Image Credit: Walter Ruby
In a wonderful show of interfaith harmony, members of Christian, Islamic, Hindu and Jewish communities prayed together for peace with music and poetry.
The event, entitled, “Celebrating the Divine” became a celebration of interfaith harmony. Everybody thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to come together and appreciate the passion each person has from their own religious perspectives.
Jointly organized by the American Turkish Friendship Association (ATFA) and Jews and Muslims and Allies Acting Together (JAMAAT) and co-sponsored by Congregation Adat Reyim, The Rumi Forum and the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, the event also featured some prominent interfaith leaders including Rashid Telbisoglu, Exec. Director of ATFA, Emre Celic, President of the Rumi Forum, Walter Ruby and Andra Baylus, Chairman and President respectively of the Greater Washington Muslim-Jewish Forum as well as being Co-Directors along with Rashid Telbisoglu of JAMAAT; as well as having many students present representing the new generation of interfaith bridge-builders.
Emre Celic, president of the Rumi Forum, announced that that was his last event in the Washington Metropolitan Area because he had accepted a new position with Peace Islands in Manhattan, New York. The Rumi Forum and Peace Islands are made up of people who follow the teachings of Fethullah Gulen and strive to bring harmony and peace among all religions and among all cultures.
The Rumi Forum, here in the Washington area, hosts dialogues with different faith traditions represented, talking about the many issues people of faith would be interested in. It was an honor to have Emre serve as our Emcee at his last event representing Rumi Forum here in Washington metro area.
In Sufi tradition, renditions of prayers and spiritual messages filled the hearts of all who attended with feelings of love and togetherness.
It was a great delight for me to open the program with a recitation of rhythmically chanting the many names of “God the Merciful Creator”, from different religions. I invited all to close their eyes during my singing of, “The Prayer” by Celine Dion sharing creative lyrics of how to show our love for God through our service to humanity.
Many denominations of Christianity were present. One particular highlight was the LDS / Mormon community’s mini-choir of children from the age of four all the way up to 18 singing a song about why they loved Jesus. They shared all the beautiful attributes of Jesus which resonated with all of the faith traditions that were present in the room.
A synagogue, Adat Reyim, seemed to have developed a beautiful relationship with Sufi musicians. They played both individually with the Jewish musicians inviting the audience to join them in singing, “Hallelujah” and with the Sufi musicians singing Turkish songs accompanied by Murat Bakir, playing the Turkish Qanun and then all together.
“We had discovered during their practice sessions that the hebrew and arabic words in our songs were similar, so it seemed natural for us to merge our Jewish and Sufi musical groups and perform together.” said their music directors, Russell Nadel and Murat Bakir.
The evening also included a sitar player, Koyel, who came all the way from Baltimore, MD. Koyel began by giving a little history of the instrument and mentioned that, although many people think of it as an Indian instrument, the sitar was actually Persian and was created by Amir Khusru, a Persian Fakir.
There was even a Cosmic Comedian that loosened everyone up as we segwayed into the next component of the Open Mic, where anyone could approach the mic. A Christian scientist excitedly came to the mic and shared a lovely song from the teachings of Christian Science. Even more people came forward during the open mic time and offered prayers and poetry. Uplifting, extemporaneous words were even offered by noted clergy who also approached the mic.
The evening ended with my inviting everyone to stand and hold hands and all sing in unison, “Let There Be Peace On Earth and Let It Begin With Me”.
After the program, we socialized and enjoyed delicious Turkish refreshment and enjoyed the chance to get to know one another. It was a joy to be part of the evening and experience the love that each person had for their own religion and also appreciate the other’s unique religious way of praising God.
Truly, it was a special evening where people of all religions could come and appreciate the many ways of loving, “God the Merciful By All Names”.
