Kesher Talk

What I Learned from Jews, by Nonie Darwish This article isn't online yet. I cut a few paragaphs that were repetitious. When it goes online I'll post a link.

This week begins the Jewish New Year of 5765, celebrated as Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. I know very little about the Jewish Religion, but I understand the significance of this holiday. Even though I am not Jewish, my thought is that everyone can benefit from this holiday. I learned from my Jewish friends that it is actually a period of ten days, from the Eve of Rosh Hashanah through the day of Yom Kippur. This period is called “The ten days of Repentance” in Jewish tradition.

The concept of examining oneself from within to see that an individual as well as the community, is responsible for their actions and their self improvement, sounds both very alien, yet attractive to me and my cultural background. I was born a Muslim and raised in Cairo, Egypt and the Gaza Strip. This was back in the 1950’s, when classical, more moderate Islam was prevalent. However, the concept of examining oneself deeply without fear of repercussions was sorely lacking in our religious education and culture. I am not sure if Islam influenced Arab culture or Arab culture influenced Islam but some of the basic driving forces in Arab society are shame and pride.

I moved to the United States in 1978 and came with the usual preconceived biases, indoctrination and baggage from a Middle East upbringing. This included fear of Jews, of government, people in power, and fear of speaking my mind. Living through the ‘56, ‘67 and ‘73 wars with Israel, took away my feelings of trust and security. However, living in America made it easy for me to change and look objectively within myself, my history and my culture of origin. Now I run a new website called ArabsforIsrael.com.

Eventually, I decided to try this wonderful Jewish tradition of self reflection and taking stock of oneself, and apply it to myself and my culture of origin. To courageously stand up and admit to oneself and to the world one’s sins and bad choices -- and to engage them head on, to repent and correct, is hard for most people in any culture. However I am sad to say that it is inconceivable and unheard of in Muslim culture. The fact of the matter is that speaking, even to oneself, of one’s shortcomings and examining one’s responsibilities first before blaming others would bring shame, disgrace and dishonor not only to the individual but to his or her entire family. Those who admit fault or guilt, even if it is unintended, are regarded as fools -- and if the mistake is a cultural taboo, one’s reputation might be scarred for life and the person might end up brutally punished

In Arab society, we were discouraged from sinning out of fear of an angry God, the flames of hell and society’s cruel punishment awaiting sinners right here on earth. There was no reward for loving humanity as whole, self improvement and bringing out the best of the human spirit. Pleasing the brutal dictators to get favoritism and wealth at the expense of the majority population was the common thing to do. “Stepping on each other to rise to the top” was never the center piece of sinful behavior in the mosque Friday prayers. Evil and the enemy was always out there and never in here. Arabs were always proud to talk about the old glory and their old contributions to the world and suppressed discussion and examination of what Arab society can do to end terrorism. Those who had the courage to be self-critical were harshly punished. Because of the fear of shame and facing the truth about the negatives in Arab and Muslim culture, they allowed evil to dominate all aspects of Arab and Muslim society.

No one can deny the current sad state of the Middle East’s dysfunctional society . . . . Blaming everyone and anyone but themselves was the only wise thing to do in a culture that had no appreciation for accepting responsibility. Today it has metastasized so that it dominates a billion and a half Muslims around the world. . . . At a time when most religions struggle to explain evil in the world, radical Islam found the answer. Without hesitation, they say it is the Jews. Just listen to most Friday sermons in mosques all around the Muslim world. In these sermons week after week, there is one theme that keeps repeating itself: The Jews are responsible for all that is wrong in Arab society, and Arabs are not responsible for their failures. Blame the Jews, is what ends every mosque sermon. For that I personally want to apologize to Jews around the world on their holiest time of the year.

Jews do not wish each other a “Happy New Year” on Rosh Hashana, the way we are all used to on every January 1. The traditional Hebrew greeting is “Shanah Tovah”, which means a “good year” or “a year of goodness.” The greeting stresses the yearning for goodness and the desire of living a good life; a life committed to improving the world and relationships. I am in awe when I hear my Jewish friends speak and explain the teachings of their faith.

During these “10 days of Repentance” I want to repent and personally apologize to Jews around the world on their High Holidays. I also want to thank them and their culture for their many contributions to humanity. I am grateful for their teaching me this great tradition that so many of us non-Jews need to reflect upon. We all need to examine ourselves from inside, bring out the good and see what we have accomplished as members of the human race. We all learn from each other on this small planet of ours, and that is good. Much of the early Islamic thought and practices were based on what the Prophet Mohammed observed from the Jewish tribes of Mecca and Medina, who were a significant part of the life and culture of the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century. Let us revive a gracious cultural exchange, a time of appreciation and understanding. May the New Year bring to our reality some of our expectations and may it bring us more together.

posted by Judith @ 9/18/2004 10:23:54 PM