‘Abraham Connection’ Could Help Religions Broker a Mideast Peace

There is little doubt that religion has been a principle cause of the centuries of strife and bloodshed in the place we call, somewhat ironically, the Holy Land.

But could religion also be a factor for peace in Israel and Palestine?

Some religion scholars and local organizations think so, though conceding the immense difficulties involved.

One of them is the Academy for Judaic, Christian and Islamic Studies, founded in Orange County by Dr. George Grose, which promotes dialogue between the three faiths. When it marked its 20th anniversary this month, its guest speaker at Cal State Fullerton and UCLA broached this subject.

Roman Catholic theologian Karl-Josef Kuschel of the University of Tubingen, Germany, said he sees the patriarch Abraham as the linchpin of the three religions, because his two sons, Isaac by Sarah and Ishmael by Hagar, are the ancestors of Jews, Christians (Isaac) and Muslims (Ishmael). If the religions recognized that commonality of origin, a different climate could result.

This openness, Kuschel said, might influence political leaders. This was certainly true of Anwar Sadat, who spoke of the Abraham connection in his famous speech to the Israeli Knesset in 1977 that launched the Egyptian-Israeli peace negotiations.

Religious conviction also influenced President Carter as he welded together the Camp David Peace Accords and brought Sadat’s Jerusalem peace gambit to success.

Another Orange County organization seeking Mideast understanding and peace, with a cultural rather than religious focus, is the Cousins Club. Founded in the mid-’80s, it gathers Americans of Jewish and Arab backgrounds for discussions and sponsorship of programs to benefit people in Israel and Palestine. These include two schools that bring together Jewish and Arab youths and modest fund-raising efforts to assist West Bank businesses.

Cousins Club leader Dr. Robby Gordon, who was born in Israel, says religion might have a positive role in peacemaking.

“Any little step is worthwhile,” he says, and can have “a ripple effect.” Like Kuschel, he cites Abraham, who, when told by God to leave home and go to the land of Canaan, was not promised “vacant land or a clear deed,” nor told to create borders nor wage war.

Syrian-born Dr. Jamal Awad, another Cousins Club leader, says religion has the potential to be a constructive or destructive force in the Mideast. Unfortunately, he notes, religion often has been used by Israelis and Palestinians to justify defense of one’s land to the point that “everything is permitted.” He wishes religious leaders would condemn all forms of hate speech aimed at members of another faith.

If the Abraham connection were really taken seriously by the leadership of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities, what positive role could they take in fostering peace at this difficult time?

* Kuschel has suggested an interfaith prayer service on special occasions at the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, using a still-to-be written prayer book drawing on the writings of interfaith scholars. I suggest such services take place worldwide, perhaps in the Passover-Easter period or at ‘Id al-Adha, the Muslim festival commemorating Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael (not Isaac, as in the Biblical account). Another fitting time this year would be in the final week of December, when Hanukkah, Christmas and the start of the Muslim month of fasting, Ramadan, coincide.

* Jewish-Christian-Muslim dialogue, such as that in the Academy, ought to be happening in every place where there are significant representatives of the three faiths. This not only promotes understanding and cooperation but genuine friendship between the participants.

* The leaders of the three faiths--such as the Ashkenazic and Sephardic chief rabbis of Israel, the head of the World Jewish Congress, the pope and key bishops, the general secretary of the World Council of Churches and its national affiliates, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople, the Supreme Council of Mosques in Mecca and the Islamic Society of North America--should take a much more active role in speaking out for nonviolent solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian dilemma.

Imam Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi, spiritual leader of the Islamic Society of Orange County and president of the Islamic Society of North America, suggested to me that leaders of the three monotheistic faiths in North America and Europe should form consultative bodies to promote cooperation and respond to crises. A similar body in the Mideast would be more difficult to arrange but could be more beneficial.

One recalls with sadness that religious leaders have sometimes remained silent in the face of religiously inspired catastrophes such as the Holocaust. The Abraham connection might inspire a different response.

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