Originally published in December 2013

From the Greek and Syriac sources of the Church Elders

There are those who love and there are those who hate. Of which were our pious predecessors and of which are you?

When the Muslims surrounded Jerusalem, the inhabitants said they would surrender the city only if the Muslim ruler himself —Omar, the second successor or “Caliph,” of the Prophet Muhammad— came to them. ((The Encounter of Eastern Christianity with Early Islam, Emmanouela Grypeou, Mark N. Swanson and David Thomas)) So Omar sojourned by camel from Damascus, Syria to Jerusalem in the Holy Land. As Omar approached the city, his servant became weary, so he ordered his servant to ride the steed while he walked it by the reins.

When they entered Jerusalem —records indicate it very well could have been Easter— the people of the city mistook the servant for the Caliph. When corrected, they couldn’t believe that this man in tattered and dirty clothes, leading on foot his servant who rode his steed, was the ruler of this new people who were conquering the Persian and Roman Empires, the greatest empires the world had ever seen, with such speed that had never been seen before. St. Sophronius, Christian Patriarch of Jerusalem, greeted Omar with a set of fresh regal clothes and insisted he wear them instead of the dirty rags he was wearing. According to the Greek chronicler Theophilus of Edessa (695-785CE), Omar refused saying, “It is not right for a man to take from another what God has not decreed for him, for God has given to each and every one of humanity from His Divine knowledge, and he who desires to receive something from his companion exceeding that, does so against God.” (( Theophilus of Edessa’s Chronicle- And the Circulation of Historical Knowledge in Late Antiquity and Early Islam, Liverpool University Press- Translated Texts for Historians, Robert G. Hoyland)) Yet, the Christians of the city were outraged and Omar sensed that they found it humiliating to concede the city to someone who looked so base and common. So he compromised. Theophilus further records from Omar, “Because you request it of me, and have shown me such great honor, please lend me these clothes and I will wear them while you wash mine. When mine are returned, I will return these clothes to you.” Michael the Syrian, 12^th Century Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church, says about Omar, “He was certainly just and removed from greed, to the degree that from all the empire that the Arabs ruled, that is, from all the wealth and treasures of the Romans and Persians, he took nothing for himself. He did not change the simplicity of his habits, not even the piece of hide that was placed under him when he rode by camel and that he used for sitting on the ground or sleeping on.” ((Ibid))

As the time approached for the Muslim noon prayer, Sophronius invited Omar to pray in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the holiest site in all of Christianity that contains the Golgotha, the Hill of Calvary where Christ was to be crucified, as well as the tomb where Christ was to be interred. Omar refused saying that he feared future generations of Muslims might seek to make it a Muslim holy site. So he prayed opposite the southern courtyard of the Church where, sure enough, they eventually built the Mosque of Omar that stands there to this day facing the empty tomb of Jesus Christ.

Patriarch Eutychius of Alexandria of the Greek Orthodox Church (877-940CE) records:

“When the gate of the city was opened, Omar came in with his entourage and sat at the aetrion of the Church of the Resurrection. When the time of prayer approached, Omar said to Patriarch Sophronius: ‘I want to pray.’ And he responded: ‘Commander of the faithful, pray in the place where you are now.’ And Omar said: ‘I do not want to pray here.’ The patriarch and then led him to the Church of Constantine [the Church of the Resurrection] where he spread a mat made of straw on the floor of the church. But Omar said: ‘I do not want to pray here either.’ He went out to the steps, which are at the gate on the eastern side of the Church of St. Constantine, and he prayed alone on the steps. Then he sat down and said to Patriarch Sophronius: ‘Patriarch, do you know why I did not pray inside the church?’ He answered: ‘I do not know, Commander of the Faithful.’ And Omar said to him: ‘If I had prayed inside the Church, you would be losing it and it would have gone from your hands because after my death the Muslims would seize it saying: Omar has prayed here. Give me a piece of pergamene ((A type of parchment named after the ancient city of Pergamum in Aeolis)) to write for you a document.’” ((The Encounter of Eastern Christianity with Early Islam, Emmanouela Grypeou, Mark N. Swanson and David Thomas))

Eutychius goes on to relate the terms written in that document protecting the Church and the churches surrounding it forbidding Muslims from congregating near its steps for their prayers.

While some Muslims bicker over whether they should bid their Christian fellows “Merry Christmas” or any other variety of holiday greetings throughout the year, I urge them to drop such vain harangues. Instead, reach into the psyche of Omar, inspired by the Prophet Muhammad whom he served and later succeeded, and how he treated the Christians who found themselves under his rule. Had he wished, he could have done away with the Christian and Jewish populations and history would have no less recorded him as yet another conqueror. When the Christian Crusaders invaded Jerusalem 400 years later, they did slaughter the Muslims, Jews and even those Christians of sects they deemed heretical in a stadium as if it were sport. No man, woman, child or even babe in arms was spared. ((“In this temple 10,000 were killed. Indeed, if you had been there you would have seen our feet colored to our ankles with the blood of the slain. But what more shall I relate? None of them were left alive; neither women nor children were spared.” Gesta Francorum Jerusalem Expugnantium, Fulcher of Chartres)) The year prior to that, in 1098, the Crusaders had actually cooked and eaten the Muslims of Ma`rrat al-Nu`man in Syria. It is said that babies were skewered on spits, broiled and eaten. ((“Some people said that, constrained by the lack of food, they boiled pagan adults in cooking-pots, impaled children on spits and devoured them grilled.” Citing Rudolph of Caen, The First Crusade: The Chronicle of Fulcher of Chartres and Other Source Materials, Edward Peters.))

But that is not our way and any who adopt such ways in God’s name profane the very core of Islam. Omar chose the path of love, compassion, and mercy. He gave the Christians freedom and brought the Jews back to the Holy Land from whence they had been driven out just a decade before and successively in the centuries preceding that. The city’s Christians entrusted the keys to the Church of Holy Sepulchre into the hands of the Muslim family of Nusaybah. Today, a millennium and a half later, a member of that Muslim family unlocks the Church in the morning and locks it up at night. The Christians of Jerusalem would have it no other way. ((The Oxford Companion to Christian Thought, Adrian Hastings, ‎Alistair Mason, ‎Hugh Pyper))

Will the Christians love you when you deal with them thus? Some will. Some won’t. In spite of acknowledging the magnanimity of Omar related above, Theophanes the Confessor (760-818CE) refers to him as a devilish beast and mocks him for entering the city in dirty clothes. (( Theophilus of Edessa’s Chronicle- And the Circulation of Historical Knowledge in Late Antiquity and Early Islam, Liverpool University Press- Translated Texts for Historians, Robert G. Hoyland)) God even tells us in the Qur’an, “The Jews and Christians will never be fully satisfied with you until you follow their respective religions.” ((The Holy Qur’an, Chapter al-Baqara 2:120)) It should matter to you naught! Be good and seek no reward. We do not let the pleasure of people guide our actions. We do not behave well towards goodness nor do we mete ill with evil. Jesus is recorded in Islamic sources as saying:

“Virtuous action does not consist in doing good to someone who has done good to you—that is merely returning a favor. Virtuous action consists in doing good [even] to those who have wronged you.” ((Walk on Water, The Wisdom of Jesus from Traditional Arabic Sources, Hamza Yusuf. This work cites Ahmad bin Hanbal as the source. Begging the esteemed Hamza Yusuf’s pardon, “[even]” added by the author for clarity and context.))

Thus, we behave as our beloved Prophet Muhammad, the servant and messenger of God, instructed and exemplified seeking only the pleasure of the very One Whom we —Jew, Christian and Muslim— worship as the One God who rules over all with Love and Mercy. Seek not the pleasure of mankind because they will never truly be pleased with you no matter what you do. Love and brotherhood in humanity are found in behaviors well beyond the realm of mere words. Ponder well. Let your attitude and behavior towards your Christian fellows speak louder than any bidding of “Merry Christmas” ever could.

Photo: Tim & Stacy Fisher

What happens when what you have spent years building is lost in one day? How do you control the actions of others that will unfairly, but inevitably, be associated with you? Is it really worth even doing anything at all?

In the Qur’an, Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He) tells us about the Prophet ‘Uzayr `alayhi as-salaam (peace be upon him). The Prophet ‘Uzayr was sent to a destroyed Jerusalem. It was razed to the ground. There were no people, no trees, and no buildings. There was absolutely nothing there. ‘Uzayr had no idea what he would be sent to. And so imagine how dumbfounded he must have been when he saw the state of the place. He might have wondered why he was even sent, because it was beyond saving. As he looked at that forsaken land, he asked the question:

“How will Allah bring this to life after its death?”

We might ask ourselves the same question. After the shocking events in Paris and the (selective) media outrage, the subsequent Islamophobic attacks and backlash against Muslims—is it dead? Can we ever really do anything when no matter what good we do, we will be blamed for the actions of a few? And those actions, as deplorable as they are, will be divorced from their roots: of foreign invasions, occupations and killings. So we will never actually reach a coherent solution, because our diagnosis of the disease is so off-mark.

‘Uzayr was alone. He only had a bit of food, and a donkey to ride. But as he stood there, he picked up whatever broken pieces he could find. And he began building the foundations. Then he retreated to a mountain so he could rest for the night.

But Allah (swt) caused him to die for a hundred years. He brought ‘Uzayr back to life after those hundred years. But something else happened. Jerusalem was also given life. People had come after him, and built upon the foundation that he started. People had moved back. Jerusalem was alive again. When ‘Uzayr saw this, we are told in the Qur’an:

“And when it became clear to him, he said, ‘I know that Allah is over all things competent!'” [Qur’an, 2:259]

No matter how much other people destroy, we need to be like ‘Uzayr. We might wonder how this will ever be fixed. It does not matter. Our end is Allah (swt). We are accountable to Him and will only be held responsible for what we did—not for what others do in our name. And so we will continue to do. If we build for a hundred years and it gets destroyed in a day, we will pick up the pieces and build again.

But let us build.

Let us build the things that will remain even after we are gone. We are all capable of doing something. We are given a short time on this earth, and our time will not come back. We will not take our possessions with us. But we will leave a legacy—big or small, good or bad.

Allah (swt) sent the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace be upon him) at a particular time. He did the best he could do within his context. And we are alive at this moment in time for a reason. We may not be able to influence what people do in other places, but certainly we can do good where we are. We can help. We can revive—because that is what we were brought to this earth for.

Plant a seed, and see how Allah (swt) makes it grow. We may all plant seeds that today are hidden in the ground and covered in dirt. And we might ask, “How will Allah bring this to life after its death?” But those seeds will become a garden one day, God willing.

Let us build for the things that will last.

—–

Some Muslim builders:

1- Muslim Groups Give $100,000 To Help Detroiters Without Water, Say It’s ‘Part Of Our Faith To Help’

2- The Unsung Muslim Heroes of Paris

3- Project FEED in San Francisco, dedicated to feeding the homeless, started in 2010 and going on until today

4- Ethical halal food

Anna Baltzer is a Jewish-American Columbia graduate, former Fulbright scholar, the granddaughter of Holocaust refugees, and an award-winning lecturer, author, and activist for Palestinian rights.

As a volunteer with the International Women’s Peace Service in the West Bank, Baltzer documented human rights abuses and supported Palestinian-led nonviolent resistance to the Israeli occupation. Baltzer has appeared on television more than 100 times (including most recently The Daily Show with Jon Stewart) and has lectured at more than 400 universities, schools, churches, mosques, and synagogues around the world with her acclaimed presentation, “Life in Occupied Palestine: Eyewitness Stories & Photos,” and her full-color book: Witness in Palestine: A Jewish American Woman in the Occupied Territories. For information about Baltzer’s book, DVD, speaking tours, and eyewitness reports, visit her website.

Baltzer recently did an interview for this blog where she answered questions about her work and how she became such a dedicated activist for the Palestinian cause.

Q: On your webpage, you say that you grew up with a positive view of Israel as a “peace-seeking democracy.”  Then you go on to say that you heard stories from Palestinians that escaped the war of 1948… Most people have a hard time accepting narratives that don’t agree with their worldview… How do you think you were able to be swayed? Was it difficult to accept?

A: It wasn’t easy, and it didn’t happen quickly. My first reaction to the Palestinians’ stories was disbelief and anger. I began doing research because I wanted to prove them wrong, but I immediately realized I was the one with missing information. I didn’t know who or what to believe until I went to Palestine and saw it with my own eyes.

I immediately became critical of the occupation, but my attachment to Zionism made it difficult for me to confront Zionism itself. I wanted to believe that Israel just needed to reform itself as a democratic Jewish state. I wanted to believe that the injustices were a perversion of Zionism, rather than a natural consequence of it.

For at least two years I struggled with how to reconcile Israel with my fundamental belief in equality and human rights (the beliefs themselves, by the way, were a fundamental part of my upbringing; we just had a blind spot when it came to Israel). Eventually, after a long period of struggling with reality, I recognized that the problem was not simply occupation, but rather the creation and maintenance of an ethno-nationalist Jewish entity at the expense of the indigenous population. I realized occupation was just one step in a much longer process, and I couldn’t simply oppose one and not the other.

Q: What was the defining moment, the exact incident, that made you change your opinion on the situation in Israel/Palestine?

A: Everyone asks this question, but the truth is that there was no one incident. It was a long process, and every experience pushed me along the way towards overcoming my prejudices. No one event alone would have been enough, and that’s why I understand when others need time to digest these realities. I never expect audience members to transform immediately after watching my talk, for example. That is extremely rare.

The one experience that started me on my journey was a friendship with a young man named Mahmoud and his family, Palestinian refugees from `Akka living in southern Lebanon. I was traveling alone, and they took me into their home. The kindness, tolerance, and love they showed to me prompted me to want to figure things out for myself. My book is dedicated to them.

Q: What fact(s) regarding the situation in Israel and Palestine do you think are commonly overlooked amongst Zionist supporters in America and elsewhere?

A: Israel is not the peace-seeking democratic state that most Zionists believe it to be. Many don’t realize that Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza live under a system of segregation, constant military attacks, house demolitions, land confiscation, imprisonment without trial, and torture. They don’t realize that Palestinian citizens of Israel do not have equal rights, but live as second or third-class citizens. Most people don’t realize that the vast majority of Palestinians living in historic Palestine and the rest of the world are refugees from Israel’s creation in 1948 and its expansion in 1967. These 7.2 Palestinians are denied the basic human right to return to their homes and lands simply on the basis of their religion and ethnicity. I, on the other hand, could move to their land next month if I wanted to, simply because I’m Jewish.

Most importantly, most Americans don’t realize that these are not simply crimes committed by Israel, but are indirectly committed by us and anyone who pays U.S. taxes. As Americans, we bear a particular responsibility to stop supporting Israel’s transgressions and to stop profiting off of their oppression of Palestinians. That is what the movement for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions is about—taking the profit out of occupation and discontinuing any support on an individual and institutional (and hopefully one day, the governmental) level to Israel’s crimes.

Q: You say that the media is responsible for much of the misinformation about the situation in Israel and Palestine.  How do you feel is the most effective way to counter the media’s staunchly pro-Zionist influence?

A: I believe it’s time for us to stop complaining and start organizing! Biases in the media do not come out of nowhere; they are largely (though not entirely, by any means) the result of active monitoring by media watch-dog groups that inundate media who stray from the extreme Zionist party line with hundreds of complaints. (Some media won’t see such complaints—those continuing the status quo with classic US coverage.)

Why can’t those desiring more accurate information in the media about the denial of Palestinian human rights be as dedicated as those other groups? Why aren’t media being inundated by people like us who want to see the whole story that is reported to the rest of the world every day? We need to be the change that we seek. We need to write media—not here and there, a couple of us, but consistently, hundreds of us, a collective voice demanding fair coverage. I list some ideas for doing this on my website here.

Q: You recently appeared on “The Daily Show” with Dr. Mustafa Barghouti.  On the televised version, nearly all of your responses were edited out.  Why do you think that is?

A: There is lot of speculation about this. During the interview Stewart directed most questions to Dr. Barghouti, and that bias was even more striking by what they cut out of the television version. I should mention we were told ahead of time that we had just seven minutes, so if the interview went over, then things would be cut and available online. So what is interesting is not that they cut stuff out, but what stuff they cut.

I’d like to believe that the cuts were for the right reason—that as a Palestinian, Dr. Barghouti is naturally a better spokesperson for the Palestinian struggle than I could ever be. In fact, when we both began speaking at one point, I deferred to him for this reason. But I’m not sure that was the reasoning on the part of the Daily Show.

Some have speculated that it was some mixture of sexism and ageism—that the words of an older, accomplished male were considered more credible than those of a radical young woman. The fact of the matter is that Dr. Barghouti is more accomplished than I am, so there’s the big-shot factor too, which likely played some role.

Most would say that I was cut because of my messaging: Dr. Barghouti spoke of peace and co-existence, while I actually criticized Israel’s violence, the U.S. media, and U.S. foreign policy, and went further to bring attention to the Palestinian call for Boycott/Divestment/Sanctions against Israel. That is clearly a much more radical message, perhaps one harder to stomach for potential critics or sponsors.

I wonder also if there was something easier about hearing about Palestinian suffering from a Palestinian rather than from a Jew. It’s easy for people to dismiss a Palestinian saying these things but hearing the same things from a Jew may be, for certain people, more uncomfortable and confusing, forcing them to re-examine their categories and stereotypes.

Although I was disappointed that some of my major points were cut, I am relieved that it wasn’t Dr. Barghouti instead who was cut out. As a Jew, I am constantly invited to tell Palestinian stories, while Palestinians themselves are silenced. Palestinians themselves are the experts on their own plight and liberation struggle, and their voices are the ones that count the most. Had they instead cut the Palestinian voice in favor of the Jewish one, it would have been much more problematic.

I’m also happy with the response that the online uncut version received. It became the highest rated interview in Daily Show history, with more than 200,000 views and counting. People can watch Part 1 and Part 2 of the full version, and then the cut version to compare.

Q: One unique aspect to your approach is a constant smile with a calm and mellow delivery.  Is that part of your personality, or is that something you trained yourself to do?

A: It’s not something I do on purpose–and when I see myself doing it on video I’m always surprised–but the instinct has probably served to my advantage. If audience members find me likeable, they are more likely to relate to me and what I’ve seen. Rather than talking at people, my tone invites them on the journey with me, and rather than telling them what to believe matter-of-factly, I gently and clearly show people what’s happening and let them come to their own conclusions. If audience members decide for themselves, they will own those beliefs, and that will make them stronger thinkers and activists.

Q: As a Jewish American, you have a unique opportunity to reach people that would automatically dismiss Arabs/Muslims as biased parties. Do you feel that your Jewish background has helped you be a more effective ambassador for the Palestinian people?

A: First, I want to clarify that I do not claim to be an ambassador for the Palestinian people. As a non-Palestinian, I cannot speak for Palestinians, but only for myself as a Jewish supporter of their struggle.

As such, I am indeed invited around the world to tell Palestinians’ stories, precisely because I am Jewish. I have been able to reach hundreds of thousands of people (now millions with The Daily Show), but what is so striking is that Palestinians themselves are rarely invited to tell their own stories! Or if they are invited, audiences are less likely to show up to listen to them. Palestinian voices are dismissed as biased or irrelevant, when the truth is that they are the experts on their own experience and their struggle.

Too often, non-Jews fear taking the next step until given the okay from Jews, reassuring them that it is not anti-Semitic to speak out against injustice in Palestine. I have chosen to fill that role at the request of Palestinians and in the interest of accelerating the movement, but I consistently challenge audiences to ask themselves if they would have come to such a presentation if it were a Palestinian giving it. Until Palestinian voices are given the attention, preference, and reverence they deserve, the struggle will continue. Privileging of my voice over those of Palestinians perpetuates the false and racist notion that what’s important is what Jews think about Palestine, not what is right.

Q: Has the scorn of the Zionist/Jewish people you encounter made it difficult for you to keep a positive attitude, since you grew up as a member of this community?

A: I have always felt optimistic about the inevitability of change on this issue, and criticism never sways that; in fact, the more I’m criticized, the clearer it is that we are being effective at threatening the status quo. Sadly, I have lost Jewish friends who disagree with what I do, but for every friendship lost I’ve gained a hundred more. There are thousands of Jews and others working on this issue, and it is through my activism that I have found a Jewish-American community that I can relate to. In fact, it is through my activism that I have found what it means for me to be Jewish.