Opinion: Imam of Palestine and Israel preaches spiritual coexistence during Ramadan

Editor’s note: Sheikh Khalil Arbaz is the imam of Tel Sheba Mosque in Israel’s Negev Desert and co-founder of Abraham Reunion, a Middle East coexistence organization. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.See more opinion On CNN.

CNN
—

As the Middle East conflict reverberates around the world, many people in Western countries have fallen into the emotional trap of anger, fear, and righteousness against the perceived other side. Exporting conflict does not bring victory, but also peace, and the only way to quell the flames is to learn to coexist.

Through my work as an imam and work focused on spiritual coexistence in Israel and Palestine, I have learned that the best personal defense against destructive emotions is to find the Other within ourselves. I understand. Complex identities are natural antibodies that provide immunity to hate, and I myself identify as Muslim, Bedouin, Palestinian, and Israeli.

We are currently in the month of Ramadan. This year, my coexistence organization, Abraham Reunion, hosted its 20th annual coexistence iftar meal, this time in Jerusalem. Breaking the fast with a non-Muslim partner is especially meaningful in the current context of war. Ramadan is a time when Muslims must think about others who are less fortunate than themselves. Through fasting and charity, we are to end the month with a renewed awareness of our role in this world. That is the essence of spiritual coexistence, that one’s self-image makes room for the humanity of the other.

Many people resent my refusal to choose just one aspect of my identity. They want me to be angry, empty and broken like them. Members of my own Bedouin Muslim community threatened and attacked my family and me for simply acknowledging the humanity of Jewish Israelis. On October 7th, after I spoke out against Hamas’s denial of crimes, my house was shot at.

This is not a recent phenomenon. In 2008, her family’s car was bombed after her wife had the honor of lighting the torch at an Israeli Independence Day celebration. But these attacks only strengthened my resolve to insist on spiritual coexistence. That is why I have spent years teaching Jewish Israelis about Islam and the need for both Muslims and Jews to recognize that they belong to this land.

This was my life’s mission. My wife Sana and I co-founded Abraham Reunion in the aftermath of the Second Intifada violence in the early 2000s, when terrorist attacks and military operations caused deep divisions between all sectors of Israeli and Palestinian society. Established. The dream of Abraham Reunion is to reunite the children of Abraham in the Holy Land, and to that end we have over the years tens of thousands of Muslims, Christians, Jews, Israelis, and Palestinians I have participated in our activities.

Spiritual coexistence means building bridges from celebration, mourning, and recognition of God above us, regardless of faith. And that is how we cultivate the other within ourselves. Most people who participate in such experiences are more immune to the emotional temptations of identity-based hatred, even in the midst of devastating personal wars like this one. you will notice.

The Abraham Reunion included participants from Gaza until Hamas made participation illegal in 2013. Until then, we were sitting on a hill next to the border, talking through megaphones with Gazans on the other side of the fence. Organizations that feel threatened by coexistence know that it is the greatest threat to their power.

You can always coexist with other people, but not with all ideologies. On October 7, Hamas declared war on every element of my identity. They killed Muslims. They kidnapped Bedouins from the desert. They continue to oppress Palestinians in Gaza, stealing aid and using their homes and mosques to carry out attacks. They are dedicated to destroying Israel and all Israelis. I’m at war with Hamas. We will never go to war with the people of Gaza, because this is their path.

My religion is Islam. As the Imam of Tel Sheva, a town in southern Israel, I provide spiritual and moral guidance to the community, just as my father and grandfather once did. My ancestors are related to the Hashemite family, the traditional custodians of Islam’s holy sites.

My traditional Islam has nothing in common with those who inflicted unspeakable violence on innocent civilians on October 7 while proclaiming “Allahu Akbar.” It is because I am a Muslim that I call for the immediate release of the remaining Bedouin Muslim hostages from Israel. and to provide assistance to Palestinians in Gaza who are in dire need of humanitarian relief.

My ethnicity is Bedouin. As nations and empires rise and fall around us, my people have called the Negev Desert home for centuries. Bedouin tribes are part of the Arab fabric of this land, and my history, traditions, and community norms go back to the sands of the Negev. Despite coming from a nomadic tribe, I have no home anywhere.

Israel’s Bedouin community has suffered from neglect and marginalization by the state for many years, and today our society is riddled with crime and lack of respect for elders. My mission to reclaim Tel Sheva from the hands of criminals is connected to the need to reclaim Islam from the wounded souls of political extremists.

My people are the Palestinian people, and I am inextricably linked to the souls of Gaza who cannot bear the weight of this war. I feel their fear, hunger, and suffering as my own, and I weep at the images of destruction and loss. Members of my community have families in Gaza, and we pray for their safety every day.

A solution to this conflict will only come from securing a path to freedom for Palestine, under a government that represents and cares for its people. War will not make those hopes a reality, nor will it allow Gaza to leave Hamas’s moral vacuum.

My nationality is Israeli. Israelis love the country they built with their Jewish and Arab neighbors. An Israeli whose wife is the first Bedouin woman to receive the honor of lighting the torch at an Israeli Independence Day ceremony. Israelis know that their country must fight as hard for peace as it fights for survival, because both countries depend on each other. On October 7, Bedouin Muslims like me saved the lives of our Jewish neighbors, and the IDF protected our homes just as they protect the homes of Jewish Israelis.

My wife, may Allah have mercy on her, passed away last year. Her final instructions she gave me were to take care of our four beautiful children and continue the journey we started together. I do so today because, beyond my identity as a Muslim, Bedouin, Palestinian, or Israeli, I am first and foremost a human being, a father, a husband, and a servant of God.