# 23 September 25, 2005.
Dear Friends,
At the kind invitation of the staff at St. Paul’s Church in Cambridge,
MA we will gather together for our Badaliya Prayer on Sunday September 25, 2005
at 3pm in the small chapel in St. Paul’s Parish Center. Please join us
in person or in spirit as we pray for peace and reconciliation in the Middle
East and especially in the Holy Land.
At our last gathering we began our efforts to respond to Louis Massignon’s
clear message that to effect peaceful relations and reconciliation with those
of other faith traditions we must begin by opening our own minds and hearts
to conquer our fear of differences. He spoke often of the need to “cross
over” to the “other”, to learn their language, study their beliefs,
practices and culture as the beginning of mutual respect and understanding.
In the process of learning to truly know others, from the inside out so to speak,
we find that our own values and belief systems become more defined and clear.
Our faith experience is enhanced rather than diminished. The goal of “substutionary
prayer”, of “Badaliya”, is to see the face of Christ in every
human person and learn to love them as Christ loves us.
As Christians we are challenged to overcome centuries of misinformation and
prejudice that we have sometimes even unconsciously absorbed. In one of his
books the Fransiscan Fr. Giulio Basetti-Sani writes about his own journey of
studying the condemning writings of the scholars of his time about Islam and
Muhammad and approaching Louis Massignon with those ideas. He wrote:
“Once, when Professor Massignon was in Cairo, I went to see him at the
French Institute of Oriental Archeology.... Only someone who has known Massignon
can fully imagine his reaction to my ideas. His usual grave expression changed
to a smile like the lighting of a lamp and his eyes twinkled. He said, ‘The
medieval world taught that Muhammad was a messenger of Satan and that the Allah
of the Qur’an was not the God of Abraham. We should not do to others what
we would not have them do to us’.
Basetti-Sani quotes much more than this as he describes how, following Massignon’s
advice, he began to move in a totally different direction in what became years
of Islamic studies. He wrote: “Islam is a mystery linked with the blessing
obtained by Abraham from God for his son Ishmael and Ishmael’s progeny.
This line of thought, derived from the Bible, is the one to take in order to
grasp the significance of Islam.... Before we parted, Massignon gave me two
thoughts meant as guidelines in my reorientation, one from St. Augustine, ‘
Love sees with new eyes.’ and the other from St. John of the Cross, ‘
Where there is no love put love, and you will find Love Himself’. It was
true, my eyes had seen badly... Later, when my eyes were to see clearly, I would
discover in Islam and the Muslims the reflections of the infinite goodness of
God”. (From Basetti-Sani.1977. “The Koran In the Light of Christ”)
With the inspiring examples of Fr. Giulio Basetti-Sani, Massignon himself and
his own mentor, Bro.Charles de Foucauld, and in the spirit of St. Francis, let
us begin our process of learning about Islam. Last month I introduced the following
Sura of the Qur’an:
One of the first prayers in the Qur’an memorized very early by every Muslim
child is the opening Sura (verse) called the Surat-al -Fatiha. The language
of Islam and the Qur’an is Arabic and therefore all Muslims learn to chant
the verses in this ancient and poetic language. The Fatiha is a wonderful summary
of Muslim belief that God is the Lord of all being, entirely separate from the
world yet forever present and aware, providing a Path from darkness into light
and a direction for worshop and praise:
“In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
Praise be to God, the Lord of all being.
The Merciful, the Compassionate.
Master of the Day of Judgement.
It is you alone that we serve,
It is only from you that we seek aid
Guide us on the straight path.
The path of those whom you have blessed.
Not of those with whom you are displeased.
Nor of those who go astray.”(Translated by Matthew S. Gordon)
In the coming month of October there will be a convergence of Holy days
within the three Abrahamic faith traditions. The sacred Muslim lunar month of
Ramadan and the sacred Jewish lunar month of Tishrei (which includes the High
Holy Days) both begin October 3-4th; October 4th is the Feast of St.Francis
of Assisi, and October 1st is the Feast of St. Thérèse of the
Child Jesus.
In his letters to members of the Badaliya Massignon often invites them to join
in both the fasts and the feasts of both Islam and Judaism. We have an opportunity
to fast and pray the Fatiha in spirit with our Muslim brothers and sisters,
as Massignon did, during the Muslim month of Ramadan. He chose always to pray
the Fatiha on the feast of the 27th day of Ramadan marking “the Night of
Destiny” when Muhammad received the first revelation of the Qur’an.
For further information about these shared Holy days see:
www.tentofabraham.org.
May we look neither for likenesses nor differences as we learn about all faith
traditions but rather see just what is there. That is seeing with the eyes of
Love.
Peace to you.
Dorothy