Team Awesome arrived to Damascus without a hitch and found ourselves a hotel near the center. It's a big city, with lots happening in every direction. We explored the old town around the market place and Omayyad Mosque. Ancient streets ran this way and that - each offering something else to explore. There was so much character to this thriving town, and it gave off a vibe of unmatched friendliness that put us at ease and opened a lot of doors to really see the culture!
Omayyad Mosque was my favorite! The courtyard was filled with families, children, and friends. It was like an extremely crowded park of picnickers, only these people had come to pray and be social. Kids ran and played, women talked about whatever women talk about, and men walked arm in arm - a show of friendship and affection. It was peace in the very definition of the term.
I was inside the mosque and an old man spotted me taking pictures. He waved me over to him where he sat with his grandchildren. He motioned to me that he wanted me to take a picture of him with the two young ones. I obliged and they went rigid in pose. After taking their picture, I showed them the back screen of my camera so they could see the image. He motioned that he wanted a copy of the picture. I asked if he had an email address, thinking "email" was a pretty universal word, and he nodded yes. I opened my notebook and pointed to another email address to make sure he understood and then pointed below it and handed him my notebook and pen to get his address. He signed it, thinking I wanted his autograph! It was all I could do to not bust up laughing, but I persisted in trying to communicate with him despite his lack of understanding English and my lack of understanding Arabic. No use. I thanked him for the picture as well as the autograph and bid him farewell.
I have to admit, I was quite nervous about coming to Syria. After all, I read the news. I hear things like Syria supports Hammas' and Hezbollah's ambitions of destroying Israel. I'm aware that the United States is one of Israel's only friends. I can see that the U.S. is the only nation that supports Israel's brutal and condemning policies towards Palestinians. I know that my president, as embarrassing as he is, called Syria a rogue state and invaded a neighboring country with unclear and debated motivations, which destabilized the entire region to a degree that even my mathematical skills can't seem to calculate. And worst of all, I know that my passport, with a picture inside of it of my beautiful, smiling face connects me to all those negative and appalling things! I can see quite clearly the logic that citizens of this particular region of the globe are angry with citizens from the state responsible for supporting such heinous negativity. Thing is, I didn't encounter any major hostility at all!
Take away the bad politics - which seem to be managed (or mismanaged if you prefer) by the few - and you have a clear picture of the humanity that is the Syrian people. Likewise, the American people. Seeing and showing these pictures was a great and growing experience for me, and my traveling companions! Nearly every smile I gave was returned. Syrians, even upon hearing that we were American, welcomed us to their country and asked how they could help us, if we needed help.
If politicians truly represented the people they govern, the reflection of those peoples' cultures and courtesies could end all conflict! The source of conflict, I'm convinced, is in the misunderstanding of the two or more conflicting parties. Though perhaps it's not so simple? Perhaps there are other dynamics that play significant roles in inequality issues inhibiting peace? Perhaps age old conflicts with forgotten reasons still provide fodder for fantastic feats of foolishness? Or perhaps we should simply try a little harder to understand who these different people are - and investigate whether or not they're even that different at all. We set out to learn of one group who had this exact purpose to their being!
Up in the desert mountains outside a tiny town called Nebek, exists a Catholic Monastery devoted to bridging the gap between Christians and Muslims. In 1982, Padre Paolo, a Jesuit Monk, was assigned to the Deir Mar Musa Monastery. His assignment: "Harmony building". He prefers that term as it is more holistic than "dialogue". His priorities were:
- A spiritual life.
- Social responsibility and environmental awareness.
- Hospitality.
With these goals, he set in motion events that have built this monastery into the beacon of peace, and indeed 'harmony building' that it is today.
The monastery was first constructed in the 6th century, but was in disrepair when he arrived. In 1984 he began a series of summer youth camps to rebuild and expand the capacity of the building. By 1991, he and a staff of volunteers were able to permanently reside at the monastery.
Padre Paolo focuses on similarities between religions to connect the misunderstood gap between practitioners. He said that monastic life is understood by Muslims, and he emphasizes the commonalities - prayer and worship. Conversely, he said asking questions like, "Why did God create Muslims?" helps to address a perspective that Christians can identify with. He continued in saying that, "In the Bible and the Koran, many true things are named in different ways. The question is needed - how is the other, part of my own system?" The connections he drew were that Muslims accept Jesus as a prophet but deny he died on the cross. He asked if that could be interpreted in a different way, and answered, "Yes!" which can open the mind through different interpretations.
He closed our discussion with, "We are a little cell in a big work that is in the Middle Ages, culturally and spiritually. We need to convince the young people to stay on your aim, despite the contradictions around you."
I don't necessarily agree with his religion, but I was extremely impressed with his methods for peace and harmony building! He's found his true niche, one at which he is exceedingly excelling! He said that every Friday (Islamic day of worship) Muslims flood the monastery grounds for a relaxing picnic and worship. He has open and free dialogue with everyone who visits, giving him loads of opportunity to bridge the gap between Muslims and Christians - and he capitalizes on every one of those opportunities!
Now then, if only we could get Padre Paolo to run for office!
