June 2005: Interfaith panel

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By Lucy Chumbley
Washington Window
Vol. 73, No. 7, June 2005

Abraham, the common ancestor of Jews, Christians and Muslims, asked many questions, said Akbar Ahmed, American University's chair of Islamic Studies, during a May 9 discussion on "Moderate Religions: Values in Today's Society."

"By definition when you ask questions, you are debating. You are a moderate," he told an interfaith group gathered at Washington Hebrew Congregation. "I think there can be nothing more important than reaching out to one another with the example that we are moderate people."

The panel, composed of Ahmed, Bishop John Bryson Chane and Rabbi M. Bruce Lustig, and convened by Washington Hebrew Congregation's Community Issues and Social Action Committee, met to discuss the forces that threaten moderates in the world today.

"By definition for me, the Abrahamic faiths are moderate," Ahmed said. "Problems arise for all of us when you begin to think that our sect, our tribe, our clan is the only ones with answers."

In much of the Muslim world, he said, there is no separation of church and state. So the problem there is not between church and state, but in "how are you defining Islam?"

"If God is defined by mercy and compassion, why should Muslims be committing acts of violence in God's name?" he asked.

In much the same way, "the actions of the state of Israel often become the identity of the Jewish people," Lustig said, adding that "Israel has been held hostage for some time by particular small groups."

"When a Jew wants a homeland, is it a political aspiration or a religious aspiration?" he said.
Chane spoke about the Christian right, which he said is dominating the American religious and political landscape today.

"One of the things that motivates conservative behavior in this country right now is fear," he said. "What comes out of fear too often is violence. Right now, it's a violence of language, but too often, that violence can escalate."

It was the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that first brought Ahmed, Chane and Lustig together to try to counter the backlash of fear and discrimination in the aftermath of the attacks. Since then, they have taken part in a number of interfaith forums and have become firm friends.

"Friendship overcomes many things," Ahmed said. "When friendship happens it then becomes different for people to think about becoming violent."

By opening the channels of communication, the three panelists said they are able to concentrate on their similarities, not their differences.

"We are three gentlemen that work on the same street," Lustig said. "We work in the same city. We are fathers and we are religious men as well. We are husbands and brothers and all those titles."
While the three often have differences of opinion, "we know whether we agree or not because we are always talking to each other," he said.

In order to foster interfaith understanding, ongoing, complex dialogue is essential, Ahmed said.
"We as congregations need to speak up. We as congregations need to build bridges, so that we stand up for others' issues and concerns," Lustig said. "When we say 'never again' as Jews, it also needs to be about what goes on in Darfur and elsewhere."

"What's next is to be a lot more present and visible and to speak out when one sees a dismissal of the moderate voice of this country," Chane said. "I think all of us who claim the center in this country absolutely have to call that question and say, 'We will not allow you to marginalize us any more.'"

As well as championing the moderate voice, panelists said it was important to sow the seeds of tolerance for future generations.

"My mother - a Holocaust survivor - taught me to be wary of strangers," Lustig said. "So in order to not be wary of them, I have to invite them in."

Engaging the stranger in hospitality, as Abraham did, is a central tenant of all three faiths.

Lustig spoke of a recent event he attended at Washington National Cathedral and noted that his 8-year-old son knew his way around the cathedral and felt at home there.

"I want my boy to always be comfortable in any house of prayer," Lustig said. "We're fathers. We're raising the next generation. We have to do whatever it takes to sow the seeds of the world to come."

Contact Lucy Chumbley at lchumbley@edow.org

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