Washington Window | April 2008: Chane Works To Encourage Interfaith Dialogue

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By Dana Wilkie
Washington Window
Vol. 77, No. 4, April 2008

It was while he was serving as dean of St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral in San Diego that Bishop John Bryson Chane's passion for the Middle East first took root.

During a trip to Beirut, Lebanon, at the invitation of a Beirut-trained physician, Chane had a conversation with a Palestinian refugee – a man with several children – who said he would be proud if one of his sons took on a suicide mission to help his fellow Palestinians.
"He had nothing to leave his children when he died – unlike what he assumed I had to leave my children – and he said he could understand if one of his sons would want to strap explosives to his back and become a human bomb," Chane recalls. "He literally had no future. It's very hard to understand that a parent would have great pride in a son doing that. I think it really does indicate the level of desperation and hopelessness that many of these refugees have."

In his travels, studies and conversations, Chane has discovered there can be a fundamental difference between the way the United States and many Middle Eastern countries approach political strife. In this country, he notes, there tends to be a stark separation between politics and religion. In the Middle East, however, religion is often the genesis of political differences. The failure to respect that difference, Chane says, could be one reason statesmen and politicians have failed to foster lasting peace in the region.

Some church leaders, such as Chane, are trying to reach beyond those differences.

"Religion is very often the fault line in so many of these conflicts… in the Middle East," said Chane, who hopes that leaders of the Christian and Muslim faith communities might begin making inroads where politicians, statesmen and diplomats have yet to succeed.

"Statesmanship in this country… doesn't understand the religious dimension that feeds into the conflicts that are going on in the Middle East. I think that failure has caused a huge, huge, huge problem."

There are stark differences between the dominant faith in the U.S. – Christianity – and that of the Middle East, Islam, and conflicts between the two religions have existed for centuries. Yet Chane says that even in the wake of Al-Qaeda's attacks on America and the U.S. war against Iraq, there are leaders of both faiths interested in dialogue.

During a recent trip to Iran's holy city of Qom, Chane met with Shi'a clerics. What he found remarkable, he says, was their desire to focus neither on politics nor theological differences between the two faiths, but on the similarities.

"Shi'a clerics really wanting to engage in Christian-Muslim dialogue about issues that are common to both our religions," Chane said. "The hunger to sit down and talk theology was just fascinating. It was fascinating because the discussion revolved around the similarities that we have in our common faith traditions and also raising without fear those things we disagree about."

Moreover, Chane notes that although the mother of Jesus, Mary, is rarely mentioned in the Christian gospels, she is mentioned at least 70 times in the Koran.

"It is Mary who is highly venerated by Muslims and a figure who is given the ability by God to perform miracles," said Chane, who found this religious perspective "very interesting."

Chane traveled to Doha, Qatar, in February at the invitation of the Brookings Institution to participate in the U.S. –Islamic World Conference. The gathering of 300 participants from 36 predominately Middle Eastern countries was designed to spark dialogue between Muslims and Christians after the 2001 terrorist attacks. The gathering featured statesmen, active politicians and representatives, such as Chane, of the world's mainstream religious denominations.

Participants were presented with polls about the prevailing attitudes that those living in Middle Eastern countries have about the United States. By and large, Chane said, the perception is that U.S. leaders have failed to broker lasting peace in the Middle East, in large part because they fail to grasp the role that religion plays in the region and the impact it has on how citizens engage in foreign policy and political debates. For instance, the poll found that many in the United States lack a clear understanding of the relationship between Sunni and Shi'a Muslims.

Chane called it "sobering" that much of the Middle East views the U.S. as a neo-colonial power that "wishes to impose its understanding of democracy upon multiple cultures, which are in some cases tribal and in many places driven by their connection with the teachings of the great prophet."

"It is absolutely clear that this country has very little understanding or information about Iran," Chane added. "We've not had diplomatic relations there for almost 30 years, and so… we are literally caught flat-footed in trying to understand the country in its current state."

This September, Chane will travel to a city he has never visited – Jerusalem. Chane plans to meet with the Rt. Rev. Suheil Dawani, the recently-installed bishop there, to explore the potential for a companion relationship between the Diocese of Jerusalem and the Diocese of Washington. Chane also plans to meet with leaders in Palestine and Israel to discuss "ways to bring about what could be a reasonable lasting peace between Israel and Palestine."

The bishop caused something of an uproar two years ago when he invited former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami to speak at the Washington National Cathedral, despite a campaign to rescind the invitation of the Shi'a cleric.

Khatami, who was president of Iran from 1997 to 2005, was the most senior Iranian to visit Washington since Iran's 1979 revolution and the 1979-1981 takeover of the U.S. Embassy, which led Washington to sever relations with Tehran and to oppose Iran's Islamic regime. Critics suggest freedom and human rights in Iran deteriorated under his hard-line successor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Khatami, who praised Jesus and Muhammad as great prophets during his cathedral speech, echoed many of Chane's own sentiments: He urged Americans of all faiths to work to build bridges and to balance the spirituality of the East with the materialism of the West, and he insisted that world peace would require the West and East to merge and learn from each other.

Since Khatami's visit, Chane has twice visited Iran. Last year he traveled to Geneva, Switzerland to discuss collaborative interfaith programs between Khatami's Foundation pour le Dialogue des Civilisations and the National Cathedral's Center for Global Justice and Reconciliation. In addition he participated in a conference in Oslo sponsored by the Club de Madrid, Foundation pour le Dialogue des Civilisations, and the Norwegian Government entitled "Faith, Politics and Terrorism."

More recently, he was invited by the Council on Foreign Relations to participate in a two-day conference, "Religion and Terrorism," and continues to be involved in the Council's work on religion and foreign affairs.

"What we tried to do is eliminate the demonization that Iran has received," Chane said. "When we start demonizing, there is no opportunity for dialogue. And the same is true on the Iranian side. It's not helpful to Iranians to call America the ‘Great Satan.' You say that, and people shut the door."

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