Ali Abu Awwad lost his older brother Yousef to an Israeli soldier. But, instead of clinging to traditional ideologies and turning their pain into more violence, they've decided to understand the other side — Israeli and Palestinian — by sharing their pain and their humanity. They tell of a gathering network of survivors who share their grief, their stories of loved ones, and their ideas for lasting peace. They don't want to be right; they want to be honest." The story they have to tell is, at the same time, heart-breaking, inspiring and a source of hope. They talk about moving beyond being pro-Israeli or pro-Palestinian to looking for a way to use the pain they each feel over the loss of a loved one in a way to try to help heal and, ultimately, resolve what seems to be the unresolvable conflict between their two peoples. At one point, Mr. Awwad makes the comment that he sees his pain over the loss of his brother as "holy", and he felt that to strike back in anger over that loss would allow that holy pain to be used in furtherance of continuing a struggle that would inevitably lead to other losses and other futile acts of retribution.

I urge you to listen to this program, to think about the way in which these folks are trying to find a better way, and - if you're so inclined - to say a little prayer for them, for the peace process being started today, and for our country. May we all be guided by wisdom, from whatever source you may believe in.