Recently, I returned from an 11-day interfaith excursion through Turkey with an Atlanta group of Christians, Jews, Muslims and one Buddhist. For the past 13 years, Jan Swanson and I have organized and guided similar journeys through Egypt, Greece, Israel, Jordan, Palestine, Morocco, Spain and even to Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon, under the auspices of World Pilgrims.
World Pilgrims is designed to break down barriers, clean up biases, and correct distortions and misinformation. It is about engagement and enabling relationships. Every day, each of us had a different partner of another faith. Each time we changed hotels, we were paired with a different roommate of a different faith. That always causes pause for new pilgrims, since most of us haven’t shared a bedroom with a stranger or a non-relative for decades. Yet pilgrims will tell you that the experience of sharing hotel rooms is quite liberating and refreshing.
We had a wonderful tour guide who traveled with us via motor coach from Kayseri, in central Turkey, to Cappadocia, Konya, Ephesus and Izmir, then a flight to Istanbul for the last four days. Our guide shared the rich history of Alexander the Great, the Roman and Byzantine empires, the struggles and triumphs of Paul and the early Christians, the wonders of Hagia Sophia, the beauty of the Blue Mosque, the grandeur of Topkapi Palace, and the statesmanship of Suleiman the Magnificent.
Yet this knowledgeable guide was himself intrigued and captivated by the composition and conversations of our group. He had never met anyone like our Christian leader, Dr. Gerald Durley, who came of age under the Rev. Martin Luther King’s leadership and the civil rights movement.
Our guide was amazed that our Jewish leader, Rabbi Ellen Nemhauser, could arrange a group visit with the Chief Rabbi of Turkey and a tour of the synagogue. He was further astounded to witness our entire group desiring to attend, and then welcomed, at the Friday Jumah prayer service at the historic 800-year-old mosque in Seljuk. But I believe what enthralled him most was listening to each pilgrim’s description of their “life, love and legacy” on our 10-hour bus ride from Konya to Izmir.
As Americans, we have no ancient structures. Not only did the “urban renewal” mindset demolish most of our grand buildings like the Terminal and Union train stations in downtown Atlanta, but even now, it seems we build for a lifespan of only 20 to 25 years. So we marvel and are captivated — rightfully so — by a city such as Istanbul that has preserved and continues to use so many of its architectural wonders dating back as far as the 7th century.
In the past 60 years, we have reluctantly become the most economically, ethnically, racially and religiously diverse nation on earth. Too many of us see that as a problem, while the world views it as a strength.
The idea of ordinary Christians, Jews, Muslims and a Buddhist traveling together, sharing bus seats, meals and hotel rooms, is just unheard of anywhere else in the world. So while we marveled at Turkey, the citizens of Turkey were amazed at us, and perhaps inspired by the possibility. Interfaith is much more than tolerance. It is more than dialogue.
Religious diversity is a given in Atlanta and throughout the U.S. today, but interfaith exchanges, interactions, relationships or even dialogue are not givens. They are achievements. They require intentionality and effort.
The American experience, especially that of the past 60 years, has better positioned us to be able to take the leap across the abyss of religious difference, distrust and misunderstanding, more so than any other people. With World Pilgrims, we start with relationships and friendships. Pilgrims return fully understanding Mark Twain’s saying that “travel is fatal to prejudice.” May we all make the intention to journey next door, to the next cubicle, to the other side of town, and across the perceived divides that keep us foreign and estranged to one another even here at home.
Plemon T. El-Amin is the Imam Emeritus of the Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam.
