AN GOOD RECONCILATION INITIATIVE

We Belong to the Land: the Story of a Palestinian Israeli Who Lives for Peace and Reconciliation
by Elias Chacour (San Francisco: Harper, 1990)

Introduction

In many communities, there are schisms between religions or ethnic groups or other groupings of people. Often these schisms have existed for an extended period of time. But they can often be repaired with small sincere gestures of concern and kindness.

Summary

This is an autobiographical account of a Palestinian Israeli Christian who is the priest in a small village in the Galilee. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize several times for his tireless efforts to teach peace and reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. He started his efforts of peace and tolerance in the small village where he was a priest. Relations between the village Christians and Muslims were not warm, and had been tense for a long time.

Excerpt from pages 55-56

[The village mosque is struck by lightening and destroyed during a severe storm.]

“Abu Muhammad, I am so sorry about the mosque,” I told the sheikh when I found him moving some rubble aside. I helped him push a big block of stone out of the way.

“Thank you, Abuna Elias,” the sheikh said, pausing to wipe perspiration from his worried face with his handkerchief. “This is such a shock. Yesterday we were praying here, and today the mosque is nearly destroyed.”

“Well, why don’t you come and pray in the Melkite church?”

The sheikh looked unbelievingly at me. “What? You invite us to pray in your church?”

“Yes, why not?”

“But we are Muslims, not Christians.”

“So what? You praise God during your prayers, don’t you?”

“Yes, of course.”

“I do not pray better than you do, Abu Muhammad. You are welcome to use our church for your prayers until the mosque can be repaired.”

From that moment the relations between Christians and Muslims in Ibillin were vastly improved.. . .

(The Christian priest, Abuna Elias, used money raised by the Christian community to improve some of their own buildings to purchase building materials to reconstruct the mosque.)

“Thank you for your contributions to repair the Orthodox church and to build a wall around the cemetery. I still have some money left, and since I know how tolerant you are, my Christian friends, and how loving you are for your Muslim brothers and sisters, I have used it to order building materials to reconstruct the mosque.

Together the Christians and Muslims reconstructed the mosque, built a huge wall around it, and hung the main, steel gate on which is written in Arabic Allahu Akbar, God is great.

Questions and Discussion

Although relations between the Christian and Muslim communities had been cold in the village when Abuna Elias arrived, his simple and sincere act of offering condolences and hospitality to use his church, not to attend a Christian service, but to use it for their Muslim services changed the feelings between these two religious communities.

Are there some relations in your society that could be improved?

What could be done to improve those relationships?

Is there something you can do to improve those relations?