The following essay has been written to help facilitate understanding of Islam and Quakerism and to encourage interfaith dialogue and cooperative peace ventures. This paper has been revised and turned into a pamphlet, jointly published by Friends Universalist Fellowship and Friends Bulletin, which can be ordered for $4 (including postage) from Friends Bulletin, 3303 Raintree Ave, Torrance CA 90505. Please make check payable to Friends Buletin.

From past experience studying Buddhism, I realized that the best way to understand and appreciate a religion is to practice it, just as the best way to appreciate music is to listen to it (or better yet, to play it)-- preferably in the company of other practitioners. Such practice does not require conversion, but immersion. During 1984, when I first began attending Quaker meeting, I lived for nine months in a Zen Buddhist center. There I gained a deeper understanding of Buddhism than I could ever have gleaned from books. I decided that the best way for me to understand Islam would be to observe Ramadan and to spend time with practicing Muslims.

Ramadan, I learned, is one of Islam's most important holidays-indeed, one of its "Five Pillars," or essential practices. During this month, the Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed through the angel Gabriel. This event is to Muslims what the birth of Christ is to Christians-a revelation and incarnation of God's Word (the Eternal Logos) in human history. It is a solemn as well as joyous occasion that calls for both dedication and celebration. By day, Muslims dedicate themselves to God through the discipline of fasting. By night, they celebrate the benevolence and compassion of God through special prayers and meals. Muslims are also supposed to read the entire Qur'an during this holy month and give liberally to charities.

I began fasting on November 17, 2001, while on a trip to what I facetiously called the "Quaker Mecca," i.e. Philadelphia, the capital of Pennsylvania, which was originally a Quaker colony and where the largest concentration of Quakers and Quaker organizations in the USA can be found. Muslims who are traveling are not obliged to fast, but I decided to do so since modern travel isn't as arduous as it must have been during the Prophet's time. I also made a commitment to read the entirety of Yusuf Ali's monumental work, The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an, which was highly recommended by Muslims.

During the weeks that followed, I visited both Shi'ite and Sunni mosques and joined in communal prayers. I also incorporated some Muslim prayers into my daily religious practice. I learned to say the opening prayer of the Qur'an in Arabic and English:

This prayer sums up the essence of Islam and is to Muslims what the Lord's prayer is to Christians. Each day I rose before dawn, prayed this and other prayers, ate breakfast, and studied the Qur'an. I prayed at least five times each day, facing north (the direction of Mecca for those in California) and bowing with forehead to the ground in the manner of Muslims.

When I told Muslims that I was observing Ramadan, they were extremely pleased and impressed. They were not only eager to discuss Islam with me, they also wanted to know more about my Quaker faith. Observing Ramadan thus became an opening for what the Quaker scholar and ecumenist Douglas Steere called "mutual irradiation"-the sharing of the "Light that enlightens all men and women" (John 1:9).

The most common reason that Muslims gave for fasting during Ramadan was that it helps us to empathize with those who are poor and don't have enough food and water. Others spoke of self-discipline, or of religious obligation. A Muslim physician and religious leader from Orange County named Meher Hathout pointed out that the ability to fast-to delay gratification-is what distinguishes human beings from animals. It is also a test of faithfulness and integrity since only God knows if we are truly fasting, or sneaking food when no one is looking!

Many Muslims seemed surprised that a non-Muslim American had the self-discipline to fast. Sad to say, we Americans are seen as an extremely self-indulgent people, given to compulsive overeating and to equally compulsive dieting. When we diet, we generally do it for selfish reasons-to improve our health or our appearance. Fasting, on the other hand, is a discipline that helps us to become un-selfish and spiritually healthy. As the Greek Orthodox saint John Chrysostom observed: "Fasting is medicine" (Homilies, III. ca. 388 CE.) Practiced with humility, fasting helps to free us of our addictive behaviors, and can deepen our connection with God and with our fellow human beings-especially with those who are poor and hungry.

I learned this lesson very keenly one afternoon when the hunger pangs became so intense, and my energy level so low, that I had to quit work at four o'clock. I walked to a nearby park to watch the sun set (which seemed to take forever). My throat parched, and my belly rumbling, I realized that I could break my fast and end my discomfort at any time, whereas hundreds of millions of people (most of them children and mothers) don't have this option. That night, after my meal, I sat down and wrote checks to charitable organizations with more zest than I have ever before experienced. Fasting, I discovered, can do wonders to stimulate compassion and the urge to be charitable.

Fasting can also be a humbling experience. I was surprised to learn that most young Muslims are eager to start fasting since it is a mark of adulthood. (Children don't have to fast, nor do the sick, pregnant or nursing women, the frail elderly, and travelers.) A charming story called Magid Fasts For Ramadan by Mary Matthews describes how an eight-year-old Muslim boy decides to fast for Ramadan because his big sister has turned twelve and has begun fasting, and he wants to be grown up like her. Because Magid's parents say that he is too young to fast, he secretly feeds his lunch to the ducks. When his parents find out, they take their son aside and tell him that it is admirable for him to want to fast, but it's not healthy for one so young. Besides, the father explains, Muslims must always tell the truth! The fact that many Muslim teenagers feel like Magid and take pride in fasting gave me pause. Whenever I was tempted to give up my fast, I recalled their example and said to myself, "If teens can do it, so can I!"

Muslims who were spiritually mature reminded me that fasting means abstaining not only from food and drink, but also from other habits that intrude upon our relationship with God and our fellow human beings. During Ramadan, I was told, one should abstain from backbiting, judgmentalism, and anger. This proved at times far more challenging than simply skipping lunch.

I was also told that during this holy season one's spiritual life is supposed to be heightened. Prayers uttered during this period "count" more than prayers at any other time, and acts of kindness are supposed to carry more weight with God.

But I liked best what one Muslim mother said: "Ramadan is a time when I try to become a better person." The practice of fasting and prayer certainly made me want to become a better person. It also made me more acutely aware of my human foibles, and of my deep need to feel connected with God and with other human beings.

Ramadan and the Qur'an

Ramadan is celebrated because it is the month in which the Angel Gabriel first began to reveal the Qur'an to Mohammed. Qur'an literally means "recitation." Muslims believe that the Qu'ran is literally the Word of God, transcribed exactly as it was revealed to the Prophet. Muslim scholar Yusuf Ali observes: "It is the duty of every Muslim-man, woman, or child-to read the Qur'an and understand it according to his own capacity" (xi).

It is not an easy work to read or to understand. It is written in Arabic which native speakers insist is indescribably beautiful, but which doesn't translate well. It is also full of subtle cultural allusions that require extensive explication.

One of the works that helped me to appreciate both the poetry and meaning of the Qur'an was Michael Sell's Approaching the Qur'an (White Cloud Press: Ashland, Oregon, 1999).6 His recent work on the Qur'an and Islamic culture has attracted considerable attention in the Quaker community as well as in the popular media. He is often interviewed and much sought after as a speaker. Approaching the Qur'an deals with the short, mostly early Suras (or chapters), which are lyrical and highly allusive (and at times elusive). Selections from this book were published in pamphlet form by the Quaker Universalist Fellowship. I recommend purchasing the book because it contains a CD with excellent recitations from the Qur'an along with commentaries explaining the cultural background, religious meaning, and poetic effects of the text.

The Qur'an is meant to be recited aloud. In the Muslim world, those who are skilled in reciting the Qur'an are regarded with the respect and admiration that Westerners accord to master musicians and singers. Listening to the Qur'an recited well is an unforgettable experience, even if you don't know the words. Sells' book makes the music and meaning of the Qur'an come alive for Western readers.

As I read the Qur'an as part of my daily devotions, I came to think of it as similar in many ways to a Beethoven symphony. To appreciate the majestic scope of such a work, we must experience it in its entirety. Themes and motifs appear and reappear in subtle variations, and are re-phrased in different contexts, with different nuances of meaning and emotional tone. We must not only read, but listen to the Qur'an being recited-and we must listen with our hearts as well as minds, as one would to a work of literature or to music. Only then does the beauty and meaning of the Qur'an begin to unfold.

Muslims feel that the Qur'an cannot truly be "translated" at all since it can only be fully understood in Arabic. Therefore, Abudullah Yusuf Ali's work is not called the Qur'an but rather The Meaning of the Qur'an. Ali's version of the Qur'an is a 20th century classic of spirituality and scholarship. Ali's commentary contains allusions to British poetry, the Bible, and also the latest discoveries in science.7 This work is one that beginners or non-scholars may find a bit overwhelming; it consists of 1,700 pages, in very small print. When I finished reading Ali's Meaning of the Qu'ran, I was reminded of what the 18th century English critic Dr. Johnson said of Milton's Paradise Lost: "It is one of the great productions of the human mind, but no man would wish it longer than it is."

The essential message of the Qu'ran is clear and simple: there is one God, who is infinitely compassionate, but also infinitely just. We were created to serve and honor God and to render an account of our lives on the Day of Judgment. Those who believe in God and live moral lives will be rewarded (whether they happen to call themselves Muslims, Christians, Jews, or whatever). Those who are disobedient and immoral, or worship many Gods or none, will be punished. Qur'an also gives detailed instruction relating to the entire gamut of human conduct-worship, war, marriage, divorce, inheritance, punishment for crimes, etc. These rules comprise the Sharia, or Laws, and are the basis of Islamic jurisprudence.

The Qur'an was written for people at all stages of spiritual development. Commentators note that the Arabs were at a very low moral level when Mohammed appeared as their Prophet. They were addicted to polytheism, infanticide, feuding and vice of the grossest sort. The purpose of the Qur'an is to raise people from the lowest to the highest possible level of spiritual development. For that reason, you find in the Qur'an passages about heaven and hell that are intended primarily for those who need strong incentives to be good and "God-fearing." Other passages are written for those who have internalized their moral imperatives and are seeking a deeper connection with God and their fellow human beings based upon the ethic of love. In the Qur'an one finds teachings that range from the most elementary ("be sure to knock on the door before entering") to the most sublime.

 Eid Murbarak: The Blessed Celebration

No discussion of Ramadan would be complete without describing the celebrations that take place each day at sunset, and also at the conclusion of the 30-day fasting period. Ramadan is not a time of repentance like Lent (which commemorates Jesus' 40 days of struggle against temptation in the desert); it is a time of celebration, like the birth of Christ for Christians. When the sun sets, a Muslim is supposed to go to the mosque or to his home and break fast with prayers and special food. Traditionally, Muslims break fast by eating dates and drinking water or milk (as the Prophet is said to have done). There is then a time of prayer, followed by a sumptuous feast called iftar.

It was my privilege to celebrate iftar at various mosques and also at the home of a Muslim family. I came to know this family through some peace activities I was involved with. When I showed up at a special meeting called by our city's mayor, I met a woman from Kashmir who had just joined the Cultural Affairs Commission. I invited her to speak at one of our Quaker events, and we began meeting to discuss ways of raising awareness about Muslim culture. Soon a friendship developed.

When my wife and I were invited to her house, I realized that it was the first time I had ever been in the home of a Muslim and experienced Muslim hospitality. Soon after the sun set, we broke fast by eating various fruits and drinking sugared tea (sugar helps to restore one's energy). After some prayers, we ate a feast consisting of various curry dishes and some special foods from Kashmir. The evening was spent in a wide-ranging conversation about everything from religion and politics to family life and customs.

On Sunday, Dec. 17, 2001, the final day of Ramadan, I went with this family to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr (one of Islam’s two major holidays). When I arrived at their home, I was greeted with Eid Mubarak ("Blessed celebration"). For morning prayers, we drove to a sports arena at the Fair Grounds in Costa Mesa. An estimated 14,000 Muslims gathered for this event—of all nationalities and colors, including many Anglo converts. The men and women went their separate ways. We men entered a large hall and lined up facing the north (the direction of Mecca). There were large screen TVs so that we could see the speaker. The mood was somber, but there were also signs of hope.

<Muslim-Quaker Relations: An Historical Overview and Prospects for the Future

During my conversations with Muslims about spirituality and religion, I also began to reflect on the history of our relations with the Islamic world. Since the Crusades, the history of Muslim-Christian relations has of course been extremely problematic, but how have we as a Religious Society related to Muslims, and what part can we play during what some have called the "clash of civilizations"?

The first Quaker contact with Muslims occurred during the 17th century when Quaker missionaries went out over the whole world, including Islamic nations, to share their vision of the Inward Light and Universal Truth. Some of the these valiant missionaries were women like Mary Fisher who voyaged to Turkey to tell the Sultan and his Court about "the Truth." When she was asked what she thought of Mohammed, she replied "that she knew him not, but Christ enlightened every man who came into the world. Him she knew...And concerning Mahomet,' she said, 'they might judge him false or true according to the words and prophecies he spoke."8 The Turks acknowledged this to be a reasonable response, and she was well treated. In fact, she was treated far better in Turkey than she would have been treated in New England during this same period, where being a Quaker was punishable by imprisonment, flogging, or death.

Throughout the 17th century, Muslims and Christians engaged what today would be called "low intensity warfare." They sometimes captured each other's ships and made slaves of their captives, subjecting them to cruel treatment. It therefore seems remarkable-indeed almost miraculous-that a Quaker named Thomas Lurting successfully used non-violent means to avoid being sold into slavery when he and his crew were captured by Turks in the year 1663. Since this extraordinary story is not widely known, even among Quakers, it is worth retelling in some detail.9

Instead of resisting his Turkish captors, Lurting responded with friendliness and cooperation. He was so courteous, and so fearless, that the Turks were lulled into a false sense of security. When an opportunity presented itself, Lurting's men wanted to attack and kill the Turks, but Lurting replied, "If I knew any one of them that offered to touch a Turk, I would tell the Turk myself." A convinced Quaker, Lurting resolved to overcome the Turks without shedding one drop of blood.

On the second night, after the Turkish captain had retired, it began to rain. Lurting persuaded each of the Turkish guards to go to sleep. When they were all asleep, he took their weapons. At this point, the Christian crew again wanted to butcher the Turks, but Lurting insisted that no blood be spilled. They then sailed to Majorca in Spain. When the Turks realized what had happened, they were afraid that they would be sold into slavery and begged for mercy. Lurting assured the Turks that he would hide them so they would not be found by the Spaniards.

When the Turks realized that these peculiar English Christians would not hurt or enslave them, they became willing to help. Lurting gave them free run of the ship, which caused some of the English sailors to grumble. The Quaker replied, "They are strangers. I must treat them well."

When the ship reached a place near a Muslim town about fifty miles from Algiers, Lurting let the Turks loose on shore and even provided them with bread and other necessities. On shore, Lurting wrote, "the Turks all embraced me very kindly."

This story was published and became widely known in England. Perhaps this is what the William Penn (Quaker leader and son of a well-known English admiral) had in mind when he wrote: "Let us try what love can do, for if people see that we do love, they would not harm us." This non-violent approach is one that Quakers have used-and have tried to teach-for the past three hundred years in various situations of conflict.

AS the Turkish (Ottoman) empire declined during the 19th century, the European powers colonized much of the Middle East. The rise and fall of European colonial powers created many problems for the Muslim world, and gave Quakers unique opportunities for putting their non-violent mission into practice.

"Missionaries are peacemakers," wrote Quaker scholar, activist, and mystic Rufus Jones. He was commenting on a journey that his uncle and aunt Eli and Sibyl Jones made to the Holy Land in 1869. While in Jerusalem, the Jones' perceived the need for a girls' school and returned to New England to raise funds for this mission. In 1889, a Quaker school for Palestinian girls was started in the village of Ramallah, ten miles north of Jerusalem. This school was expanded to include boys in 1901, and eventually included a baby clinic and Friends Meeting (the only one to exist in Palestine).

"These little schools taught many things besides reading and writing and arithmetic," wrote Christina H. Jones (no relation) whose husband became principal of the school in 1942. "They were centers of light and love and healing."10 Numerous young American Quakers came to teach at Ramallah, thank to the Mary R. G. Williams Award, which was jointly administered by the American Friends Mission Board in Richmond, Indiana, and the American Friends Service Committee. The Ramallah Friends School now has over 950 students who receive an education in English and Arabic. Sad to say, during the Christmas holidays in 2001 the school was accidentally bombed by Israelis using weapons made in the USA. No one was hurt, but there was over $20,000 worth of damages.

The American Friends Service Committee (which was started to provide alternative service for conscientious objectors during World War I) undertook relief work in Syria in 1920 when a British missionary named Daniel Oliver appealed to the AFSC for food and clothing aid. The French had bought up most of the grain and shipped it to France, leaving the Syrians with serious shortages. The AFSC responded to the Syrian need and continued its relationship with Oliver until his death in 1952.11 (To find out more about AFSC and its work, click here.)

In 1948, under the auspices of the United Nations, the AFSC established the Gaza Strip program to provide food, clothing, tents and medical care to the 250,00 Palestinian Arab refugees. The AFSC later worked under the auspices of the Israeli government to establish a similar program to help Palestinian Arabs in Western Galilee.

Because the American Friends Service Committee aided both Jewish and Palestinian refugees, and because Quakers were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1948, they came to be widely trusted by all parties in this highly volatile region. During the final days of the "British mandate" in 1948, an AFSC staff person nearly became mayor of Jerusalem. It was hoped at this time that a "Peace of God" could be effected at least in Jerusalem, which was holy to Jews, Moslems, and Christian. Clarence Pickett, then executive secretary of the AFSC, was asked to become municipal commissioner or mayor, but was unable to accept the assignment. Harold Evans, an AFSC Board member, was selected to do so. He arrived in the Middle East to undertake the assignment but by the time he left to do so the State of Israel had been proclaimed, the British mandate had ended and the situation had deteriorated into war between the Israelis and Arabs. Evans was unable to carry out his assignment due to the level of violence which ensued.12

After the state of Israel was established, the AFSC undertook numerous relief and peace-making efforts in the region. In the 1950s, the AFSC established the Acre Neighborhood Center and the Tur'an Village development program in conjunction with the Israeli government. From 1951-57, the AFSC ran work camps with Israeli Jews and Arabs participating along with an international group.

When two young Israelis crossed the Syrian border accidentally and were detained, Albert Einstein, who knew the family of one of the boys, appealed to Clarence Pickett for help. Pickett contacted Daniel Oliver who negotiated with Syrian authorities and was successful in having the young people returned to Israel.

Other AFSC activities in this period included: a village development project in Jordan (1953-56), a relief program for canal zone refugees during the Suez crisis (1956-57), a relief program in Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War (1958).

After the June 1967 war, the AFSC stepped up its peace-making missions. It sponsored discussions, seminars and various forms of information exchanges between Israelis and Arab countries (primarily Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt). It also produced studies, such as Search for Peace in the Middle East (1970) and Compassionate Peace (1982), which explored the roots of conflict and encouraged the politics of reconciliation. The AFSC also sponsored many dialogues between Palestinians and Israelis to help build understanding and trust. In 1973 the AFSC started a legal aid center in East Jerusalem to help Arab residents who became subject to Israeli law after annexation of East Jerusalem following the June 1967 war.

From 1977-81 AFSC continued its humanitarian work through a program to help persons with developmental disabilities, particularly the mentally challenged. This program was undertaken under a agreement with Ben Gurion University of the Negev. In 1988, AFSC initiated a hands-on physical therapy for patients with polio, congenital problems, accident or work-related injuries and for trauma patients. It helped the Islamic University of Gaza (IUG) to develop a technology center that is assisting low-vision or blind college students and others to use computers, to break through their double isolation—living in Gaza, cut off from the rest of the world, and the isolation caused by their physical inability to see.

The Gulf War inspired British and American Friend to provide funds and material assistance to the Gulf region. Many Friends have actively campaigned to end the Iraqi sanctions and worked with both Palestinian and Israeli peace activists to promote a just and compassionate peace in this region.

Not only the AFSC, but individual Friends have also traveled to the Middle East and worked for peace and justice. Among them is a veteran Quaker peace activist from Santa Barbara, California, named Gene Hoffman. When Gene first went to Israel in the 1960s with her family, she felt great admiration for the Israelis and wanted her children to spend time on a kibbutz. But by 1980, the scene in Israel had changed dramatically. "Israel was heavily armed, frightened, defensive, and persecuting the Palestinians," wrote Gene. "What had happened to this promising nation and its people to cause it to become so bellicose?"13

Using techniques she had learned in counseling, Gene listened deeply to the Israeli and Palestinian point of view. She found that the practice of listening non-judgmentally helped to create a climate of understanding (if not agreement). Her interviews and reflections appeared in articles and in pamphlets called Pieces of the Mideast Puzzle (1991) and No Royal Road to Reconciliation (1995). In Gene's view, traditional advocacy work tended to focus on one side of the conflict and led to polarization. What was needed, Gene felt, was a new approach. She called it "compassionate listening." (To find out more about Gene's work and compassionate listening, click here.)

When American planes bombed Libyan civilians and Qadaffi's home and family in Tripoli, Gene wrote a personal letter to Quadaffi telling him that she "grieved for the suffering that we cause him his people, urged him to explore a nonviolent response, and said I hope one day to listen to his grievances." He thanked her for her concern. 14

Three years later, when American planes downed two Libyan planes, Gene was invited by Virginia Baron, editor of Fellowship Magazine, to go to Libya with an FOR delegation. She and her delegation gathered a wealth of information about the Libyan people and their views, but when they returned to the United States, they discovered that the government was not interested in their hearing about their experiences. Because of her interest in the Middle East, and particularly the question of terrorism, Gene was invited to join a delegation from the American Friends Service Committee to meet Yasser Arafat in 1992.

Gene's most important contribution to Middle East peacemaking efforts has been in the field of "compassionate listening." In 1996, she began mentoring a woman named Leah Green who was Director of the Middle East Program for Earthstewards Network. They did a pilot project together in November, 1996. Leah now regularly uses Gene's compassionate listening techniques when she brings groups to Israel to learn about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Of her work, Leah writes:

In the last decade, hundreds of American participants have listened to thousands of Israelis and Palestinians with the intention of discovering the human being behind the stereotype. No one has declined a listening session with us. We've sat with people in homes, offices, streets, refugee camps, the Israeli prime minister's office, the Palestinian president's office, and on military bases. We've listened to settlers, sheikhs, mayors, rabbis, students, Bedouin, peace activists, and terrorists. We've learned that it is easy to listen to people with whom we agree. It's when we listen to those with whom we disagree, those we hold as our "enemies," that listening becomes a challenge.15

Helping people in conflict to become compassionate listeners may be one of Quakerism's most important contributions to peacemaking.

The Current Situation

When I first heard about the tragedy of September 11th , I was working on an article about Gene Hoffman. Her insights into the causes of terrorism (as well as how to "cure" it) seemed extraordinarily relevant. In the early 1990s she wrote:

Some time ago, I recognized that terrorists were people who had grievances, who thought their grievances would never be heard and certainly never addressed. Later, I saw that all parties to every conflict were wounded, and that at the heart of every act of violence was an unhealed wound. I began to search for ways we peace people might help to heal these violence-causing wounds.

It has become commonplace to think of terrorists as either deranged or evil. But many Quakers feel otherwise. As Jeannie Graves, a Friend from Orange County, put it: "We believe that there is 'that of God' in terrorists. We hate what the terrorists do, and we are sorry they don't recognize God in others."16

As editor of a Quaker publication, I received many articles and minutes relating to the war against terrorism-all of them calling for a non-violent response. One of the best summaries of the Quaker response to events such as those of September 11th came from Steve Smith, the clerk of Southern California Quarterly Meeting:

Quakerism itself arose in a time of war-a civil war that swirled around the young, charismatic movement-and Friends paradoxically flourished in the midst of this conflict and violence. Historically, Friends have been at their best in times of crisis and threat: reaching out to those in need, calling for restraint and forgiveness, working for justice, seeking to 'live in virtue of that life and power that takes away the occasion for all war.'

When the bombing campaign was launched against Afghanistan, an exhibit called "Quiet Helpers" opened in Whittier, California, my home town. This exhibit, which was created by the Germans, depicts the relief work that the Quakers did in Germany after World War I and II. This work earned Quakers not only the enduring gratitude of the German people, but also the Nobel Prize for peace.

The exhibit clearly demonstrates an important lesson that we as a nation need to re-learn-the power of compassion in transforming an enemy into a friend and ally. After WW II, Germany and Japan were regarded by many as pariah or "rogue" states, much like Iraq, Iran, Libya, Afghanistan, etc. After the horrors of WW II, many saw Germans and Japanese as evil and beyond redemption and felt that they should be punished with reparations, as happened after WWI. But wiser heads (and hearts) prevailed. The Quakers and others did relief work which showed that Americans truly cared. Eventually the Marshall Plan was instituted, massive relief and development aid was given to our "enemies," and the societies of Japan and Germany were re-built. This was the wisest investment that the United States ever made. Today we count Japan and Germany as our strongest allies.

Many Friends feel that we should adopt a similar policy towards the Muslim world. Instead of sending military aid to countries in the Middle East that are corrupt, despotic, or engaged in human rights violations or illegal occupation, we should send significant amounts of humanitarian aid to show them that we care deeply for them as people and we are not their enemy. To set an example, Friends gathered thousands of blankets and donated funds to help Afghan refugees.

The power of compassion should not be underestimated. That was the lesson clearly evident from "Quiet Helpers." As Friends, we hope that our fellow Americans will take this lesson to heart and (to use the words of the Quaker William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania) "try what love can do"

Visioning A World Without "Holy War"

I continue to fast one day a week, and to seek Divine Guidance about what to do next to avert war in the Middle East and other hot spots. As the shadow of war and terrorism continues to loom large, as bombs fall and innocent civilians are killed, as millions of refugees hunker down in squalid camps, as Iraqi children perish of malnutrition caused by economic sanctions, as Palestinians and Israelis slaughter each other in the name of religion and/or nationalism, and as the Muslim masses grows increasingly enraged at America's role as global sheriff, it is easy to fall prey to fears of unending war and impending environmental catastrophe.

The "worst case scenarios" are deeply disturbing. Excessively aggressive US military actions could cause popular uprisings in countries like Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. If extremist regimes were to come to power and threaten oil supplies in the Gulf region, European and American leaders might see no alternative but to launch an all-out war, causing countless deaths and unimaginable environmental damage. In retaliation, terrorists might feel impelled to unleash biological destruction. War-weary Americans might well resort to nuclear retaliation. Such could be the bleak history of the next century.

During the midst of another century of religious war and bloodshed, where apocalyptic visions were common, George Fox had a vision of what he called the "ocean of darkness." In this ocean, he saw all the vanities and sins of the world-including the world's religions-contending for dominance like monsters of the deep.

But then he looked beyond this Ocean of Darkness and saw the Ocean of Light-the light of God's love and grace, healing and bringing order out of chaos. He realized that history is not controlled by human folly and sin, but by a Divine Power that resides within and beyond us.

Looked at this way, history does not appear quite so bleak. One sees that every major effort on the part of Evil to destroy Good has backfired. The Nazis planned to eradicate not only the Jewish people, but also the very memory of Jewish culture. This nefarious plan failed utterly. Today the Jewish people are thriving, and even have their own homeland. Chinese communists tried to extirpate Tibetan Buddhism and "modernize" Tibet, killing millions of Tibetans as a result. But this act of evil only succeeded in spreading Tibetan Buddhism throughout the world and has made the Dalai Lama one of the world's most respected spiritual leaders. Europeans and Arabs engaged in one of history's greatest evils-the slave trade. Tens of millions of Africans were torn from their homeland, stripped of their language and culture, and treated like animals. Less than hundred and fifty years later, however, these oppressed people had created a new and vibrant culture, composed of European and African elements, that has exerted a vivifying influence on music, art, and literature throughout the world.

One of Evil's major failures occurred at the beginning of the Second Millennium, when Europeans imagined that God was calling them to attack the Muslims and conquer the holy city of Jerusalem. The use of religion to sanction war was undoubtedly one of history's greatest evils.

While conducting their "holy war" in the Middle East, the Crusaders hoped to convert the Muslims to Christianity, but things turned out quite differently from what they expected. Instead of converting the Muslims, the Christians were themselves changed as they came into contact with highly advanced Islamic civilizations and took back to Europe some of the great Islamic achievements in literature, philosophy, music, and mathematics. The influence of Islamic culture helped to foster the European renaissance.

Some pundits, such as Samuel Huntington, have argued that we are in the midst of a deadly "clash of civilizations." Clashes between civilizations or cultures may be inevitable, but they need not entail violence or war. Reflection upon the folly of past wars may lead people to appreciate rather than fear cultural differences.

My experience as an English professor suggests that unexpected good can come out of conflict, if we see it as an educational opportunity. In 1991, when I was teaching a world literature survey course at a state university, the Gulf War began; and I felt an obligation to introduce students to the literature of Islam. I was appalled to find that the standard anthology of world literature in use at that time contained no selections from Islamic literature and its only reference to Islam was a slighting comment that "Mohamedanism" kept Christian Europe "on the alert" during the Middle Ages. To educate my students about the importance of Islamic culture, I photocopied selections from the Qur'an as well as writings by Rumi, Al Ghazali, etc. Within a year after the end of the Gulf War, world literature texts were dramatically revised to include much of the material that I had selected. Today most anthologies contain generous selections from Islamic literature along with well-written commentaries by Islamic scholars. Edward Said, a Palestinian scholar who became President of the prestigious Modern Language Association in 1999, has helped to raise consciousness about the Middle East.

Based on recent history, there is reason to believe that we will soon see a blossoming of Arab and Islamic literature and culture in the United States. Despite outbreaks of racism and xenophobia, the USA is deeply committed to multiculturalism and pluralism, and has been for quite some time. To give a few examples: prior to World War II, prejudice and anti-Semitism relegated Jews to a minor role in academia and the literary scene, but after the Holocaust, a "Jewish renaissance" occurred in the United States, with a host of gifted Jewish writers gaining prominence during the 1950s. Since the 1960s African-American writers and scholars have both challenged and become part of America's cultural and intellectual main stream. During subsequent decades, feminist, Native American, Chicano, and Asian-American writers have emerged from the margins and found their niche both in academia and popular culture. In the wake of September 11th, books by and about Muslims are selling briskly. It is clearly time for Muslim American writers and poets to make their voices heard in American society.

As interest in Islam grows in the United States and around the world, we have the opportunity to end misunderstandings that go back at least a Millennium. Here I would urge us to engage in a process recommended by the Quaker sociologist Elise Boulding. She calls it "visioning a world without war." I suggest that we take time to visualize what the world would be like if the conflicts among Jews, Muslims, and Christians were to be resolved without violence... and then ask ourselves: what steps can we take to make this vision a reality?

Ending inter-religious conflicts will not be easy, but it was not easy to end the Cold War, either. Reconciliation will require the work of countless "ordinary" people-willing to reach out beyond their comfort zones to build bridges of understanding and friendship. It will require the work of scholars and religious leaders willing to listen to each other and to find common ground. Finally, it will require the work of enlightened political leaders willing to take risks to create a compassionate and just peace in the Middle East.

With Divine Assistance, and with people of good will, anything is possible. The Berlin Wall fell because people of the East and West were no longer willing to let politics divide them. When people refuse to let religion divide them, Jerusalem will become truly a city of peace, a city where people of all faiths can worship and live together as God intends, with equality and justice for all. This is the vision that we need to hold in the Light and work to make an actuality.

1 Please note that while the word "Quaker" and "Friend" are commonly used interchangeably, "Quaker" is actually a nickname and "Friend" the proper name for a member of this religious group.

2 Michener wrote an article with this title in the 1950s for Readers Digest; it has recently been reprinted by a Muslim group as a pamphlet.

3 Piece of the Mideast Puzzle: Israelis and Palestinians. Pax Christi: Erie, PA, 1991, p. 13.

4 A director of Christian-Muslim relations of the National Council of Churches for many years, Spreight lived in northern Africa from 1951-1979, where he learned first-hand about Christian-Muslim dialogue.

5 "Heart of a Muslim," Yes! A Journal of Positive Futures, Winter 2002: 18.

6 A professor at Haverford, an historically Quaker college, Sells is respected in scholarly circles for his work on pre-Islamic Arabic poetry (Desert Tracings: Six Classical Arabian Odes., 1989) and Early Islamic Mysticism (1996). He has also written about the political situation in Bosnia (The Bridge Betrayed: Religion and Genocide in Bosnia, 1996).

7 Born in 1872 in Surat, India, Ali was the son of a wealthy merchant who encouraged his son's interest in religion. During the course of his Islamic education, Ali memorized the entire Qur'an-a remarkable feat, but not uncommon among scholars in the Muslim world. Ali also received the best British education available at the time in India and won the highly competitive Indian Civil Service Award. Regarded as one of India's best writers of English, Ali traveled widely throughout Europe and returned to India to become dean of the Islamic College in Lahore. There he undertook the formidable task of translating and commenting on the Qu'ran-which he completed in 1934.

8 Quoted by Howard Brinton in Friends for 300 Years, p. 159.

9 I am indebted to David Perkins, a Friend from Arizona, for sharing this Lurting's pamphlet with me.

10 Daisy Newman, A Processions of Friends, Friends United Press: Richmond, Indiana, 1972, p. 225.

11 Kathy Bergen, AFSC Middle East program director, deserves thanks for providing information regarding the AFSC's work in this region.

12 A detailed account of this mission can be found in Daisy Newman's A Procession of Friends, pp. 222-223.

13 "Trauma: Tragedy or New Creation," Harmony: Voices for a Just Future, p. 7.

14 "Listening to the Libyans," Pax Christi, Fall, 1989.

15 Yes! Magazine, Winter 2001.

16 "Quakers agonizing over nation's new war" by Carol McGraw. The Seattle Times, Sunday, Nov. 11, p. 13. Originally published in The Orange County Register.