Ramadan Kareem
By Jonathan Kuttab
Ramadan Kareem to all of our Muslim friends!
Ramadan is a festive month given to charity, religious contemplation, and fasting. Most Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, breaking their fast with a drink of water and a date followed by a generous iftar meal. It is a month of lights, festivities, and prayers. It is a time when Muslims are called upon to remember the poor and the needy and through the spiritual discipline of fasting to feel with them in their need. It is also a time when the community gathers to “break bread” together. Christians and Muslims in Palestine will often hold joint iftar feasts, and I myself often fast some days each Ramadan and enjoy katayef and other specialty sweets, just as many of my Muslim friends celebrate Christmas and often have lit Christmas trees in their homes for their children. It is sometimes necessary to remind ordinary Americans that the word for God in Arabic is Allah and that Muslims, Jews, and Christians believe in the same God, the creator of us all.
As we wish a Happy Ramadan to our Muslim friends in Palestine, throughout the Arab and Muslim world, and here in North America, we reaffirm our commitment to fighting Islamophobia, which continues to raise its ugly head. Our commitment to fighting prejudice and discrimination against Muslims is the same as our commitment to fighting anti-Semitism against Jews. It is rooted in our respect for the rights, dignity, and freedom of all people. One cannot claim to be a good Christian and hold Muslims or Jews in contempt, fear, or hatred.
In fact, the Muslim community in the United States is particularly vulnerable because many are relatively recent immigrants, having not yet sufficiently integrated into the American system. As such, many lack access to mechanisms of protection from overt discrimination and prejudice, at least within the public sphere. Likewise, they are not sufficiently represented in most critical sectors of this country, including the courts, the press, and the legislature.
Not only this, but the general culture—which only after a long time has finally accepted Jews as being an integral part of society—remains reluctant to grant equal recognition and legitimacy to Muslims and Islam. While the United States and its constitution mandate the separation of church and state and prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion, Muslims still feel like outsiders—a prejudice exploited often by unscrupulous politicians, as we saw recently in President Trump’s “Muslim Ban” and periodically in idiotic calls to prohibit “Shari’a Law.”
This anti-Muslim prejudice is particularly felt on the issue of Palestine/Israel, where many American Christians express automatic sympathy with Israel and hostility to both Arabs and Muslims. Sympathy and guilt over past acts of anti-Semitism, including the holocaust, often translates into prejudice against Muslims and Arabs. The resurgence of Islamic extremism, especially after the attacks on the Twin Towers and the rise of ISIS has also contributed to stereotypes that associate Islam with terrorism, fanaticism, and violence, even when the very word Islam denotes peace and tranquility.
While American Christians have much to learn about Islam and Muslims, perhaps they can start by realizing that the religion is not a monolith and that Islam and the Muslim world contains an amazing amount of breadth, depth, history, and variety, just as does Christianity and the Christian world. They are equally deserving of God’s love and the love of all his children.
News & Announcements
Join Sabeel founder Rev. Canon Naim Ateek, alongside Samia Khoury, Cedar Duaybis, Sandra Khoury, and Nahida Halaby Gordon, as well as global representatives from the international Sabeel movement, this coming Holy Saturday for our annual Easter in Jerusalem virtual service.
Co-sponsored by:
Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace (PCAP)
Indiana Center for Middle East Peace (ICMEP)
Israel-Palestine Mission Network of the PCUSA (IPMN)
United Church of Christ Palestine-Israel Network (UCC PIN)
Episcopal Peace Fellowship Palestine-Israel Network (EPF PIN)
The Mennonite Palestine-Israel Network (MennoPIN)
United Methodist Kairos Response (UMKR)
Disciples of Christ Palestine-Israel Network (DisciplesPIN)
Alliance of Baptists: Justice in Palestine and Israel (AllianceJPI)
Global Kairos for Justice US (GJK-US)
FOSNA invites you to join us in the following events and activities:
April 9: Voices of Hope: Journeying toward Easter. Join Sabeel Australia, Palestine Israel Ecumenical Network (PIEN) & Palestinian Christians in Australia (PCIA) on the eve of Palm Sunday for a joint service with Sabeel Jerusalem marking the beginning of Passion Week. This event provides an opportunity for Christians in the Holy Land and across the world to worship together at this significant moment. (5:30am EDT).
Weekly
Kumi Now! Connecting activists around the world every Tuesday with the organizations working on the ground in Palestine and Israel to bring a just and lasting peace based on international law and nonviolence.
Week 14: Minors in Military Court. It is children who are most traumatized by Israeli injustices, especially as a result of night arrests and military prisons. Palestinian children are a target of the occupation and, in the words of Al-Haq, part of the psychological warfare “utilized by Israel to constantly remind the Palestinian population that it is subjugated and occupied." Many Palestinian parents are unable to be with and comfort their children held by Israeli military courts. The Kumi Now community looks this week at the plight of Palestinian children in the Israeli military system and what you can do so that together we can rise up.
Palestinian Innovators Series: Dr. Lily Habash. Meet Dr. Lily Habash for this week's meeting of Kumi Now's Palestinian Innovators Series. Dr. Habash served in many advisory positions in the Palestinian Authority from 1994 to 2009. Since 2009, she’s worked in several senior positions for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). She has been very active in Palestinian civil society and has played a crucial role in founding and running numerous Palestinian NGOs.
Sabeel Prayer Service. Join Sabeel every Thursday (6pm Jerusalem) for online Bible Study, discussion, and prayer. Examine scripture in light of the ongoing realities confronting the Palestinian Church and the pursuit of Palestinian liberation.
Wave of Prayer. Subscribe to receive Sabeel's Wave of Prayer, enabling friends of Sabeel around the world to pray over issues of critical concern to the Holy Land on a weekly basis.