“A Rabbi, a Priest, and an Imam Walk Into …” Volunteers Hall Tuesday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m. for a panel discussion intending to show that while there may be differences in the practices, words, and symbols of their three religions, they all teach the same spiritual and ethical values. Sponsored by the Arm in Arm Education of Cultures Committee, the goal of this event is to help people understand misconceptions they may have that are blocking their full acceptance of others.
The rabbi in this case is Rabbi Lewis Mintz, who recently retired after serving 40 years at Congregation Beth Elohim in Acton. He spoke at the vigil on Harvard Common almost a year ago, held in response to hateful graffiti on the Bromfield rock and a Route 2 overpass. The priest is Father Dennis O’Brien, who guided St. Theresa’s for many years. In addition to sharing basic beliefs, the two men retired on the same day. The imam is Sister Hoda Eisharkawligi, formerly a Muslim chaplain at MIT and now at the Islamic Academy of New England. Each speaker will talk about the basics of his or her religion, highlighting the most important tenets and pointing out similarities with the other two. The Rev. Jill Cowie of the Harvard Unitarian Church will act as moderator.
One of the event’s chief organizers, Ellen Leicher, said the three clergy will then converse among themselves. “The audience will see how they talk civilly,” she said, implying that they would provide a role model for the audience to have similar discussions. There will then be time for questions. Leicher said the committee is hoping people aren’t afraid to ask really tough questions about things that bother them about a particular religion, because doing so will help break down barriers.
Making an impact
Leicher said the committee has been struggling to determine whether it is making any impact through the speakers and movies it has brought to town over the past year. What does it take to motivate people to explore their biases toward those who are different, to seek acceptance through education rather than harbor prejudices because of fear of what they don’t understand? These are questions the committee wrestles with. Leicher said the five members who comprise the committee are of three different religions. Over the past year they have learned a great deal about one another and have come to see how similar their basic values are, said Leicher. The committee members believe that this same understanding can happen in the larger community when people seek situations in which to engage.
Calling attention to a Harvard Press “Consider This” that the Rev. J. Mark Worth, interim minister of the Harvard Unitarian Church, wrote in response to the rock defacement, Leicher said Worth’s point that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all have the same roots in the prophet Abraham was a starting bond for the committee. “We were all brought up believing in the message of the Golden Rule, in the greatness of charity, and in other moral truths,” said Leicher. And yet the world is full of intolerance. “We’re all feeling it; the issues are out there”; things like the travel ban and the emergence of neo-Nazi activists are affecting a lot of people, she said.
It helps to go to activist groups and to talk about feelings, said Leicher. She said her mother was born in Vienna and came to the United States in the middle of the Holocaust; she was one of the lucky ones. But Leicher said she has been affected all her life by her mother’s story. Committee member Suraiya Suliman said that growing up in a Muslim country, she understood that Islam’s prophets are the same as those of Judaism and Christianity. She grew up believing in a peaceful religion and said it is disturbing to see her religion used as a weapon of war.
Countering stereotypes
Both Leicher and Suliman believe that cultural forces have led to misconceptions about their religions. Leicher cited the stereotype of the Jewish money-grubber and talked about how historically Jews in Europe were the only ones dealing in money because the dominant religion, Catholicism, did not allow its followers to be bankers. This distinction led to discrimination. Suliman said she grew up wearing a hijab as a cultural practice, but now people are seeing it as a symbol of a religion in which a woman is subservient. She said that she was brought up understanding that a Muslim woman is not subservient but equal to a man. Such confusions are difficult for her teenage daughter, said Suliman. Because of these misconceptions, Leicher said, the committee believes it is essential to educate people as to the common ties among these religions and others. Beneath the superficial differences, people aren’t that different, she said.
Suliman said the committee works together for the kids of Harvard. On Nov. 13, the committee is bringing the program to Bromfield for 10th-grade global studies and seventh-grade world geography students. Sister Celene Ibrahim, Muslim chaplain at Tufts, will be replacing Sister Hoda.
