When people think of Islam in the Middle East, including in Palestine and Israel, most people tend to think of radical extremist jihadist violent Islam, the one that is portrayed daily in the mainstream media and on social media. If there is another version of Islam, most people (except for readers of this blog) have never heard of it. So, the question is: Is there another version of Islam which is alive and functioning in our region?
The answer is: yes. It is called "Wasatia", Arabic for the Middle Way, the path of peace, moderation, justice, and tolerance for people of other ideologies and religions.
On the first day of spring last week, I joined a group of peace activists and professors to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Palestinian NGO which has adopted not only the name but the method and the message of Wasatia. Founded in 2007 and still led by Professor Mohammed Dajani Daoudi, the organization decided to celebrate its 10th anniversary with a one day seminar to reflect on the achievements and successes of the past decade and to think about the obstacles and challenges for the decade ahead. (For more detailed information about Wasatia, see their website: http://www.wasatia.info/goals.html). Professor Dajani is the former founder and director of the American Studies graduate program and Library Director at Al Quds university in East Jerusalem.
Professor Dajani, who now devotes most of his time to promoting the ideas, practices, and the methods promulgated by his organization, opened the seminar with some important reflections. In his opening remarks, he admitted that there is much opposition to his movement in Palestinian society, but nevertheless he persists in his actions because he deeply believes in them. What we need now, more than ever before, he asserted, are Palestinians and Israelis for Peace. I couldn't agree more, which is apparently why I have been working with Dajani for so many years and continue to do so.
Bucking the normalization trend prevalent in Palestinian society, he still advocates dialogue with Israelis and in building bridges of trust and understanding between the two communities for a peaceful future.
Dajani is currently at work in setting up a graduate program in "reconciliation studies" in cooperation with Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, and Flensburg University in northern Germany, which would grant master's and doctoral degrees and could combine study in Germany with learning at a new Abrahamic Center for Reconciliation and Dialogue, to be established in Flensburg, Bethlehem Bible College and the Wasatia Academic Institute in Jerusalem in the years ahead. One of the distinguished speakers at the seminar, Professor Ralf Wuestenberg, of Flensburg University, spoke optimistically about these plans, and told me over lunch that they plan to begin by bringing a group of Palestinian students to their university for a special seminar on reconciliation in September of this year. (Professor Wuestenburg has written an important book on this topic entitled, The Political Dimension of Reconciliation: A theological analysis of ways of dealing with guilt during the transitions to democracy in South Africa and Germany (2009).
In the opening session, Professor Wuestenburg offered some conceptual thinking about the theme of "reconciliation", based on his experience in South Africa and Germany. For example, he raised some important questions about the process of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa: What moments were essential? Is there room for forgiveness? How central is amnesty in the process? Is truth-telling liberating? Is intrapersonal (with oneself) reconciliation just as important as interpersonal? In South Africa, 20,000 victims told their stories publicly and this had a profound impact on the society.
In short, Professor Wuestenburg's presentation challenged all of us at the seminar to think deeply and broadly about the meaning of "reconciliation". It provoked a fascinating discussion among academics and activists. The main questions that emerged from the discussion were summarized well by Professor Dan Terris, a visiting professor from Brandeis University in American Studies (he is at Al Quds University this year via a Fulbright scholarship):
- What does it mean to be involved in "reconciliation" in the midst of a conflict, rather than after the conflict has been ‘resolved’ politically?
- What does "reconciliation" refer to? Is it the South African model of the TRC or can it be an umbrella term for a wide variety of activities, including seminars, dialogues, workshops, training programs, etc.?
- What do we mean by the term "moderation"? Is it a useful term in our context? Or, perhaps "moderation" is not the best way to move forward? (Maybe we need “passion” instead of “moderation”, although one can be passionate for moderation!) Here, Dajani opts for the use of wasatia instead of “moderation’”since it is quoted from the Quranic text, And thus We have made you a middle ground nation (2:143).
- How do we balance more abstract academic notions of reconciliation with practical trust-building small steps that need to take place on the ground?
- How do these conversations or dialogues move beyond small circles of people (this blog post and other social media are part of the answer)?
There are no simple answers to these questions. However, at least there are people here and abroad who are thinking about these issues not just abstractly but also in pragmatic ways.
Last summer, I took some time to read the original Oslo Accords for a book that I am writing (The Other Peace Process: Interreligious Dialogue, A View from Jerusalem, to be published by September by Hamilton Books). In it, I found that the visionaries who wrote this important document called for a process of "historical reconciliation" to take place as part of the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians. Clearly, this has not happened yet. But I believe that it will one day become the historical imperative of the times, if we are sincerely dedicated to finding ways and means of living in peace together in this region.