Canon Riah Abu El-Assal

By Janet McMahon

The Middle East conflict is typically portrayed in religious terms—Muslims vs. Jews, with a few Christians thrown in for good measure. One hears little about the latter except at Christmas and Easter, when holy Christian sites in Palestine draw pilgrims from around the world.

The Reverend Canon Riah Abu El-Assal, who on Jan. 6 will be consecrated as the Anglican (Episcopal) Church's coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Jerusalem, is a living example—a "living stone," as he calls his fellow Palestinian Christians—of the true nature of the struggle.

"As a Christian," he explained during a visit to the Washington Report last fall, "the world—Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, etc.—is our business." As a Palestinian, he continued, "I'm a member of the Arab nation, predestined to live with Islam and they with us. If we want to continue to live in the Middle East as Christians, we need to have a better understanding of Islam."

So for over two decades, from his days as a theological student in the 1960s, when he attended Bishop's College in Calcutta and the United Theological College in Bangalore, through his graduate studies in the 1970s following his 1966 ordination as an Episcopal priest, Canon Riah studied Islam.

Born in Nazareth, where he currently serves as vicar at Christ Evangelical Episcopal Church, the young Riah was vacationing in Lebanon with his family, which included seven brothers and sisters, when Israel was created in 1948. Overnight the family became refugees, and it took the future bishop's father 10 years to obtain legal permission for the family to return to their home in Nazareth, which had become part of Israel.

As is the case with so many Palestinians in all walks of life—doctors, educators, businesspeople, students, lawyers—Canon Riah is actively involved in the political life of his town and his nation. A founder of the Nazareth Democratic Front, in 1975 he won a seat in the municipal elections. The following year he co-founded the Committee for the Defense of Arab Land, which organized the first Land Day strike on March 30, 1976.

In 1981 Canon Riah was involved in the formation of the Progressive Movement in Nazareth, which three years later evolved into a new Arab-Jewish political party, the Progressive List for Peace (PLP), of which he was elected secretary-general in 1985.

Perhaps as a result of these political activities, and following a 1985 visit as part of a six-person (three Arabs, three Jews) Israeli delegation to PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat's Tunis headquarters, in mid-1986 the Israeli government banned Canon Riah from traveling abroad. (Since no charges were filed, one can only surmise the reason.)

With the lifting of the ban in January 1991, however, Canon Riah resumed his active travel and speaking schedule. His recent visit to the U.S. was his 16th, and he also has gone to Scandinavia, Japan, South Africa and Europe to alert the world and his fellow Christians to the fragile situation in which the Palestinian Christian community finds itself.

In this decade of evangelism, the canon tells his audiences, "many evangelicals in the West are a hindrance to the cause of Christ and the Middle East situation." Those Christians who say that Israel is fulfilling Old Testament prophecy "are placing Arabs on the side of Zionists."

Indeed, Canon Riah cites the indifference of world Christianity to "the little group that kept the faith for 2,000 years in the birthplace of faith" as one of the primary factors—along with political conflict, economic pressures and the resulting psychological stress—in the dwindling number of Christian Palestinians in their homeland. Some believe the West is closing its eyes to their predicament, he laments, "for reasons we cannot understand."

Ignorance is one of these reasons, as is evident from the enthusiastic response Canon Riah receives to his lectures and sermons. Half-hour presentations run three times as long because of the many questions from people who say, "We never heard this before," some with tears in their eyes. The problem is, he points out, "there are not enough people to tell the truth." And, Canon Riah added, "I felt this time [shortly before the signing of Oslo II] that people are relaxing, and this worries me."

"Good Monday"

Nevertheless, he said he "personally viewed Sept. 13, 1993 as a first step in the right direction." He calls that day, in fact, "good Monday," with all that it implies: the possibility of "continued violence and suffering, maybe a cross to bear. But," he concludes with a smile, "as Christians we believe in resurrection."

Discussing Israel's oft-cited security concerns, Canon Riah emphasizes that "their peace and security stems from the peace and security of the Palestinian people." The Palestinians have recognized reality before the Israelis have, he believes. "Israel must come to terms with the Palestinian cause and pull out from all the occupied territories." Canon Riah called Jewish settlements a serious obstacle to peace based on justice, and suggested they might be part of the compensation to Palestinians, as housing for returning refugees.

"There is no hope without a Palestinian state on Palestinian soil," Canon Riah asserted. "There is no other alternative to peace."

Canon Riah's commitment to a strong alliance with Muslim Palestinians is not unrequited. Indeed, as a candidate for the Knesset on the PLP slate, he received more votes from Muslims than from Christians, who were divided politically. He quotes his Muslim constituents as vowing to "bring the first Christian priest into the Jewish Knesset."

The Anglican cleric also speaks warmly of Palestinian National Authority President Yasser Arafat, whom he credits with speaking to the pope about the plight of Palestinian Christians and with officially declaring Christmas a holiday in Palestine. "As a person, he has a good listening ear," he said of Arafat. Apparently the respect is mutual, because Canon Riah accompanied President Arafat to Stockholm for the 1994 [?] Nobel Peace Prize ceremonies.

Nevertheless, Canon Riah does not discount the possibility of a future Israeli-Palestinian confederation, saying, "I think we have more in common with Israel than with Jordan." The PLP includes Jews as well as Arabs, and Canon Riah speaks hopefully of an alliance with Oriental Jews, who he says have been "brainwashed and exploited by Likud," and who he predicts "will take a different course once they wake up to the situation." Such an alliance of Israeli Arabs and Sephardic Jews, he points out, would represent some 61 percent of the Israeli population.

Although the Anglican church represents only 11Ž2 percent of the population in Palestine/Israel, it can play an important role, Canon Riah believes, in the future of the region. He sees the small size of the churhc as an advantage, making it less of a threat to the larger Muslim and Jewish communities, thereby creating an opportunity to build alliances and mediate disputes. Anyone who has met Canon Riah Abu El-Assal will have no doubt that he will continue to take every advantage of this opportunity.

The Jerusalem Diocese which Bishop Riah will represent includes Syria, Lebanon and Jordan as well as Israel/Palestine. As coadjutor bishop, he will automatically succeed Bishop Samir Kafity upon the latter's retirement in three years or so.

With his commitment to the Arab people and his fellow Palestinians, his own personal example of ecumenicalism and active religious tolerance, and his strong sense of justice and humanity, it is hard to imagine someone better suited to his current and future role.

And how does Canon Riah describe himself? Very briefly and simply: "I would like to be viewed as a peace activist," he says.

Janet McMahon is the managing editor of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.