Articles

Atlanta World Pilgrims Continue Journey -- A Muslim Perspective
(Part 2 of 4)

By Rosalyn Dailey Shareef
Faith And The City E-Letter
Volume 2 Issue 1
January 15, 2003

Two months after the first Atlanta World Pilgrims returned from Turkey, the interfaith and multicultural band of 45 travelers -- and the metro area they represent -- continue to feel the impact of the unique experience.

Members of the Faith Alliance of Metro Atlanta, in cooperation with Wayne Smith, founder and retired executive of the Friendship Force, coordinated the November trip. (See the December issue of the Faith And The City E-Letter.) The Atlanta World Pilgrims, as they call themselves, included equal representation from metro-area Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities. The 10-day visit to the ancient city of Istanbul and surrounding communities, where Christians and Jews constitute less than one percent of the native population, produced an ongoing dialogue among the Atlantans who participated.

Yusuf Muwwakkil of the Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam was one of 15 Muslims pilgrims who joined equal numbers of Jews and Christians for the journey. Inspired by their pilgrimage, he and a Christian pilgrim, Dr. Jimmy Allen of Big Canoe, Georgia, plan later this month to introduce the model to Muslim and Christian communities in Houston, Texas.

"I've talked with the Muslim community in Houston," explained Muwwakkil. "We're going to introduce our pilgrimage and our trip to them in that area and see if they might have an interest in getting involved and implementing it there." Muwwakkil says one advantage that Houston offers is his family connections, including relatives active in the Catholic community and very interested in learning more about the experience of the Atlanta World Pilgrims.

Atlanta World Pilgrims visited the ruins of Ephesus, once the second-largest city in the Roman Empire and today the best-preserved classical city in the Eastern Mediterranean. (Photo by Karim Ziyad)

For Muwwakkil -- a featured speaker at several Atlanta-area synagogues, churches, and mosques -- the Turkey pilgrimage offered far more knowledge than he expected to gain. During the sojourn, he and other pilgrims lived together, broke bread and worshipped together, and launched the interfaith dialogue that they continue to share today.

"Six to eight hours a day, we were riding side-by-side, changing partners every day, and you could never take somebody from your own religion," explained Muwwakkil.

Seasoned travelers, Muwwakkil and his wife Theresa have visited Europe and Africa, as well as the ancient city Mecca in Saudi Arabia where millions of Muslims each year make hajj, the traditional Islamic prayer pilgrimage. Muwwakkil is proud to have made hajj several times since his conversion to Islam almost 30 years ago. However, he maintains, his journey with the Atlanta World Pilgrims has had a more powerful impact on his life than any other travel that he has experienced.

"We came to realize on the trip that you could not do this in a conference room or in seminars," Muwwakkil explained. "You have to get away to the point that you become dependent on one another on a day to day basis."

On a short break during a tour of Istanbul, Yusuf Muwwakkil (right) shares a park bench with one of the many Turks who warmly welcomed the interfaith group from Atlanta. Topkapi Palace, in the background, was built in 1478 by the Ottoman Empire and is today a public museum. (Photo by Karim Ziyad)

Muwwakkil grew up as Joseph Calvin Gallow in segregated Opelousas, a predominantly Catholic farm town in southeastern Louisiana. After embracing Islam in the 1970s, he changed his name to Yusuf, the Muslim form of Joseph. Muwwakkil follows the teachings of the moderate Muslim cleric, Wallace Deen (W.D.) Muhammad, leader of the American Society of Muslims (ASM). Drawing on the traditions of his faith and his "eye-opening" trip to Turkey, Muwwakkil believes more than ever that the time is right for dramatic progress in interfaith understanding.

"The journey really begins now," he said. "We must take what we [Atlanta World Pilgrims] have learned about one another and the appreciation that we have developed for one another and share that with others so they can experience the interfaith understanding that we are blessed to enjoy now."

For more information on the Atlanta World Pilgrims, contact Jan Swanson atjswanson@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