How can people of different religions find common ground?

Understanding other views may deepen faith

Moussa Elbayoumy, M.D., member, Islamic Center of Lawrence, 1917 Naismith Drive:

The essence of all religions, in my belief, is the guidance and instruction from God to us on how to live our lives the way God wants us to and how to relate to others. The Golden Rule shared by most religions instructs us to treat others only in ways that we are willing to be treated. To apply it, one must imagine himself/herself in the exact place of the other person on the receiving end. If he/she acts in a certain way toward another, and yet is unwilling to be treated that way in the same circumstances, then he/she violates the rule.

A philosopher once said, “To apply the Golden Rule adequately, we need knowledge and imagination. We need to KNOW what effect our actions have on the lives of others. And we need to be able to IMAGINE ourselves, vividly and accurately, in the other person’s place on the receiving end of the action. With knowledge, imagination and the Golden Rule, we can progress far in our moral thinking.”

To reach that goal, people of faith must transcend their individual, tribal or ethnic ties and look across these barriers as humans. Once we see others in that light, we will be able to feel and share their pain and understand their concerns regardless of our differences and without deviating from our own morals, principles and religious teachings. On the contrary, this may deepen our faith and strengthen our morals.

This was seen by those who attended a May 19 event, co-sponsored by both the Islamic Center of Lawrence and the Lawrence Jewish Community Center – among many other organizations – featuring two women, one Palestinian and one Israeli, both of whom had lost immediate family members to the Middle East conflict between their two peoples.

The two women shared their stories of pain, loss and suffering. They expressed themselves in purely human terms, away from all political, national or ethnic shadows. The message was so powerful that I doubt there was a dry eye among the audience of nearly 200. The tears were the same tears for both Israeli and Palestinian victims whether they were Jewish, Christian or Muslim.

Can we learn from this example? Can we carry this banner forward?

— Send e-mail to Moussa Elbayoumy at moussaelbayoumy@yahoo.com.

All people of good faith have ability to learn

Artie Shaw, board member, Lawrence Jewish Community Center, 917 Highland Drive:

The short answer: by listening to one another.

Those who believe their point of view represents the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth – i.e. THE (one and only) truth – are painting themselves into a very narrow corner.

Every culture of which I am aware has a God or gods and has its own creation story. Can any one culture or religion have the whole story, while all the others do not? Not likely.

On May 19, Nadwa Sarandah, a Palestinian, and Robi Damelin, an Israeli, shared a platform in Lawrence, and shared their stories of intense personal loss due to violence between their two peoples. The key to problem solving in their powerful and persuasive presentation is communication – in the Middle East, and, in my opinion, everywhere else.

Genuine two-way communication requires dialogue – expressing one’s own point of view and listening attentively to the other’s. I believe dialogue between individuals and groups is the path to clarify and illuminate the issues we do not agree on, and discover the greater number of human concerns we do agree on.

Jews and Muslims, and all people of good faith – secular and religious, Western and Eastern – share similar wishes and ideals and hopes. All people of good faith are capable of shared respect and have the ability to learn from experience.

The mutual respect and bridge building that comes from sharing with one another our hopes, our fears, our joys and our sorrows makes possible, I believe, those moments of creative tension in which constructive change can occur.

This is when the best of human nature is in play.

— Send e-mail to Artie Shaw at jalta76@hotmail.com.