Update from Sheikh Ghassan Manasra, International Director of the Abrahamic Reunion
Sheikh Ghassan recently spent three months in the Holy Land organizing Multifaith Iftars, initiating new training programs for Clergy & Scholars, Women, and Youth Peacebuilders, forging high-level connections, and taking the AR to a new level in the Holy Land. He can be reached at ghassan@abrahamicreunion.org.
Ramadan & the Iftars
During my stay there in the Holy Land, we made lots of connections, held lots of activities, and organized lots of meetings with many people to create very important and high level Iftars.
This year we felt, the Israeli Board, the American Board, and all the AR peacemakers, we began to feel the change of the platform of our work there in the Holy Land.
Because we have lots of connection, all of us, with all of the leadership in Israel from the politicians until the educators and between them, we began to prepare our land for Ramadan. And by the way – when we say Ramadan, it’s not only for the Muslims, it belongs to everyone in the Holy Land, and most people prepare themselves how to celebrate that. It’s a month, it’s a long month for the people to fast, Muslims and Druze, and we contacted Jewish people, Christians, Muslims, to create very important Iftars this year.
We can say we had four stations from which to make our Iftar – the first was in Tel Aviv – unfortunately it didn’t happen because at that time we had a very hot situation about the clashes between Arabs and Jews and killed people, many situations from both sides, so we cancelled. We spoke with the leaders there, and they said, ‘Don’t hold the Iftar, we’re afraid to bring 300 people together, we don’t know what will happen.’ We’re still working even until now to reduce the tension there to relax the people in both sides.
The second Iftar was in Daliat al-Carmel.
In Daliat al-Carmel we had more than 350 people – and we fed all of these people at that time. It was a very important Iftar because we invited most of the leaders, we combined between politicians, social leaders, educators, women and men, and it was so great because we have our great Druze leader Siham Halabi and she worked very hard to prepare this Iftar. We also had other people there, the mayor of Daliat to work with us as an Alliance, we were partners together in this Iftar, and they are so proud to be partners with AR in this work. Long, long ago we have been working with them until today.
That Iftar we tried to put the first points or steps for the new path, of all of the people in the Holy Land, through AR and by AR the strategy and tactic and culture and tradition of the AR in the Holy Land, during the Iftar we discussed many points. How to take responsibility as leaders, how to take care for our country and people in the Holy Land. Then we met a good number of mayors and leaders there, politicians and social leaders, and even educators there, and we began to talk – how – what is the way – to create the projects. For example we met with the mayor of Tamrah, between Nazareth and Acre/Acco, now Abed and Anat today are meeting them today in Tamrah because we are preparing 2 projects there, 1 project is exchange students, the second project is the project of the educators, HS principles and teachers.
Then we began to create lots of ways to stop the clash and the violence between the two nations, the Arabs and the Jews, the Arabs includes Muslims, Christians and Druze.
It was important what the speakers gave there, they were very responsible people because they felt the pain. Sometimes you will speak as an author, but when you feel the thing you will speak from your heart, from your experience, and I think the bad situation in Israel touched each one and everyone.
Most of the people are in a big fear, and when all the people are in a big fear, they need to share their emotional side, their hope, and they put points for the people how to move, what to do. This time we felt from the people that were there in the Iftar, each one needs to take care or take part in our work, and we succeeded to get lots of connections and lots of calls from many people saying that they need to be part of this work.
The third Iftar was in Nazareth, 26th of April, 2022.
This was the main Iftar for all of AR this year – we had more than 200 people – with lots of leaders, you can see the pictures and participants there, the speakers there, I think we had from all the religions. We had Jews, Christians, Muslims, Druze, and Ahmedis also. It’s important we invited the Ahmedis to be part of the speakers and they give a great talk for the people.
This Iftar we contacted the office of the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and he sent a delegation to be with us in our Iftar, and also he sent a delegation to be with us in Daliat al-Carmel.
The Mufti Isaid gave a great speech for the Israelis and Arabs and Palestinians about how to create peace, how to create a very strong way, how to connect, how to understand one another, how to be a clear person to understand the truth for yourself and for the others.
We created together the stuff of Abrahamic Reunion – they created very great event at that time because the leaders, after that, they were part of us, they began to be part of Abrahamic Reunion. We invited new people to be part and to come to build the great building of the AR in Nazareth and I want to say something, that in this Iftar you could see very well the youth sharing with us the Iftar, and they were part of our great leaders, and you can see them in the video that AR prepared for all the people around the world, how they speak, how they give hope, what is their perspective on the future, how they can create peace amongst themselves and between themselves in the Holy Land.
We know the situation is not easy, it’s complicated, we arrived to a very serious point, we need to find the solution, the path, the way to get out of all these clashes and complicated times. It’s very important for us to do the best to bring people to understand one another and meet one another.
In our Iftar you could see the rabbis, the social people, imams, priests, reverends, sheikhs, Druze sheikhs, Ahmadi sheikhs, you could see all of these leaders to be together and sitting together.
Th people asked us why to make Iftar, why not to make a meeting?
They said the meeting is great, to know the place through the people and the people through the place. But to come to feed the people, to taste the people, to see the brother and sister as a human being like yourself, eating together, discussing together, and to see the people in their natural way of life, talking and smiling, and of course because the food can break the distance between the people. They can share sometimes some plates – you need to get the plate and it’s a little bit far from you, and the other will give you the plate – it’s a message: I’m here for you. And when you taste that thing, it’s from the other’s hand, not your hand, and it will taste even better!
We had a number of speakers in both Iftars in Daliat al-Carmel and in Nazareth, all of these speakers really add these drops of water to the ocean and it’s very important to add all the time, to add to the water many drops of happiness, joy, and hope.
Another thing: when you come to meet and it’s important to you, you will expect and anticipate different kinds of things. Sometimes there’s a feeling that it combines with fear, sometimes with curiosity, and so on, but when you arrive and see the person speaking you will begin to clean the land of your thinking and the land of your heart and prepare the land of your heart for the rain, to the divine rain. So to be in great connection with all of these people, then, the hope of the people begins to be there, and as you begin to plant the seeds of hope, and all the people water these seeds, then they will begin to emerge between and through all of us.
“Ghassan, we were in fear in our houses, but now after this meeting, we are full of hope.”
They were my contemporaries that came – I invited to them – about 30 years I didn’t see them – by the way they are Christians, they were the closest friends of me at the time. I said, “How did you come?” They said they heard about the Iftar, and, “We didn’t wait that you will invite us or not because we miss you, we come to be with you in this great Iftar, to be with AR in this great event!” You know what is this? Their heart attracts them to come without invitation – and in the end they say we will come, and we hugged one another, the two they came and hugged and they came with their wives. “It was a very great meeting, a high level meeting,” they said, “Ghassan, we were in fear in our houses, but now after this meeting, we are full of hope and we are full and we know the address and where to go.”
You know, AR, we are a great building. We are a great building but without gates and without doors, what’s the meaning? AR doesn’t close the doors night and day, AR you can come anytime you need.
But I will tell you a secret, you know what is AR?
They say, what?
It’s the hearts.
Then you can enter the heart, you cannot put any officer or guard to your heart because the love doesn’t need permit to enter to your heart. Right? Then all of the participants will very happy, very strong, and they came back different people, and day by day began to call me and we are in touch and in connection to design the new path of peace and connection and understanding and love and harmony between all of us, and this is our hope, this is the second Iftar in Nazareth, we had Music Band there, spiritual chanting, and also we had come to say a popular poet – he said great things about the land – and other speakers lawyers professors and rabbis there were there with us – after that we created our projects and the first projects began to move from there, Youth, Clergy & Intellectuals, and Female Leaders.
Soon we will have the first meeting of educators and exchange students will begin, all of these after the new path and the new platform of working in the Holy Land.
Now the fourth Iftar was the Iftar in Jericho with the great director Mohamad Jamous.
We prepared the Iftar there for the Palestinians, Christians, Muslims, Samaritans there, we had about 100 people there, also we had the mufti of the military and gave a great talk, all the people ere very happy the Christians Muslims and others there, it was so great there to create a new path also in the Palestinian territories. We spoke about our Iftars in Israel and they were happy and said one day inshallah we will be part of our Iftars in Haifa Jaffa Nazareth and we said welcome inshallah. We spoke also there to create new projects in our work in our path in AR.
Thank you.
I want to mention here in our work some names that we need to thank all of them:
- Israeli Director Abed Manasra, he did a great job, I remember all the time we run together from place to place in the car during the night, and usually arrive early morning to the home, and he was exhausted, and I told him to go to sleep and I will do something before sleep, really, he’s a great organizer and strategy person, and his youth friends and partners they are great.
- I would like to thank Anat Lev Or, she is one of the great leaders in Israel and in the Holy Land, we worked together more than 26 years, I think more.
- I would like to thank Najah Kabaha, she’s a great Muslim leader, leader of women, such a high level, thanks to her and her husband also.
- I would like to thank Dr. Khalid Abu Ras for all his help and work, and contacting people, and MC’ing the event, and so on, Siham Halabi, a great leader also, Mohamad Jamous, for his great work as our Palestinian Director, these people are very great leaders to do the best and to do the work, and to succeed.
- Also I would like to thank the youth that came to the Iftars to be with us to work to help us welcome the people, accept the people put the people in their tables because we did a very important thing we put at each table to put all the religions there at the tables – and they came to help us and made their best here I would like to thank them
- And to thank all of the people and to thank here Shahabuddin David less for all his support and without him we cannot do all of this work and build the great organization called Abrahamic Reunion
- I would like to thank Chris Miller, he’s a great person working behind the veils, nobody hears his name usually but most of this work is based on him, he’s a great administrator – do you know how to do like Chris? No even one percent of his work I can do, it’s not my experience or my track, but really I would like to thank him with all these connections, preparing the Zoom, contacting the people, all these things.
- I would like to thank MANY others – David Grishaw-Jones, Rabbi Zaslow – I would like to thank you all for your support and love.
I would like to say a very important thing about our projects that we began to do – as we promised you, we will not stop, and we will make events and meetings but the most important thing is to create projects – to create projects it’s the way and the path to heal the separation and repair the disease in our country. As we promised, we created three projects now, and soon we will have another two.
First project: the Women’s Project
This project is with educators and intellectuals, and also mothers, because the mother is the first educator in the world, with the assistance of the father, the men, but the women they can be the connector between each side of our life – children and the life – children and the fathers – children and the schools – children and the educators – they are the connectors and they know how to do it because they use their hearts to complete the parts of our life. Anat Lev Or and Najah are the Co-Chairs of the AR organization in Israel, they with us, I help a little bit, with assistance of Abed and Khalid Abu Ras, they created a very important project.
They invited 16 women to discuss the point of the project. The point of the project is – how to bring our material background, or how to bring our religion, not only to discuss it, but to bring it to the street. How to practice the great values in our religions in our lives. How to practice it, how to create very important educational system in our houses, neighborhoods, in our schools, and in our universities.
I think it’s very important to understand that and to do the best to create the great life in the Holy Land because they felt that the dangers and the challenges they can taste every day in the life in the streets houses and neighborhoods, and they came to solve the problem especially after May 2021 and the clash that happened in Israel. We almost lost ourselves, our values.
They began to work now to create a proposal for a new educational system in our life and how to bring the children and the people to be together and to study together to understand one another and to know about the other, not only to say that “ok I know one Muslim or Christian or jew or Druze” – your behavior can create the next step of this connection between you and the other – your behavior, your intellectual side and consciousness, you need to use all of these parts.
They meet once per month, sometimes every 3 weeks, in Shefaim in the hotel. They come to be together in one hall discussing for 3 hours with a meal, and they are doing the best to close each day with lots of knowledge to pass to the families, neighborhoods, schools, and communities. This is a very great project, because we invited the 16 women, now we have a list of more that 50 women that would like to be part of this project – but we cannot because we training these women to be the leaders of the future.
Each project will be for the next 3 years – and 2nd year and 3rd year they will be so ready, and practice with us, and then they will create their projects with themselves. We began with one project with women, and next year a new group or two groups will begin, it depends on your support, if we will have great support, we can create 2 projects, and 3 projects, and 4 and 5 projects of women because we have the power, the staff, the people, we can bring more facilitators, more people.
The second project is the clergy and intellectuals.
Why we choose to work with the clergy?
We choose the alternative leadership of the people – they will influence their communities, their students, and the intellectual people will be part of this process as they will influence their students in their life. So, we brought these people – 20-24 people for this project – but now we have 20 clergy and intellectuals meeting once per month in Nazareth for 3 hours.
They study the sources of our life from each religion because it’s interfaith, for to create as we say material to practice it in our society, in our life, in our students, and in our communities. To give them how to behave, how to create a new life in our neighborhoods. It’s enough violence, enough clashes, enough wars, the people really arrive to a really bad situation, and if we will lose the light, we don’t know who will come and will punish us. Then we need to begin from now to stop all these behaviors, and these people are the experts to use these materials to practice it because they are living these teachings every day.
AR tried to gather all these experts and people to train them with new tools to take all this weight and to take it away and to exchange it with a very great values and to plant the values in the lands of our lives. And to create a very great meeting. Also, if we will have support in the future, we can create more and more projects of clergy and intellectuals, also because many contacted us to be part of our projects. Unfortunately, we cannot, because we need a number for the project to train them and prepare them to be the leaders of the future.
I want to say something: that we raised the flag of education this time because we realized the problems are with our educational life and system, our educational dimension – the home education, school education, university education, and life education – we need to change these things today.
I can say that patience is very important – we will arrive for this patience soon – because if someone is telling you something and directly you will answer, you will attack — no, wait, you need to know why he or she says this. Maybe she was in a bad situation, maybe he doesn’t have money, or food, maybe he tried to blame people and you’re part of these people that aren’t helping them. Wait. We have the workshop how to do this. Wait. Smile, say, “ok, I’m listening.” Don’t say, “I understand,” until he or she will finish. Let them say what they need to say until they will empty their selves, they will begin to talk. Ok then may I help you with this…. The problem is that that to understand another person, you need patience.
Wait. Smile. Say, “Ok, I’m listening.” Don’t say, “I understand,” until he or she will finish.
We are bringing many great qualities for the leaders to teach to their students and their congregations.
Truth, say the truth, don’t lie, don’t steal, don’t don’t don’t…You don’t know but sometimes, the people think that they can get money in one name, but when this money comes to this person, they take part, they give to another person another part, and then in the end, the money didn’t get to the right person – don’t steal! – this is one of the great values that we are teaching – the leaders and the teachers.
Clergy & Scholars – The Meeting of Joseph
The first meeting of the clergy was in Nazareth, the beginning of June, 6th of June, we had a very important meeting with the people there, all the people arrived, they are intellectuals and clergy, they are very high, responsible, intellectual, and ready for the meeting. And, we had a part of the American group with us – 22 people touring at that time – and we made a wide circle, open from both sides.
Why did we do this? Listen to the facilitating very well: why didn’t we close the circle? Because this is the first meeting, people will come from different religions and nationalities, Arabs, Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze, Jews, each one needs to explain about himself, and these people when they will begin to explain to you – they wonder – who are you – is this my enemy or friend? What will he say? What is his story? And sometimes look at the face – sometimes when you walk – they will say – I am a teacher – the people will say yes – hmm – I belong to the Islamic Movement, the Jews will make an expression of moving away and say hm…
As a facilitator you need to have the eagle eyes to see each one. Now they began to talk to explain and introduce themselves, and now why I leave this open in the space, these open sides, because in the psychological dimension they feel that there is place for me to run, not myself, to run my feelings out, not to close it here, then my feelings can escape, in facilitation you need to do that in the first meeting.
The 2nd step we did was the workshop of the spiral. I brought the first circle, the people sitting with their faces facing outside, and then the second circle facing inside, to be face to face and ask questions. First questions will be – What is the food that you like? Which part of your house you like to sit on it? What is the last book that you read? Who is the person that you admire and respect in history?
These are very psychological questions, why? You will give them 3 minutes to talk – 1.5 for you, 1.5 for your partner – 3 minutes stop, then you need to move, the outer circle needs to move, step, and you are with another one, then, they need to talk one with another. Now, but when the first question, when you say stop, they will stop. 2nd question – they would like to stay more! But you must make them stop. Hou need them to say – oh we didn’t finish – and you will say — Never mind! Keep moving! The 5th or 6th question – on time they will stop. 9th question or 10th question – the people will not listen to the facilitator there – they will create connection, because they are so close, and they talk one with another, and they don’t want to leave each other!
From the 1st meeting in the spiral – it was the opening, to introduce – normally the feeling in the people is “I don’t agree.” And in the 2nd meeting. they begin to be more close. Then when you finish this spiral, you close the circle when you sit together, no one will run away, then the people will open their hearts one to another.
The facilitator will listen to the answers and will get the next point of where to go from there. This is the tactic of our work the strategy of our work, but it’s very important that this group emerged very strong and very helpful and a very great group, looking forward to the second meeting as a group.
Now we are building the 2nd meeting, and then we will continue with three meetings in the fall, and again more meetings in 2023 with this group, for an entire year to work together and become a very great force for peace and positive change in the Holy Land.
It was a lot we accomplished in these months, this spring, during the clashes and everything, and I think you can see now and feel now and maybe even taste now the feeling of the new level that we have achieved and that we are achieving now as Abrahamic Reunion in the Holy Land.
Sheikh Ghassan Manasra, International Director of the Abrahamic Reunion, oversees programming in the Holy Land and Internationally since 2015. He was one of the Abrahamic Reunion’s Co-Coordinators in the Holy Land from 2014-2015, before moving to the US with his family, and has been an active contributing Peacemaker with the AR for more than a decade. He is an ordained Sheikh in the Qadiri Sufi Order in the Holy Land, and son of Sheikh Abdel Salaam Manasra – head of the Qadiri Sufi Order in the Holy Land. He is the founder of Anwar-Il-Salaam, the Lights of Peace Center in Nazareth, and is Director, Islamic Cultural Center in Nazareth. Ghassan is an expert and lectures in Islam, Islamic history, Sufism, and contemporary Muslim issues in the Middle East, Europe, and the USA. Ghassan@abrahamicreunion.org
