Bringing different faiths together at Jerusalem Y

• Interfaith understanding gains steam since Sept. 11

By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Religion & Ethics Writer

When Rizek Abusharr was asked if he'd seen any fighting at the Jerusalem International YMCA, he told the eighth-graders at Iolani, "Of course!" But, he then added, the fighting was between members of the same faith, over silly kid things, such as whether one boy really did lift 50 kilos of weights, or who should pick up a ping-pong ball that rolled under the table. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser 'Universal Gathering for Peace' Guest speaker Rizek Abusharr, a Palestinian Christian and retired director of the Jerusalem International YMCA, will discuss that agency's role in bringing Christians, Jews and Muslims together in that war-torn city. 4:30 p.m. Sunday Tenney Theater, Queen Emma Square Free 949-2220, Church of the Crossroads Also: He'll be at a presentation at 10 a.m. tomorrow at Church of the Crossroads; at 7 p.m. Sabbath services that night at Temple Emanu-El; and will give the sermon at St. Andrew's Cathedral at 8 a.m. Sunday and at 10:30 a.m. at Church of the Crossroads.

Rizek Abusharr, the retired director of the Jerusalem International YMCA, an institution much honored for its attempts to remain neutral in a land known for violent polarization, took a moment Tuesday as he looked around the combined classes of world cultures and geography at Iolani School to soak it all in.

Yes, he was in his element.

"Youth are going to be the leaders in the near future," Abusharr said earlier, explaining why he had visits to two schools on his busy agenda for this, his first visit to Hawai'i.

This pioneer in the field of interfaith tolerance — whose programs include teaching Jews, Christians and Muslim youth to play together in a "peace preschool" as well as on the soccer field — continues to plant the seeds as he takes his message on the road.

In Hawai'i on the week marking the second anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attacks, he will appear before several congregations to talk about peacemaking.

Over Labor Day, Abusharr was the guest speaker for the Islamic Society of North America gathering in Chicago. After Hawai'i, he heads to Washington, D.C., where he'll meet with senators on the foreign operations appropriation subcommittee.

"He's done an amazing thing," said Margaret Brown of the Hawai'i chapter of Friends of Sabeel, one of the organizations who invited him here. "Peace in Israel-Palestine is peace in the world."

Under Abusharr's leadership, the Jerusalem International YMCA was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. (The next year, Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin won.)

YMCA of Honolulu president Don Anderson said Abusharr is the best kind of leader: "In my book, he and his wife, Alice, are real heroes. ... (The Jerusalem Y) is where Jews, Arabs and Christians gather and interact. Just pulling that off is an amazing feat."

The 50-shekel note of Israel once carried a picture of the Jerusalem Y on it, he notes: "That's the universal respect that organization has. ... One of the keys to being effective as a peacemaker is not to choose sides. It's tempting to become partisan in a contentious environment. That Y had done a wonderful job of retaining neutrality."

The timing for this visit to Hawai'i was fortuitous, too.

"Sept. 11 has made an attitude change in the USA," said Abusharr, an Episcopalian. "I hope it does not deteriorate feelings against others."

The Y offers language classes for adults, as well as after-school programs and preschool classes where the makeup of the students and the staff, by design, are a third Jewish, a third Christian and a third Muslim.

Bringing together the different faiths allows people to unlearn prejudices, explained Abusharr.

"The community looks at us and sees, 'Hey, it works!'" he said. "It's possible for all to work together, to serve the community ... without regards to creed, color or faith."

But back to the questions at hand. Abusharr fields a question from 13-year-old Jonathan Edon: How was he was inspired to join the YMCA in the first place.

The assembled group of eighth-graders leans forward as if on reeled in on a fishing line when Abusharr begins to tell the story about himself as a young boy, cleaning up around the Y after a war.

It was 1946, and he and a group of about seven boys had been asked to help clear the grounds. Afterward, the Y worker who invited them said, "Now you're dirty, have a shower and a swim."

"Back then, you know, boys didn't wear clothes to swim," he added, as the eighth-graders looked at each other and giggled.

After the shower, the young Abusharr took his first-ever swim in a pool. The worker then fed the boys a meal, and they went home.

Without them knowing it, the fellow invited a group of Jewish boys the next day to do the same thing. And on the third day, he invited both groups to work together.

"It had such an effect on me, I made it my life's work," said Abusharr, "using activities to bring people together."

His message has reverberations.

"In that region of the Middle East, we should not take full sides. We should be pro-justice, pro-peace for the regions. Why? Because we in the Mideast can cause an explosion you could hear even in Hawai'i."

Interfaith understanding gains steam since Sept. 11

In the two years since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, people in O'ahu's religious community have been reaching out to people of different faith backgrounds.

This movement toward interfaith understanding has advanced on several fronts. For example:

• The Believers All Network was just an idea before Sept. 11, 2001. "After Sept. 11, it became a reality," said Saleem Ahmed, author of "Beyond Veil and Holy War." "It awakened the consciousness of people to try to understand Islam. ... People are talking more openly about Islam and asking questions. You could say there is an open dialogue. I would say this open interchange might not have happened if not for Sept. 11."
• Lectures on interfaith issues drew hundreds, something unheard of before Sept. 11. For example, "Finding Common Ground: An Evening of Spiritual Understanding," with leaders from a variety of faiths explaining their religion, drew nearly 250 people to Punahou School in May. Similar topics discussed at the University of Hawai'i also lured big crowds.
• A local chapter of the Friends of Sabeel, a group primarily focused on Jewish-Christian-Muslim dialogue, was started by the Rev. Vaughn Beckman.
• The Interfaith Alliance came into being last October. Today, it has at least 35 active members.

"People are realizing that if we work together in a diverse community, we have to be able to work together as diverse faiths," Beckman said.