Religion and the Middle East

By The Rev. L. Humphrey Walz

Three Faiths or One?

Fundamentally, the three great religions—Jewish, Christian and Muslim—which the Middle East has given the world are all expressions of a single inclusive faith: Ethical Monotheism, which recognizes God as righteous, compassionate and dependable and thus entitled to expect comparable qualities on a human level for us, His creation. The ancient Hebrew prophet Micah (6:8) put Ethical Monotheism in a nutshell when he proclaimed the divine requirement that we do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God. Jesus gave Ethical Monotheistic practice unbounded scope when He fused two verses from the Hebrew Torah (Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18) inseparably into the Double Commandment: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind and strength and thy neighbor as thyself (e.g., Mark 12:30f.)

Mohammed, who revered the Torah as divinely inspired and honored Jesus as a uniquely sinless Messenger of God, transmitted to his own followers the Qur'an which brought Ethical Monotheism into their everyday speech by making the letters S,L,M come alive for them. In his and their native Arabic, as in other Semitic tongues, there are many clusters of consonants each with a general meaning which becomes variously specific as one adds other letters between, behind and before. The three-letter SLM cluster bespeaks the unwavering, unquestioning obedience which, the Qur'an taught, is God's due. Filling in appropriately with selected additional letters we get "iSLaM," total commitment to God as sovereign. A "muSLiM," then, is ideally one who strives to express that commitment in every aspect of life. And "SaLaaM" (peace) is the state to which obedient trust in God brings us inwardly and outwardly, singly and collectively.

Fundamentals and Fundamentalism:

Would that the label "Fundamental-ist" could be used exclusively to designate those who, in all three faiths, endeavor to live with consistent integrity by the above common fundamentals! However, the vagaries of language building have reserved this title largely for those who claim to have found in their Scriptures blueprints for the personal and political conduct patterns that will guarantee a place on the privileged side come Doomsday. It was to this growing phenomenon that the June 7 Institute for Policy Studies' D.C. "Conference on the Political Power of Christian, Jewish and Islamic Fundamentalism" addressed itself. It focused on how, when people lose faith in secular solutions to social problems, such movements flourish.

A portion of the Israeli scene was further illuminated at length in a lecture on "The Meir Kahane Phenomenon" by Central Connecticut University's Prof. Norton Mezvinsky at the International Conference on Middle Eastern Studies at the University of London, July 6-9. Rabbi Kahane's Torah-thumping Zionism, Mezvinsky made clear, is neither unique nor original. His distinctiveness lies in his candor and, once you accept his premises, his relentless logic. Probably an overwhelming majority of Israelis agree with the thesis of Kahane's Our Challenge The Chosen Land: "Israel is the land of the Jewish people" whose "ultimate homeland is in the land of Israel, under a sovereign Jewish state," granting to Jews rights and privileges not permitted to non-Jews. But many of them also contend that this state can and should be democratic as well as Jewish. Such folk, whom Kahane derides as logic-defying, disloyal "modernox Jews," are constant targets for his consistently logical counterfire from which Mezvinsky quoted extensively. And Kahane openly espouses what the likes of Prime Minister Ben Gurion, Chairman Weitz of the Israel Land Authority and Commissioner Israel Koenig have privately encouraged over the years: evacuating, violently if necessary, all non-Jews except for a few who might remain as alien residents with minority status. Regarding predictions that the 1984 upsurge which put Kahane in the Knesset may, after leveling off, start plummeting, Mezvinsky apparently agrees with Robert I. Friedman that "it seems much too soon to dismiss the threat of Rabbi Meir Kahane" (N.Y. Review of Books, February 13, 1986).

If you're interested in the violent resurgence of Shiite fundamentalism, don't miss Robin Wright's vivid, perceptive, sensitive, photographically illustrated Sacred Rage: The Crusade of Militant Islam (Linden: Simon and Schuster, 1985). For the latest on Falwellian fundamentalism's putsch toward a Jerry-built Armageddon holocaust in the Middle East, be sure to get Grace Halsell's bold, lively, substantial, engrossing Prophecy and Politics, due off the Lawrence Hill presses any day now. Then see if you can figure out the extent to which these nominally Jewish, Muslim and Christian movements actually belong in the framework of Ethical Monotheism.

Bridge Building:

Contrastingly close to Micah's summation of faith's ethical requirement was the July 11-13 weekend meeting at the Syracuse (N.Y.) Sheraton, initiated by SAMED (Syracuse Area Middle East Dialogue Group) and attended by representatives of nine similar groups from across the country. Their aim was to plan an American Conference for Middle East Dialogue made up of groups harmonious with, but independent of, national interfaith and peacemaking organizations. The final programmatic, promotional, geographic and budgetary details of this ambitious project are still in process but sure to develop in line with SAMED's decade and a half of pioneering.

Initially SAMED's gatherings featured polite, tolerant discussions of contrasting views of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Participants were able to disagree without being disagreeable but there was little crystallizing of consensus until clearly aimed, firmly disciplined structures and procedures were shaped in 1981. Twenty-one members—seven Jews concerned for Israel's security, seven Arab Americans eager for Palestinian self-determination and seven "neutrals" seasoned in peacemaking and human rights activism—were commissioned to come up with a workable peace proposal acceptable to all. It took these troops—clergy, academicians, and other business and professional citizens—a full three years of frank, determined, evaluative, factfinding teamwork to come up with their recommendations. Then, on December 9, 1984, the Syracuse Herald-Examiner not only published their whole text but also hailed the qualifications of the entire group and their individual participants. "If nothing else," it editorialized, "it proves ... that Jews and Arabs can sit down together and agree ... That they were able to reach accord on so comprehensive a statement deserves a standing ovation."

Such practical tasks reinforce, and are reinforced by, the intellectual and spiritual stances of interfaith authorities like John Bonelli, co-chair of New York Archdiocese's Islamic-Catholic Dialogue. Addressing that group's most recent meeting, he voiced appreciation for how Islam's Holy Qur'an "complements the Christian theological tradition" and its application.

Until his brutal assassination recounted elsewhere in this issue, Prof. Isma'il al-Faruqi served ably on the other side of the MuslimChristian rapprochement. Meeting just two days after the double murder, the National Council of Churches' Committee on Christian-Muslim Relations "received with great sorrow the news of the shocking and tragic deaths of Drs. Ismail and Lamya' al-Faruqi." It expressed "condolences to the Faruqi family, to their friends and co-workers and to the whole world Muslim community for whom the Faruqis provided international leadership." It went on to deplore in a news release the "atmosphere of ... animosity toward and defamation of Muslims ... on the part of many Americans, including the public media and U.S. Government officials" in which this premeditated violence took place. And it pressed "law enforcement agencies to proceed with urgency toward the resolution of this case ... and to extend to all Muslims ... that protection and security which guarantees their human rights and well-being in this country."

Miscellaneous Items:

The four-person World Council of Churches (WCC) team just back from Iraq reports the condition of the churches there as healthy. However, like Ghassan Rubeig, the WCC's Middle East secretary who recently visited Iran, they see little prospect of an early Iraqi-Iranian peace settlement but maintain hopeful contacts.

A copy of the current issue of LINK, devoted largely to Vatican efforts and positions vis-a-vis the Middle East, may be secured by sending a stamped (39 cents) self-addressed envelope to Americans for Middle East Understanding, 771 Interchurch Center, 475 Riverside Drive, New York, N.Y. 10155.

"Religious Aspects of Justice in the the Holy Land: Responsibilities for American Christians, Muslims and Jews" and "Israeli Apartheid and Palestinian Resistance" are among the themes to be featured at the September 19-20 Palestine Human Rights Campaign conference in Chicago. Speakers include Dr. Rosemary Ruether, Catholic theologian at Garrett Evangelical Seminary, and South African anti-Apartheidist Rev. Allan Boesak, president of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches.

The Rev. L. Humphrey Walz, retired associate director of the Presbyterian Synod of the Northeast, is founding editor of The Link published by Americans for Middle East Understanding, and serves on the board of that organization. He is active in Christian-Jewish interface dialogue. He pursued graduate Biblical studies at Oxford University, the New York Seminary, and Union Theological Seminary.