Two men of faith share a dialogue

by Helen T. Gray, The Kansas City Star

In 2002 Daniel Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter, was kidnapped and killed by terrorists in Pakistan.

In memory and honor of his son, Judea Pearl, a professor at the University of California-Los Angeles, started a dialogue on reconciliation with an Islamic scholar, Akbar Ahmed.

The dialogue has continued for four years in 15-20 settings, reaching thousands of Jews, Muslims and Christians throughout the country and abroad.

On Nov. 13 the "Daniel Pearl Dialogue for Muslim-Jewish Understanding" will take place at Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village. It is part of the Festival of Faiths, which runs through Nov. 18 with events aimed at building relationships between people of all faiths.

The two men, who are both in demand as speakers, recently answered questions in telephone and e-mail conversations with The Kansas City Star. Their answers have been edited for space.

The Jewish offering

Judea Pearl, an Israeli native, is president of the Daniel Pearl Foundation, dedicated to understanding and addressing the root causes of his son's death. He and his wife, Ruth, are co-editors of I Am Jewish: Personal Reflections Inspired by the Last Words of Daniel Pearl, published by Jewish Lights.

Q. What do the two of you do, and what difference do you believe you are making?

A. We initiated this program convinced that dialogue between Jews and Muslims is a necessary step toward easing world tension. We sit like two grandfathers on a bare stage and express the sentiments of our respective communities frankly and respectfully. In this way, we are carving a path of legitimacy for ongoing grass-roots conversations aiming, in the best case, at achieving understanding and collaboration and, at the very least, acknowledgment of and familiarity with each other's narrative.
I learn from Akbar's perspectives, and he learns from mine. For example, I have learned how deeply religious Muslims are (much more than Jews), and he has learned how central Israel is to Jewish identity (much more than a Muslim normally imagines).
Some people feel that the forces that have brought about distrust, misunderstanding and hatred between Jews and Muslims and between the U.S. and Islamic extremists are beyond anyone's control. What do you say?

While some extremists are beyond anyone's control, the main contentions between Jews and Muslims can be mitigated through communication and education.
For example, Muslims are angry at Jews for supporting a state that they perceive to be an outpost of Western imperialism. Jews are angry at Muslims for failing to accept Jews as equally indigenous to the biblical land as their Palestinian neighbors. This clash is historical, not theological, and can be diffused by listening to each other's narrative.

Every newspaper should dedicate a split page where the two narratives are laid side by side. This is utopia, but it is beginning to happen in Israel. Respectful style of writing diminishes natural reluctance to read the other side's narrative.

Q. What is necessary to be successful in having an interfaith community? How can people of diverse faiths live together harmoniously?

A. Honesty and friendship. Freedom from the fears of being ridiculed or dismissed gives one the courage to tackle hot issues. People of diverse faiths can live together harmoniously by accepting that, in the final analysis, religion does not tell us much about truth or reality but about a poetic view of reality. Poetic views can clash and contradict each other without causing explosions.

Our mind is a society of poetic visions that often contradict and constantly compete with one another for attention. For example, the idea of an omniscient Almighty (or even law-governed physics) contradicts the idea of free will, yet most of the time we live happily with this contradiction and, like the particle-wave duality in quantum mechanics, we manage to use the right model at the right time for the right purpose.

Now if I can live happily with internal contradiction of this kind, I can also live with theological contradictions, such as who was God's chosen messenger.

The Islamic offering

Akbar Ahmed, who grew up in Pakistan, is an Islamic Sstudies scholar at American University and a former Pakistani ambassador to Great Britain. His latest book is Journey iInto Islam, published by the Brookings Institution Press, based on his talks throughout the Muslim world.

Q. What do the two of you do, and what difference do you believe you are making?

A. The presentation has a spontaneous, unscripted element. There is only one rule: We can talk about anything as long as we do it with mutual respect.

When we started the dialogue not long after Daniel Pearl's death, I wasn't sure how long it would last. I didn't want to be a punching bag for Islam. I was aware of the outrage as a result of Pearl's death and the anger against Islam and thought I might become that.
Over five years, it is amazing that it has had this staying power. The world is in worse shape than I thought if it is relying on two grandfathers to give them hope.

On a personal level, I have certainly learned a great deal about Judaism, about Israel and about Daniel Pearl's background, and Judea (Pearl) has learned about Islam and the problems faced in the Muslim world.

On another level, many people see us as a symbol of global dialogue. Wherever we talk, we are covered globally, including in the Muslim world.

When I started the dialogue I got some criticism from Muslims. Even now, some feel that my talking with Pearl is sort of letting down their side. My argument is that unless
we talk to each other as human beings, with sympathy and understanding, we cannot begin the process of healing and, therefore, build bridges.

Q. Some people feel that the forces that have brought about distrust, misunderstanding and hatred between Jews and Muslims and between the U.S. and Islamic extremists are beyond anyone's control. What do you say?

A. It is a very difficult situation, and sometimes I feel exactly like this, when I see the hatred, ignorance and prejudice on both sides. And when I hear Americans talk about incorrect things about Muslims, I wonder, can I do anything, can I contribute anything?
Long before 9/11, I was trying to create bridges between the different faiths. I was the first Muslim invited to address a major synagogue in London and to give the evensong in a church in England.

As a world civilization, we are at a critical crossroads. One road takes us directly to murder and mayhem; the other road, dialogue and understanding and friendship. The challenge for us as a world civilization is to take the second road.

If people like me despair and give up the second road, those on the first road will dominate the century. Every person, whether Jew, Muslim or Christian, must be involved in creating a path to the second road.

Too few Muslims are involved in this. Many are angry and confused. If I give up, it would make things even worse.

Unlike many Muslim scholars, I do not disconnect from the community. Ultimately I have to influence and carry the community with me. The clash of civilizations will change to the dialogue of civilizations only if people like me succeed.

When we are struggling with these extremists, and Americans attack Islam as a religion, it reinforces the position of the extremists who can say America is the enemy of Islam. And it makes the task of the moderates more difficult.

Q. What is necessary to be successful in having an interfaith community? How can people of diverse faiths live together harmoniously?

A. The most important thing is to say I am not like you. I am different, but I am prepared to talk to you and listen to you with respect, then discuss openly and honestly the options and alternatives. Begin the process of serious mutual understanding. Muslims should start reading about Christianity and Judaism, and Americans should study Islam.

The understanding of Islam in America is very poor. Americans are not understanding one of the key religions in the world.

The United States has troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are about 7 million Muslims in the U.S. and 1.4 billion in the world in 57 countries. By the middle of the century, one out of four people on this planet will be Muslim.

Q. Do Americans think they can afford not to understand Islam? If they can make these people friends, won't that be good for America? Interfaith understanding helps America at a critical time in world history.

A. When Americans call Islam the religion of Satan worshippers, Muslims get very upset and say these people are out to get us and we should support the fanatics who can fight for us.

My philosophy of religion is that God in Islam is compassionate and merciful. That is what defines Islam for me.

We try to bring some sanity in a dangerous time in world history.

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