Articles

Atlanta Interfaith Group Models Diversity in Pilgrimage to Turkey
(Part 1 of 4)

By Rosalyn Dailey Shareef
Faith And The City E-Letter
Volume 1 Issue 9
December 10, 2002

In November, 45 members of metro Atlanta's Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities -- representatives of more than two-dozen local congregations -- traveled together to Turkey. The interfaith, multicultural, and multiracial group -- described by some members as a band of "world pilgrims" -- lived together, ate together, worshipped together and, perhaps most important, talked together during their sojourn through an ancient land. In an atmosphere of mutual respect and appreciation for their differences, the Atlantans found common ground in the individual commitments to faith that each holds and the humanity that they all share. The trip was organized by members of the Faith Alliance of Metro Atlanta, in cooperation with Wayne Smith, founder and retired executive of the nationwide Friendship Force.

In the ancient Turkish city of Sardis, the interfaith group from Atlanta and their local tour guide visited the ruins of a temple dedicated centuries ago to the Roman deity Diana.

Imam Hamin S. Dawan of the Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam in southeast Atlanta, one of 15 Muslims in the group, said that he decided to take the trip to learn about Judaism and Christianity. He added that he discovered more about the two religions than he ever expected, as well as much about the human side of his traveling companions. "We came together mainly on human issues," Dawan explained. "Basically, we realized that people are people no matter what religion they profess or what color they are."

The Atlantans shared more than 5,000 miles of flight time roundtrip and 10 days and nights in Turkey. In a country where all three faiths enjoy a rich heritage, the pilgrims also shared dialogue with one another that revealed close relationships among the three faiths. This was especially true for at least one Jew and one Muslim. "In so many ways we [Jews and Muslims] have more in common with each other than either of us has with Christians," noted Carla Singer of the Breman Jewish Heritage Museum and a member of the Shearith Israel Synagogue.

Imam Dawan agreed. "Our religions [Islam and Judaism] are very, very similar, [using] some of the same concepts, even some of the same words, with just slight variations."

A mosque in Istanbul, one of the many Muslim, Jewish, and Christian houses of worship visited by 45 Atlantans, including representatives of all three faiths, who shared a pilgrimage to Turkey.

For centuries, Turkey -- with coasts on the Mediterranean and Black Seas -- has been a crossroads between Europe and Asia, a history reflected in the nation's contemporary importance as a tourist destination. Before their trip, some Atlantans understandably felt a degree of anxiety about traveling in that part of the world. With a population of 66 million people, 99.8 percent of whom are Muslim, Turkey shares a border with Iraq, a nation regarded by many as on the brink of war with the United States. Concerns eased, however, after the Atlantans landed in Istanbul, where, according to Rev. Winston Lawson of Hillside Presbyterian Church in Decatur, their Turkish hosts were extremely cordial. "What was striking was how welcoming they were and receptive to our ideas and our sharing wherever we went, he said."

During the daily tours, the pilgrims learned more about their own faiths, as well as those of their companions. They traveled through the Turkish countryside by bus, visiting contemporary mosques and synagogues, and the remnants of Christian biblical cities and towns. "We went to Tarsus where [the Christian apostle] Paul grew up and saw the well from which he drank, and to Antioch where the church was called Christian for the first time," Lawson recalled. "Seeing those places is such a moving experience."

At the end of their daytime tours, the Americans paired off as same-gender roommates in a rotating fashion that ensured that each traveler would room with at least one member of a different faith during the trip. As a result, the interfaith and interracial dialogues often continued into the evenings, with roommates learning more about each other and discovering how much they have in common. One pair of roommates discovered they had very similar paths in life.

Singer and her roommate, an African American woman, identified many parallels in their lives. "She and I figured out that we graduated high school in Atlanta the same year, we both ran track, and we both ran the same events," said Singer.

One of the key organizers of the pilgrimage was Jan Swanson, a board member for the Faith Alliance of Metro Atlanta, director of the Congregational Exchange Program, and a member of Central Presbyterian Church of Atlanta. Swanson explained that one goal in the planning process was to include an equal number of members from each faith. In fact, the group's interfaith composition initially caused some anxiety among its Turkish hosts.

"The tour leader said he had fully expected -- when he heard that Christians, Muslims and Jews were coming to Turkey -- that he would need to get three different buses, one for each group," Swanson said. "Then, when a Muslim and a Jew sat together as partners on the bus one day, that just blew the tour leader's mind."

The Turks expected, based on their own experiences, according to Lawson, that the Atlanta group would be polarized and at odds with each other. "When they saw us praying together in a mosque, a synagogue, or a church, it really struck them as very significant," he said.

As Swanson suggested, the pilgrims from Atlanta -- in addition to nurturing interfaith and interracial understanding among its own -- may have made a poignant international statement about the potential for tolerance and plurality in our increasingly diverse global community.

For more information on the Atlanta World Pilgrims, contact Jan Swanson at jswanson@faithandthecity.org or 404-523-5554.

Rosalyn Dailey Shareef, an Atlanta-based freelance writer, can be reached at yomashareef@hotmail.com.
Photos by Karim Ziyad.

Part 1: Atlanta Interfaith Group Models Diversity in Pilgrimage to Turkey
Part 2: Muslim Perspective
Part 3: Christian Perspective
Part 4: Jewish Perspective