Bahraini Bus Bonding
Ari Alexander is guest blogging (via Blackberry) from the World Conference on Dialogue in Madrid, organized by the Muslim World League under the patronage of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
We teach the teenagers in our programs to be curious, to ask questions, to discover and to ultimately respect based on understanding.
I was on the bus after walking by Tony Blair being interviewed and a host of Saudi royalty, the empty seat towards the front was next to a man who looked like your stereotypical image of someone from the persian gulf. All white robe, including over his head, and a black circular band to keep it up. His beard looks like mine.
Three things struck me about my conversation with this guy - who turns out to be the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs in Bahrain - a small country in the gulf.
1) He asked me why judaism made it impossible to become a Jew, repeating the widely held misconception that we are an exclusive club. It gave me a chance to explain seriousness of study, commitment, conviction. He loved the explanation and said it made sense to him (in spite of the fact this is in stark contrast with the relative ease of becoming a Muslim).
2) He asked me to tell him about the different kinds of Jews since he knew that we did not all have the same beliefs and practices. I was moved by his desire to learn.
3) He then hit a grand slam when he told me about a Jewish professor from DC who was on the committee that examined him when he finished his PhD in Islamic Studies in Edinburgh. He said the fact that a Jew repeatedly referred to him as ’sheikh’ - a term of great respect - is something he has never forgotten.
He told me meeting one person really can change your view of an entire group of people. This is at the basis of what I do for a living and it gave me goosebumps to hear it from a man from Bahrain in traditional garb.
3 Responses to “Bahraini Bus Bonding”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Solomon2
Member Since: Jul 2008 Posts: 3
He told me meeting one person really can change your view of an entire group of people.
Indeed. One of the sadder things about the post-colonial Middle East is the expulsion of almost all Jews from most Arab countries. For three generations Jews have been reduced to faceless stereotypes rather than people. Will the proposed “King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Center for Civilization Interactionâ€? offer the opportunity to re-establish a permanent Jewish religious and cultural presence in the heart of Arabia?
yehud
Member Since: Jul 2008 Posts: 21
I think the great Shame and danger would be for the jews ( if they are) to mislead by Abedella who is the greatest enemy of the jews and against the world at large. The world has come tremondusly on the way closer to the destruction since the creation of this artificial internatinalized Muslim religion. If people don’t know about it is better to read in depth the base of their book and figure out,(this is not based on hate) but telling the truth. After destroyed the real worship, which suppose to be the Creator but by creating the artificial worship palce (mekka and medina), creating international civilization center means another way to strengthen islamic ideology which means hate against the true religion. With money they can play that strategy as they are able to close the mouth of some riches after they bombed the world trade center on 911. Even though 19 of them were saudis no one said much about them because their money power. The same tactic is played now. If interfaith is needed i think there are more religious and knowlegdeble person this one. Unless, the jews love his money, as some do, he would not mislead many. Simply this islamization tactic is specially to soften the american stand to defend their freedom and liberty. His word doesn’t make difference except he himself repent and accept the true religion.
Interfaith Dialogue « Zionism and the State of Israel
Member Since: Jan 1970 Posts: 281
[…] Interfaith Dialogue Yesterday, the sad day on which the coffins of two Israeli soldiers were returned to Israel, an interfaith dialogue conference sponsored by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia began in Madrid. Ari Alexander, co-founder and co-Executive Director of Children of Abraham, an international organization dedicated to the promotion of dialogue between Jewish and Muslim teenagers around the world, is sending updates from the conference to the Mixed Multitude blog. The first post is here. Particularly interesting is Ari Alexander’s report of a conversation he had with the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs in Bahrain, which demonstrates the power of one-on-one dialogue. […]