Richard Cizik, a prominent Christian evangelical lobbyist in Washington, D.C.,, conceived of an extended series of interactions in an environment where all would feel comfortable. He asked 91短视频, a Christian university known for its international peace work, to host the multi-day exchange on its main campus, two hours west of Washington D.C.

91短视频 President Loren Swartzendruber stands beside (l to r) Ambassador Mekouar, Richard Cizik, and Michael Kirtley.

Richard Cizik, a prominent Christian evangelical lobbyist in Washington, D.C.

Aziz Mekouar, Moroccan ambassador to the United States

Rev. Karen Thomas Smith, chaplain at , a private English-language institution in Ifrane, Morocco, and Noureddine Sefiani, former Moroccan ambassador to Russia and other nations

Driss Alaoui- Mdaghri, a prominent civil society leader who has held four different cabinet positions in the government of Morocco

Lisa Schirch, executive director of the 3D Security Initiative and 91短视频 professor of peacebuilding

Rick Love, president of Peace Catalyst International and a consultant to Vineyard USA

Michael Kirtley, president of the Friendship Caravan and founding member of The Casablanca Institute

(Photos courtesy Steven D. Martin)

Cizik is former vice president for governmental affairs at the National Association of Evangelicals. In 2010, he launched the , one of the sponsors of the meeting. He also co-chairs The Casablanca Institute, the other sponsoring organization, with Driss Alaoui-Mdaghri, a prominent civil society leader in Morocco.

鈥淲ith the fall of the Soviet Union, there has been an effort to make Muslims here and abroad into the new 鈥榚vil empire,鈥欌�� said Cizik after the meeting. 鈥淭his is not only a huge mistake on the strategic level 鈥� playing right into the hands of terrorists 鈥� but a violation of biblical ethics.

鈥淓vangelicals must have serious religious dialogue with Muslims here and abroad and reach out with Jesus鈥� love in acts of compassion and service,鈥� he added. Cizik called Morocco 鈥渁n excellent partner in this exchange,鈥� crediting it for a 鈥渓ong history of religious tolerance, interfaith outreach, and friendship with America.鈥�

The by-invitation-only meeting drew a contingent from Morocco, which included:

• Driss Alaoui- Mdaghri, who has held four different cabinet positions in the government of Morocco
• Noureddine Sefiani, former Moroccan ambassador to Russia and other nations
• Larbi Belarbi, one of Morocco鈥檚 most successful businessmen
• Karen Thomas Smith, chaplain at , a private English-language institution in Ifrane, Morocco.

The Moroccan ambassador to the United States, Aziz Mekouar, traveled from his base in Washington D.C. to participate.

The U.S. component of the gathering included:

• Eric Patterson, assistant director of the at Georgetown University
• Rob Schenck, president of
• Rick Love, president of and a consultant to Vineyard USA
• Steven D. Martin, executive director of the New Evangelical Partnership
• Michael Kirtley, president of the Friendship Caravan and a founding member of The Casablanca Institute.

The group was rounded out by a retired U.S. diplomat with extensive experience in the Muslim world, leaders from the , a public health expert of Iranian background, several experts from different universities, two Christians who have created media productions on Muslim-Christian relations, and a half-dozen representatives of 91短视频, including its president and provost.

The group began by viewing a documentary, 鈥淐ountdown to Zero,鈥� on the threat to the world posed by the continued existence of massive amounts of nuclear arms around the world. The viewers quickly established that they shared a common interest in promoting nuclear disarmament, reducing the threat of terrorism and thus the possibility of nuclear-armed terrorists, and working for greater harmony in the interests of mutual security.

From this common ground, the group moved into a series of discussions 鈥� carefully facilitated by a Muslim woman and a Christian man, both based in the United States and both selected by 91短视频 鈥� that uncovered some sensitive subject matters, including different understandings of the meaning of religious freedom.

Despite the touchy subject matter, an atmosphere of respect and cordiality was maintained throughout the days of interactions and presentations, leavened by shared meals, coffee breaks, and touring of Thomas Jefferson鈥檚 Monticello. Afterwards Alaoui-Mdaghri said, 鈥淚t is always a pleasure to find people who are open-minded in spite of many pre-conceived ideas about the other. We all strived not to impose our ideas, but rather to offer them as food for thought. I believe many of the problems between Christians and Muslims are more artificial than real, and suffer from lack of discussion about them.鈥�

During an early session, Eric Patterson cited the findings of a 32-member Chicago Council task force (co-chaired by Cizik), as reported in Engaging Religious Communities Abroad: A New Imperative for U.S. Foreign Policy (2010). He noted that 鈥渞eligion is often used by extremists as a catalyst for conflict and a means of escalating tensions鈥� and that insensitivity to this reality had caused bloodshed in many areas of the world.

While acknowledging the need for sensitivity in cross-religious interactions, Patterson asked that Morocco also recognize that many Christians view talking passionately about their faith as a being part and parcel of certain universal human rights, including the right to practice freedom of speech.

In response, Noureddine Sefiani moved beyond the focus on religious actors by presenting a paper advocating for greater consultation with a wide array of civil society leaders before foreign policy decisions are made.

Through presentations on their history, economy, and politics, the Moroccans stressed that their society was based upon hundreds of years of largely harmonious relations among Muslims, Jews and Christians. They pointed out that the King of Morocco had refused demands to hand Moroccan Jews over to the Nazis during World War II and sent more than 300,000 Moroccans to fight alongside the allies. The Moroccan presenters reached back far into history to note that Morocco was the first to recognize the United States as a sovereign nation in 1777, followed in 1786 by a treaty of peace and friendship. It is the longest unbroken treaty of its kind in U.S. history.

Their overall message was that they did not want this friendship jeopardized 鈥� and their own society made unstable and less religiously tolerant 鈥� through misunderstandings created by those who don鈥檛 understand this history of friendship and who treat Moroccan laws and values with disrespect.

The Moroccan participants emphasized that Morocco鈥檚 laws reflect the sensitivities of its citizens and are passed by their representatives in Parliament. They stressed that the Moroccan people view Christian proselytizing as being disrespectful, especially if it is done deceptively in a covert manner after the proselytizer has entered Morocco under other pretenses, such as starting a business or obtaining an education.

A Christian minister who lives and works openly in Morocco made an impassioned appeal that the covert missionary model needs to be abandoned in favor of alternative models for Christian ministry in Muslim societies.

The purpose of the three-day encounter at 91短视频 was not to arrive at agreement among all present, but rather to permit all involved to understand each other鈥檚 viewpoint better. Cizik said more meetings and events will be organized. Reflecting on the exchanges later, Cizik noted that The Casablanca Institute could be an ideal forum for facilitating this kind of exchange.

Cizik said he approached 91短视频 (91短视频) about hosting the encounter because he was aware that 91短视频 housed the world-recognized Center for Justice and Peacebuilding and had earned respect from both Muslims and Christians for its 鈥渢heology of presence.鈥�

In addition, one of 91短视频鈥檚 graduates 鈥� a former Fulbright student who holds a master鈥檚 degree in conflict transformation 鈥� is now a counselor in the Moroccan embassy in Washington D.C. and was able to affirm the cross-religious respectfulness of 91短视频.

The Casablanca Institute was launched in 2010 with a vision to be a think tank based simultaneously in Casablanca, Morocco, and in Washington, D.C. Its stated mission is to promote interfaith dialogue and action among various groups in the United States and Morocco, expanding to other nations in the future.

The event was co-hosted by two 91短视频 programs, the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, directed by Lynn Roth, and Abraham’s Tent, a Center for Interfaith Engagement, directed by Ed Martin.

Bertha Beachy, a long-time worker in Africa and the Middle East with and , will speak at an Abraham’s Tent forum 4 p.m. Tuesday, October 12 on “Why and How We Should Carry on Dialogue With Muslims.”

Her presentation will be held in Martin Chapel of the seminary building at 91短视频 (see campus map). Light refreshments will be served starting at 3:30 p.m.

Beachy’s passion for relating to Muslims, promoting women’s issues and working for peace and justice have taken her to many different places and assignments throughout her years of service to the church.

After earning a degree in elementary education and English from EMC (now 91短视频), she moved to Somalia in 1958 to teach English and learn the ways and language of the Somali people.

She interspersed her service with educational opportunities in literacy, linguistics, Islamic studies and the Arabic language.

Now a resident of Greencroft Retirement Community in Goshen, Ind., Beachy continues to embrace opportunities to learn and serve, including a stint with a to Iraq and a peace and learning tour to Iran with MCC.

She continues to relate to many Muslim friends and is a strong proponent of interfaith dialogue.

Abraham’s Tent at 91短视频 is a center that plans and sponsors a variety of opportunities and programs for interfaith engagement.

Admission to the program is free.

Children at the 2009 Interfaith Peace Camp enjoyed learning to knot comforters as part of a service project.

Hosted by 91短视频’s new Center for Interfaith Engagement, Abraham’s Tent, campers will focus on building friendships and understanding across the Abrahamic faith traditions.

The ‘Abrahamic faiths’

The "Abrahamic faiths," Judaism, Christianity and Islam, all claim the Old Testament figure Abraham as a major patriarch in their monotheistic religions which all worship the same God.

Participating groups

Members from The Islamic Association of Shenandoah Valley (IASV), Beth El Congregation, Trinity Presbyterian Church, Valley Friends Meeting, Park View Mennonite Church and Shalom Mennonite Congregation, with administrative support from Abraham’s Tent, are organizing and sponsoring the camp for rising first- through sixth-graders from the Valley.

During a group gathering time, the children fashioned trees from pipe cleaners which became part of an on-going project throughout the week.

Interfaith Peace Camp was first launched as a three-day pilot program in 2008. Children, parents and community members, gave such overwhelmingly positive feedback that last year’s camp was expanded from three to five days and involved more faith communities in the planning, according to Vesna Hart, co-chair of the peace camp planning committee.

Tools that transform conflict

This year’s camp curriculum will pair stories and lessons from the three Abrahamic faith communities with practical conflict transformation skills, Hart said.

"With so much misinformation surrounding all three of the Abrahamic faiths, it’s important to teach tools that will help to dispel common myths without damaging new relationships that emerge from interfaith opportunities," she added.

Zeinab Hassouna of the IASV noted that by teaching children skills to handle interfaith conflict, this will encourage parents, other family members and friends to be more openly engaged on topics that might tend to be sensitive.

Exploring other cultures

Camp activities will utilize large and small group work including recreational, artistic, dramatic and musical activities. Other opportunities to promote interfaith understanding and peacebuilding will come through sharing of cultural foods and open time for exploration and inquiry.

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of Interfaith Peace Camp week, field trips are scheduled to Beth El synagogue, the IASV mosque and to Trinity Presbyterian Church. Campers and family members will gather Thursday evening for a potluck to celebrate interfaith peacemaking and share their experiences.

More info

For more information or to schedule an interview with a planning committee member, contact Gretchen Maust at 540-432-4674 or gretchen.maust@emu.edu or Vesna Hart at vesna.hart@gmail.com

Anas "Andy" Shallal, proprietor of the Busboys and Poets Cafe, took the title for his May 19 talk, "Let America Be America Again," from a Langston Hughes poem.

His cafe is also named for that famous African-American poet, who worked as a Washington busboy during the 1920s, Shallal explained to an audience of 160 – including faculty, local visitors, and 104 workers in humanitarian and conflict-resolution fields attending SPI from 40 nations.

Speaker Andy Shallal and Ronald L. Stoltzfus, professor of business and economics at 91短视频, compare notes. (Photo by Jim Bishop)

Shallal, an SPI alumnus, read these lines from Hughes’ poem:

The land that never has been yet –
And yet must be – the land where every man is free…
(It never was America to me.)

"I never thought of America as a country as much as a dream," explained Shallal, who arrived in the U.S. with his family in 1966, at age 11.

Following Martin Luther King’s assassination, Shallal’s family, living in the Virginia suburbs, saw smoke from the fires of protest in Washington, D.C. The cafe sits in the now-thriving U Street corridor, epicenter of that unrest four decades ago.

"I miss the old country," Shallal admits. In 1983, the year he attained U.S. citizenship, his new government invaded Grenada. Yet he retains faith in the America of Hughes’ vision "as an ideal, not as a fact." Facts can be harsh.

Nadia Bazzy, an American Muslim from Detroit, Mich., and a student in the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding program, talks with Andy Shallal following his presentation. Also pictured is Adeola Ojeniyi, an SPI participant from Nigeria. (Photo by Jim Bishop)

‘Job of SPI’ Important

"As an Arab and a Muslim, I still get uncomfortable traveling through airports," he said, citing a friend being barred from a flight because of his t-shirt – not for its message (in English, "We will not be silent"), but for its accompanying Arabic translation.

Shallal feels the Iraq war "has made the job of SPI all the more important." He cited hundreds of thousands of Iraqis killed, another five million forced into exile, and the shame of U.S. government-authorized torture.

Nevertheless, he retains faith in America’s values of "freedom, equality, justice and the rule of law. This is the reason people want to come here, more than great plumbing. I want to hold this country to its ideals."

Cafe a Center for Dialogue

With a backdrop of Shallal’s murals celebrating the Civil Rights movement, between 1,000-1,500 daily visitors to Busboys and Poets () find progressive gatherings, theater productions, dialogue groups including the Jewish/Arabic Peace Cafe, and events held by 91短视频’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, of which SPI is a part. A smaller Busboys and Poets has opened in Arlington, Va.

A former immunologist, Shallal entered his family’s restaurant businesses but wanted to work for social change.

Finding bankers skeptical of the latter intention, he emphasized the business aspect in loan applications. Yet he explains with a smile that the goals complement each other: "You can’t bring people together without food. It’s like mice; you set out food and they will come."

Many attending SPI work for non-governmental organizations. Shallal named two NGO’s that partner with the cafe: Teaching for Change, which operates a bookstore, and a cooperative that markets fair-trade coffee. "I provide the space free; they provide an added value for my customers." He shares his business model at no cost, and is advising a group from the Ivory Coast on it.

Customers Can ‘Buy Social Justice’

The entrepreneur also hopes to initiate an opportunity for customers to "buy social justice" by adding a donation to a selected NGO when they pay their tabs.

When Shallal spoke in a large Washington synagogue, congregants confessed to never having met an Arab before. He finds a common paradox in urban communities where people "all live together, but they don’t all live together. They don’t interact."

He considers it worthwhile to bring social-justice groups together, even when that seems like "preaching to the choir."

Shallal explains, "The choir leads the singing, so it’s OK to preach to them sometimes."

Chris Edwards is a free-lance writer living in Harrisonburg.

Eastern Mennonite Seminary is making plans for a study tour to the Middle East next spring.

Dorothy Jean Weaver, professor of New Testament at EMS, and Kevin A. Clark, a Virginia Mennonite Conference pastor, will host “Places, People and Prayers: A Cross-Cultural Encounter with the Holy Land,” May 4-27, 2005.

The trip will provide “a rich and multi-faceted introduction that has been home

The MCC-sponsored Summer Peacebuilding Institute (SPI) participants from the Middle East, from left: Suzanne Dababne, Bassem Thabet, Rita Sawaya, Nabil Korieh (Father Daniel), and Rev. Radi Atalla Iskandar. This year, MCC provided scholarships for 17 of the 170 SPI participants from all continents.
Photo by Joel Fath

“The Middle East wouldn’t be itself without the Christians,” says Rita Sawaya, a Lebanese archaeologist and human rights worker.

But in the land where Jesus was born and where churches trace their history to the first centuries following his death and resurrection, the number of Christians is declining steadily. They are struggling to define their role and envision a future.

Sawaya was one of five Middle Easterners sponsored by Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) to attend this year’s Summer Peacebuilding Institute at 91短视频 in Harrisonburg, Va. The others came from Palestine, Jordan, Egypt and Syria. Their backgrounds highlight the diversity within the Middle Eastern Christian community, but all five also speak eloquently on a common theme: the unique role that Christians can play as peacemakers in the Middle East.

Nowhere is the declining number of Christians in the Middle East more dramatic than in Palestine, Jesus’ birthplace. In 1950, Christians made up 15 percent of what is now the West Bank and Gaza Strip; today, they are less than 2 percent.

Bassem Thabet, who works with MCC in Jerusalem, says Palestinian Christians are in an extremely difficult position. Squeezed by the Israeli occupation and attempts to “divide and conquer” on one end, and by the growth of Islamic extremism on the other, many are choosing to emigrate.

“Emigration is open to me,” says Thabet, whose brother lives in England. “But I feel that I need to stay.” While Christians’ minority status makes them vulnerable, it also lends credibility to their calls for both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to work for peace, he says.

In Lebanon, Christians’ numbers are also dropping. Once a majority, with more access to wealth and education than their Muslim counterparts, Christians now make up some 30 percent of the population. The country was torn apart by civil war during the 1970s and ’80s.

Sawaya, a former refugee, remembers the horrors of that time.

“When you’ve suffered a lot, you sense the real meaning of peace, both within yourself and with others,” she says.

Her dream is now to create a conflict transformation program in Lebanon similar to the one she saw at 91短视频. Influencing her country in this way is part of her duty as a Christian, Sawaya says, pointing out that Christian thinkers and leaders have long played a key role in shaping the culture of the Middle East.

For Radi Atalla Iskandar, a similar conviction developed as he grew up in an area of Egypt split evenly along Christian-Muslim lines. The region was volatile, with Muslims resenting Christians’ great economic prosperity and power. But Iskandar observed how his father, a village official and a Christian, was able to maintain peace by building good relationships with Muslims.

Now a Presbyterian pastor in the city of Alexandria, Iskandar is an enthusiastic promoter of Christian-Muslim dialogue. Religious leaders with whom he works have begun to cooperate on addressing social problems, such as poverty, that create the conditions in which religious extremism flourishes.

“This dialogue is a journey, not something that’s finished,” he says.

His commitment and that of other Christians in the region give Sawaya hope. She draws a cross and labels each of its four points with one of the Middle East’s major religions: Islam, Judaism, Druze, Christianity. Christians are at the bottom of the diagram, she says, “because I see them as holding up and supporting the peace process.”

Rachel B. Miller Moreland is a writer/editor for MCC Communications.