Islam - Part III

With Dr. Nafez Nazzal - February 28, 2006

FIVE BASIC BELIEFS OF ISLAM

1) The Oneness of God: God is one and only one and has no partner. There is no one like God. The Qur’an lists ninety-nine attributes of God such as God is merciful, compassionate...etc. Allah expects believers to have a direct relationship with God.

2) Doctrine of the Angels of God: There exists an unknown number of angels that are created of light, and endowed with life, speech and reason. The angels are free from carnal desires and from the disturbance of anger. Their food is to celebrate God’s glory. Their drink is to proclaim God’s holiness. Their conversation is to commemorate God. Their pleasure to worship God.

Angels are created in different forms and with different powers. Islam teaches that there are four arch angels: 1. Michael who is the angel of rain, 2. Israfiel who is the angel who will announce the advent of the resurrection, 3. Azrail who is the angel of death, and 4. Gabriel, the angel who revealed to Muhammad the word of Allah, the Qur’an.

Islam teaches that there are two angels who accompany each human individual from birth to death. One angel is positioned on the right shoulder whose obligation it is to record the good deeds performed by the individual. The other angel who sits on the left shoulder has the obligation to record the individual’s bad deeds. The day of judgement is based upon a combination of one’s beliefs and one’s deeds.

3) The Scriptures of God: Islam teaches that God through the diverse ages of the world gave revelations of His will in books to several prophets. The number of these sacred books is said to be 104. Ten books were given to Adam, fifty books were given to Seth, thirty books were given in Arabic to Idris (Enoch), ten books were given to Abraham, four books known as the Pentateuch were given to Moses, the book of Psalms were given to David, the Gospel was given to Jesus, and finally, the Qur’an was revealed to Muhammad.

Further, Islam teaches that these books were ALL lost except the last four. Islam gives no credit to the present copies of the Pentateuch, the Psalms, nor the Gospel as they believe these books have undergone many alterations and corruptions, though there might possibly be some parts of these books that are the true Word of God. The real test is based on whether or not the content of these books is mentioned in the Qur’an. If it is mentioned in the Qur’an, then it is the true Word of God. Since there is no mention of the crucifixion of Jesus in the Qur’an, this event is judged to be not the true Word. Islam holds that the Qur’an contains the only final true Word of Allah (God).

4) The Apostles of God: Islam teaches that there were 313 prophets, of which only 25 are to be remembered and are mentioned in the Qur’an. The list of prophets is: Adam, Noah, Heber, Methuselah, Lot, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Jethro, Aaron, Moses, David, Solomon, Job, Isaiah, Jonah, Elias, Elijah, Zechariah, John the Baptist, Jesus, and Muhammad. All prophets are understood to have been born and died. About Jesus, Islam teaches He is the only prophet who did not die, but rather ascended into heaven directly; that Jesus was born to a Virgin (Mary), that His birth was a miracle, that Jesus performed miracles (unlike Muhammad), that someone like Jesus was crucified, but not Jesus; Muslims do not accept that God would require such a sacrifice and would not have a prophet suffer in such a way. Muslims believe that Jesus is in heaven with God as a prophet of God and that one of the signs of the Judgement Day is the return of Jesus.

5) Belief in the Resurrection (Judgement): Islam teaches that birth and death are related to the will of God. We are born, we live, and we die according to God’s will. When we die Islam teaches that at upon burial two angels interrogate the dead regarding their belief. When the interrogation is complete the separation of the spirit and the body occurs and that the spirit of the dead remains among us, but that the body decays until the day of the Judgement when we are resurrected both bodily and spiritually and the soul and body are reunited. Everyone goes through the process of judgement including the prophets. All the believers (not just Muslims) will go to heaven. Islam teaches that the final judgement is up to God, a belief that is not understood by all Muslims.

FIVE RITUALS OF ISLAM (Ibadat)

There are five rituals which are the implementation of the five beliefs.

1. "Shahadah" - which is to declare, witness, to stipulate that "there is no God but God and Muhammad is His prophet."

2. "Salat" - prayers which consist of five sets of prayers each day - morning, noon, high noon, sunset, dusk. Muslims pray facing in the direction of Mecca, the birthplace of Muhammad.

3. "Saum" - fasting from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan which is the ninth month of the Muslim Calendar and the month during which the first revelation was received by Muhammad. The fast is broken at end with a feast and visiting with families.

4. "Zakah" - alms giving, a practice required of all Muslims when total wealth is calculated and two and a half percent given to the poor. Or one can to the "wakf," a Muslim fund for helping the poor through many kinds of community projects.

5. "Hajj" - to make a pilgrimage to Mecca once in a lifetime if you can afford it and are in good health AND you have FIRST helped your family members or neighbours who is in need.

CONTINUED.... Islam Part II

With Dr. Nafez Nazzal - February 28, 2006

For Muslims, Muhammad is the embodied virtues of Islam such as piety, patience, humour, kindness, and generosity. Muhammad is considered to be the last of the prophets sent or chosen by God. When Muslims gather they often rally around the words "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet." Some Muslims suggest that this "muntra" inappropriately places Muhammad over and above all other prophets in importance, a positioning not intended in the Qur’an.

Followers of Islam are sensitive to the traditional views put forth by western scholars and teachers that Muhammad stands outside of the tradition of the prophets, that he was untruthful concerning the revelations given to him by God, and that he performed no miracles. From the Muslim perspective the great miracle of Humammad is his receiving and passing on the word of God in the Qur’an. At times western writers place undue emphasize on the fact that Muhammad was human, fallible and subject to every discreditable misfortune, accusing Muhammad of being a dreamer, a poet, and of fabricating the Qur’an to suit his needs and requirement in order to indulge his own sexual desires (because he married 14 times). Some writers have gone as far as to suggest that Muhammad’s success was due to his ability to organize, establish teaching, create a financial structure and to arbitrate tribal matters, and not due to his revelation of God nor God’s guidance.

If Muslims generally understand this to be the western view of Islam today, it is no wonder they have grown sensitive to most statements or media portrayal of Islam imposed from outside of Islam.

Celebrations of barmitzvah for dozens of Jewish adolescent boys at the "western wall" today. A great time for family and friends. The boy is invited to read from the Torah scrolls for the first time in public.  

The Great Synagogue of Jerusalem. 

Tomb of Yitzhak Rabin who was assassinated while serving as Prime Minsiter of Israel in 1995. Located in Mount Herzl Park, Jerusalem. 

The "old city" located in the centre of Hebron. The Palestinian population in the city centre has dwindled from 10,000 to 1,000. There are 400 Jewish settlers living in four small settlements in the city centre guarded by 1,800 Israeli soldiers.

This is Bill and Mary. They are two members of a Christian Peacmakers Team stationed in Hebron to observe activities and to provide safe passage for Palestian children to and from school each day. 

Abraham's burial site in the mosque/synagogue in Hebron. 

This is the mosque where in 1995 a Jewish doctor from New York shot and killed 29 Muslims while they prayed. The Israeli authorities have now divided the building in half to provide a synagogue on the left and a mosque on the right. Buried inside are Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Leah, and Rebecca which makes this a very holy site for all three world religions. 

This is the market in Hebron where, earlier this month, the Israeli army forcibly removed seven ultra-orthodox Jewish families who had illegally occupied a building. 

Children in Hebron looking for some attention. 

Meeting Elias

Today provided the marvellous experience of meeting Elias. Elias is a student at Bethlehem University. He is Palestinian and also Christian. He and his family worship at a Baptist Church in Bethlehem even though originally, his mother was Catholic and his father was Orthodox. Elias helps to run a youth group at his church and is presently organizing a youth conference for Palestinian Christian youth. Elias and his family welcomed me into their home with warm and gracious hospitality.

Elias has an interesting story to tell about being Palestinian and what it is like to have been born in Bethlehem and to still live in Bethlehem. He has seen many changes in his short lifetime. He shares that he used to be filled with the hope of a great future. Just not so long ago in 2000 he felt that there was no better place to live than Bethlehem. Then the second intifada begin and every aspect of life changed. He is uncertain about his own future and that of the Palestinian people. He does his best to hang on to the hope that there will be gradual improvements in the living conditions.

At present, travel restrictions cause significant hardship. Since Israel is unilaterally establishing its borders by building a security wall / fence and the state is taking whatever land it wants or feels it needs. Elias' own family have been separated from 10 acres of land which is now on the wrong side of the security wall. This land which used to grow olives is now under the concrete of a new Israeli settlement.

When the second intifada began in 2000 Elias was sixteen. He remembers soldiers commandeering his family house so they could have the element of surprise against youth who threw stones at soldiers every day between 10 am and 3 pm. It was tactically successful as they managed to shoot approximately fifteen youth that day from the second floor of his family home. He recalls being under 24 hour curfew along with the rest of the population of Bethlehem in 2003 while the Nativity Church was occupied by resistance fighters and persons seeking refuge. They ran out of food, had no water, no electricity and were confined as a family of nine in one room below street level to avoid intended or stray bullets and mortar shells. Elias remembers fearfully hiding behind mattresses in the corner of the one room and wishing his life would end.

Elias is making something of his life. He is studying psychology and hopes to pursue graduate studies in a yet to be chosen area. He has visited Northern Ireland and South Africa as a participant in special projects that seek solutions to conflict situations. At a conference on non-violent solutions for justice held in Bethlehem, Elias met to his surprise an Israeli student. On a visit to see his sister in Jerusalem last Christmas Elias called this Israeli Jewish student who subsequently invited Elias to his family home also in Jerusalem. Elias accepted the invitation although they both knew this was risky because one never knows who may be passing information along to security forces. They know that too many persons disappear in the night after visits from the IDF. Elias described this as no minor miracle of God that a Palestinian from Bethlehem sat with a fellow Jew in Jerusalem in friendship.

The Prophet Muhammad

With Dr. Nafez Nazzal - February 24, 2006

The name "Muhammad" means "highly praised." It was and still is a name widely used in pre and post Islam. Muhammad was born in Mecca in the year 570AD. He belonged to the tribe of Quraysh, and the clan of Hashim. It was a reputable but impoverished family. Muhammad was orphaned when his father died before he was born and by his mother’s death when he was six years of age. He developed into a capable and honest merchant in Mecca but remained illiterate.

He worked for a business woman called "Khadija" and she liked him and trusted him. She proposed to him and they married when he was 25 and she was 40. They bored six children, all of whom died but one daughter.Khadji was his boss before and after marriage, even after he became the Prophet. Their marriage was comfortable and convenient for Muhammad as it brought to him wealth and the luxury of enjoying the wealth and travel and time to meditate and ponder.

It was later revealed by the Prophet Muhammad that it was the angel Gabriel who appeared to him and provided the revelations on behalf of Akllah. At first Muhammad kept his revelations private sharing them only with his wife. In.613 AD he was instructed to share the revelations publicly. They were not well received as Mecca was a centre of commerce for gods and goddesses. The people did not want all this upset or hindered by revelations that might change everything. By 615 AD, opposition to his teachings was so fierce that his few followers could not survive and Muhammad encouraged them to leave Mecca for safer territory in Ethiopia.

The poor and dispossessed were attracted to his teachings as Mecca was intensely capitalistic and experienced a widening gap between the powerful and the dispossessed, the rich and the poor, the have’s and the have not’s. The purpose of life had become to get rich which was against the tribal values. Muhammad’s message was attractive to the poor of the time as it was a moral message. It proclaimed that there is ONE God, and also this ONE God demands justice and mercy of his creatures – for the poor and the disadvantaged. It was a message that gave hope to the poor. It resonated with the tribal ethics which held strong outside of Mecca. The message of the revelation demanded responsible use of wealth for the good of the community, the responsibility of each individual toward each other at a time that individualistic pursuits were on the rise, and on "that day" each man would be judged based on his deeds in this life.

Muhammad stayed in Mecca and was protected by his wife and uncle. When they died in 619AD Muhammad was insecure without their protection. In 622AD, Muhammad left Mecca and went to Medina where the locals liked his ability to arbitrate. In 624AD Muhammad and his followers carried out their first successful raid upon a caravan of Mecca. The next year the Meccans sought revenge and went to Medina where they successfully attacked Muhammad’s converts and even wounding Muhammad in the process and reclaimed their goods and property.

It is interesting to note that the Islamic calendar begins with its first year in the year we refer to as 622AD, the year Muhammad established an Islamic "state" or community at Medina.

Islam - Part II

With Dr. Nafez Nazzal - February 24, 2006

Pre-Islamic Arabia is referred to as the period of "ignorance" (Jahiliya) and refers to the years 300 to 600 AD, a time when the world did not yet have Muslims (followers of Islam). Islamic historians acknowledge that the age of Islamic enlightenment begins with the Prophet Muhammad.

Arab Society had three basic and important aspects. The first was its social structure which was tribal (ghazw). The Prophet Mohammad hoped to develop a loyalty to nation which never was successful because of the tribal nature of Arab society. Tribal society was based on raiding (ghazw) the enemy, neighbours, even own brothers if there was no one else to raid. It was the hardship and dangers of the desert which caused tribes to work together and to fight against each other. One tribe was never interested in eliminating the other. There was a kind of symbiotic relationship. Each relied on the other’s resourcefulness in order for there to be goods and wealth to be plundered. Yet, despite constant fighting, there was generous rules toward one another to prevent elimination. There were provisions for safe passage for example.

The second important aspect was political organization around the "Sheikh (sayyid) the head of the basic unit of organization. Sheikh was not a religious title. A sheikh was accepted on the basis of his capacity to arbitrate and resolve communal problems. He was considered the first among equals. The sheikh was advised by a council of elders called the "majlis" consisting of heads of the families, representatives of the clans from within the tribe, all who were the mouthpiece of public opinion. Life was largely regulated by customs and traditions called "sunni" coming from the practice of the ancestors.

Arabs developed the amazing art of poetry, which became the communication tool to share and teach the oral code of virtues. This Arab poetry is the main source of information about pre-Islamic Arab life.

The notable Arab virtues which were highly valued were: bravery in battle, patience in misfortune, persistence especially persistence in revenge, protection of the weak, defiance toward the strong, hospitality to visitors, loyalty to the tribe, and fidelity in keeping promises.

The third aspect of pre-Islamic Arab society was religion which was a collection of polydaemonism (Majlis, sunni). This was an ancient religion associated with many deities, divinities, gods and goddesses. Even before Islam, God or "Allah" was linked to a geographic locus known as the black stone in Meca.

Arabs lived in a comparably low state of civilization. They dealt heavily in superstition and idolatry, human sacrifice, infanticide, and were engaged in constant warfare with one another. They experienced an absence of stable government and enjoyed significant criminal excesses, chaos, sinfulness, impurity, and wickedness (Jahiliya) before Islam. This set the ripe atmosphere for the arrival of the revelation of Allah to the prophet Muhammad.

TO BE CONTINUED....

Mount of Olives Excursion - Thursday February 23

"Bethphage Church," located on the top of the Mount of Olives, marks the location where Jesus had His disciples bring Him a colt so He could begin His final journey into the city of Jerusalem. We celebrate that day as Palm Sunday.

Inside the church we read the scripture where Jesus sent His disciples to fetch a colt, untie it and bring it to Him. 

This is the stone inside the church that Jesus stepped on to mount the colt. 

"Chapel of the Ascension" marks the place where, 40 days following His resurrection, Jesus ascended to heaven. It is located high on the Mount of Olives. 

Inside the Church of the Ascension is the last footprint of Jesus set in rock just before he ascended to heaven to be at the right hand of God the Father. 

The colonade in the "Church of Our Father" where Jesus taught his disciples and the Lord's Prayer. The prayer is translated into dozens of languages on mosaics on all the walls. Jesus sought refuge and solitude here when he withdrew from the crowds. 

This is just one of the marvellous views of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. 

"Dominus Fletiv" Church translates "The Lord Wept." This "tear drop" shaped church commemorates the time Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, turned and looked out over Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley. Jesus, knowing the hardness of the peoples' hearts, wept for Jerusalem.

The lone window in Dominus Flevit overlooks the city of Jerusalem reminding pilgrims of today how Jesus saw and wept over the city and its people. 

St. Mary Magdalene Church also on the Mount of Olives commemorates Mary Magdalene, one of Jesus followers to whom he appeared on the day of resurrection. 

The rock on the floor in front of the altar is where Jesus sat in prayer before his arrest. I could feel the tension and passion in the air so much so that I trembled. I then thought of the hymn... "Were You There." ".... tremble, tremble, tremble...."

Church of All Nations sits in the Garden of Gethsemane and commemorates the final hour of Jesus' life before being arrested.  

Excavations on top of the Herodian built by King Herod. 

At the Herodian, a summer palace and fortress built and used by King Herod in the first centuries BC and AD. Located east of Bethlehem. 

Graffiti on the security wall built between Jerusalem and Bethlehem by Israel to separate Israelis from Palestinians. 

Orthodox Theology Part I

Rev. Petra Heldt - February 21, 2006

Rev. Heldt has lived in Jerusalem for more than 25 years. She is an ordained Lutheran pastor from Germany and has been the Executive Secretary for the Ecumenical Theological Research Fraternity of Israel for many years. Petra completed her doctorate in Patristics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

In the Oriental and Byzantine Orthodox churches, the churches we refer to as "eastern" Christianity, have four basic pillars of understanding which undergird their faith. The first is "right doctrine". It is especially important to have the right understanding of the oneness of God the Father and God the Son. Jesus Christ is both God and Son at the same time. Unlike western Christianity, there is no undo pre-occupation or emphasis placed on the person of Jesus Christ, which places Jesus above the Father, or places Jesus in a central place of theology.

The second pillar is the "right life." Orthodoxy is a calling from God into a life with God without any strings attached. For the monks or sisters of orthodoxy the call from God to be set aside can stop at any time. The ordered monks and sisters are the shield of the orthodox life because they speak for the right doctrine and teach the right doctrine. No one else is free to speak to matters of doctrine other than these.

The third pillar of the orthodox faith is "right liturgy." (Liturgy = the form of worship) Liturgy is doxology, literally, the "praise of God." Liturgy (worship) is not intended to satisfy those who gather for worship. Liturgy is not there to interpret the latest thinking in theology or to offer one’s own interpretation. The liturgy has as its sole focus the praise of God. The liturgy of today is carried forward from the 4th century. Those who gather for worship are purified through the right use of the liturgy, offered up in the right spirit, in the presence of the Holy Spirit.

The fourth pillar of the orthodox faith is what is known as "caesaropapism" or a holding together of church and state. The Byzantine and Oriental Churches are churches defined with a state. This is temporarily suspended today because no particular eastern church is its own state. But traditionally, the emperor represents God on the earth, so the church can work freely and unencumbered to carry out its mission. The eastern church and state are defined by each other and they define each other.

The ecumenical council held in 451 AD placed the church leaders of the west (Rome) and east (Constantinople) over the leaders of the leaders of the older and longstanding Alexandrian and Antiochan "oriental churches. This was a configuration unthinkable and hurtful to the "oriental" churches, so much so that a split occurred – a split which remains to today.

The "eastern orthodox" churches have a great appreciation for mysticism. The essence of God and the energies of God is grasped by the orthodox mind. One must understand how one meets God in prayer, because prayer is a large part of the worship. One must understand that while the essence of God cannot be approached or understood, the energy of God can be experienced as personal and immediate.

The liturgy and the prayers are intended to make humanity and God become one through the liturgy. The Eucharist is the place in the liturgy where the veil is pulled back between heaven and earth in reality, not just in concept. The function of Church is the healing of the wound of humanity - being in unity with God - this happens mainly through worship.

The orthodox churches have a strong understanding that they belong to two places at the same time: 1) their country of origin, and 2) Jerusalem, which means they belong to the Holy Land. These churches realize that whomever it is that rules in the holy land, they come and go, but the Orthodox Church remains. This has been true throughout history. The land is very precious to the orthodox churches because this is the land where Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour lived, suffered, was crucified, and rose. Therefore, wherever God was present in Jesus Christ, wherever God is or was, there is a presence that will not go away. It endures. To be in the holy land is to be together with God, to experience the energy of God, to be close to the essence of God. To be in the Holy Land or at a Holy place is to be with God, the Holy One.

The orthodox churches work hard at their "in-reach" to keep their people from secularism. They do this largely through the generous use of stories and the re-telling of stories for the benefit and upbringing of the next generation. Legends are told in church from age 0 onward. Everyone is connected with the history of the church through these stories. The stories build up the spirit, the church, and the community. They understand that their reality is much bigger than what they can possibly understand.

Prophets from a Jewish Perspective

February 20, 2006

What value are the Old Testament prophets such as Joshua, Isaiah, Jeremiah and others, if indeed the Law which is built upon the Pentateuch is the centre of Jewish life and tradition? Joshua and the other prophets move Jewish life onward and away from the theory of perfect Jewish life toward life as it is truly lived with all its complexities. One aspect of the legacy of all the prophets is to reveal the tale of a nation that lives up to the expectations of God and at the same time the tale of a nation that terribly disappoints God and is at odds with the covenant.

When terrible disasters befell the nation of Israel the question "why" arose. Why has this befallen us? In the long centuries after the destruction of Israel by the Romans in the first century AD the question of the status of the covenant was examined. It was wondered, "has God moved on from the Jews and left them and abandoned the covenant he entered into with the Jews"? Is God now with the Christians or with the Muslims who appear to thrive and have become the majority of the world population? The discussions of the rabbis and the survival of the Jewish people have confirmed that God is still very much in covenant with the Jewish people.

Judaism tends to place less emphasis upon the writings of the Prophets than does traditional Christianity. In Judaism, if the word of a prophet is against the word of a rabbi, the rabbi’s decision would be the binding decision. The word of the prophet would be helpful to the discussion but the matter of Law (Covenant) is the realm of the rabbi which takes precedence.

In the Judaic tradition there have been four types of leadership within the faith: political leadership which has come from the kings and judges (David, Solomon, etc), the rabbinic leadership (the practice of the Law), the prophetic leadership, and the priestly leadership (the Temple leadership). Always the four types of leadership are invested in separate persons or groups of persons. However, Moses was an example where all forms of leadership were combined in one person.

What is prophecy? It is absolute (true) knowledge which arises from a matter of training, both intellectual training and moral training.

What is the role of the Prophet? To critique the society who responsibility it is to keep the covenant with God. The prophet speaks to a nation who has strayed from the covenant.

Dr. Breuer says there is something uniquely Jewish when you read the prophets and New Testament. Jesus is seen as a prophet who offers a critique of The Law, of Torah. Jesus makes the point that people including the leadership live by the law and yet they miss the point of the Law. Jesus observes that the "heart" or the "spirit"of fulfilling of the Law has been lost or obliterated by the fulfilling of the "letter" of the Law. Jesus talks about hypocrisy or the going through the motions of the religion. Jesus was a prophet in the classical sense of a "prophet." A prophet speaks his/her truth as he/she understands it.

The true prophet invites the people to remember the "Covenant." Remember that the covenant is a contract between two parties and that both parties must work at fulfilling his/her end of the deal. The Prophet calls the parties to account, sometimes holding both people and God responsible. The Prophets expresses wisdom.

Looking at the writings of the prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament, he lets the people know in clear terms that following the Covenant will build a strong people, a justice society. The prophet says, "Do right by the covenant or you will do right the hard way through suffering and destruction. The prophet makes it clear that the covenant is still intact and that any punishment is to be viewed as shaping and correction of the community or people, just like a good parent corrects and teaches a child. The prophet often ends with encouraging words that God will be faithful and will hold to the covenant.

Boys "mugging" for the camera in Jaffa.