Peace Prayers
09 Apr 2004
Eliyahu's writing about his trip from Israel to Iraq to take part in the peace prayers on March 20th.
Dear friends,

Most of the news coming from the Middle East these days is discouraging,
both from the Holy Land and from Iraq. This report I hope will serve as a
point of light amidst the darkness.

On the anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq, March 20th, a group of
religious leaders came together in Baghdad to pray for the peace of Iraq and
of the whole world. I was part of an interfaith delegation that traveled to
Iraq to join a prayer gathering at the National Theater in central Baghdad.

We met in Amman, on Wednesday March 17th. James Twyman, a musician and
spiritual peace activist, invited me to be part of a colorful group to
travel overland from Amman, Jordan to Baghdad. In our group was Jose
Arguelles, an expert on the Mayan calendar and prophecies and his
apprentice; Chief Arvol Looking Horse, chief of the Sioux nation and 19th
generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo pipe and his 20 year old
daughter Grace. Also joining us were Yarovit, a shaman from Russia and his
translator; Warigia, a spiritual teacher from Kenya; and Sofia van Surksum,
from Durango, Colorado, who helped with the logistics of the trip.

As we first gathered together in our hotel in Amman, we heard on the news
that night that a hotel in downtown Baghdad had been bombed and many people
killed. The news just strengthened our resolve about the importance of our
mission and we decided to continue with the journey.

On Thursday morning we left Amman for the Iraqi border, driven by two
Iraqi Chaldean Christian drivers. On the way, I said 'Tfillat Haderech', the
Jewish prayer for a safe journey and Arvol said a Lakota prayer. In my car I
learned a little spoken Aramaic from our driver Sahel, e.g. 'hashlama
alukhum' means 'peace be upon you'.

After we crossed the Iraqi border we stopped and held a small prayer
circle for the safety and success of our journey to Baghdad. Jose Arguelles
offered a Mayan blessing. Chief Arvol said "creator help us make this
journey of peace...many people are praying for world peace and harmony and
are praying with us." Warigia offered a prayer in Swahili, I offered a
prayer in Hebrew and Yarovit shared an invocation in Russian.

Just inside the border I noticed a monument in the form of missiles
pointed towards Israel. I had been on the receiving end of missiles from
Iraq during the first Gulf War, so it was a bit unnerving. Our drive took 10
1/2 hours, and after hours of driving through vast and seemingly empty
desert, we finally saw lots of trees and green as we approached the
Euphrates River and passed the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah.

When we arrived to the Arab Palace hotel in downtown Baghdad, we were
welcomed by Donna, an Australian, and Ra'id, a young Iraqi. Donna talked
about her work in Baghdad- the centers she founded to help Iraqi youth to
heal from the traumas of war. We also found out that our hotel was just 3
blocks from the hotel that had been bombed the night before. Indeed from
the window of my hotel room on the 7th floor I could see the damaged hotel.

That night there were rolling power blackouts, which are a regular part of
life in Baghdad. We heard the sounds of tanks driving by. We were a bit
anxious when we heard a very loud explosion outside. We soon learned that
such sounds can be heard on most nights.

On Friday the 19th, several from our group went to the largest Sufi mosque
in Baghdad to invite Sufis to come to the next days' prayer gathering.
Approaching the main gate, we walked past vendors selling prayer beads,
scarves and holy books. Standing in the alley were some young Sufis singing
and chanting with their drums, with an aura of joy around them. We entered
the large sanctuary, which surrounds the tomb of one of the most revered
Sufi saints, Abdul Qadir al-Jilani.

Inside the courtyard we were led to meet with the head sheikh. He welcomed
us to his office and said "Islam is a religion of peace... we respect all
religions, including Judaism and Christianity". Leaving the mosque, we
approached the Sufis we saw earlier and handed them a flyer inviting them to
the gathering at the National Theater.

That afternoon, Friday, we walked to the National Theater and were
welcomed by the director who explained that the theater was being renovated
after its furnishings were looted after the war. The theater staff welcomed
us all warmly, even me when I told them I was Jewish and live in Israel. We
sang a few songs in rehearsal for the ceremony the next day.

On Saturday afternoon, March 20th, leaders representing the diversity of
Iraq's religious traditions, some local Iraqis and camera crews from
different media outlets began to show up at the National Theater. The first
Iraqi religious leaders to arrive were several Sunni Muslim sheikhs from
Baghdad followed by the group of Sufi drummers who we met the day before. A
Chaldean bishop and several Christian mystics also came.

In addition we were joined by a Shiite cleric, who teaches at a very
unique theological institute, the Hilla School of Religion in Hilla, south
of Baghdad. This school teaches young Iraqis about tolerance between the
religions, including teaching Christian and Judaic texts.

To read more about this school see the article 'New Iraqi school spans
chasms between religions' at:
www.christiansciencemonitor.com/2003/1007/p01s04-woiq.html

James Twyman opened the ceremony by singing the Lord's Prayer from the
Christian tradition. "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace...where
there is hatred let me bring love."

Then Chief Arvol Looking Horse told a story from his people the Lakota,
Dakota, & Nakota Great Sioux nation. After a great race in the Black Hills
of South Dakota between all of creation the two leggeds (humans) won. The
eagles offered to protect humanity by flying high in the sky to bless the
earth. However they could only be held aloft if people prayed for them with
offerings of tobacco, song and prayers. The prayers became weak and now
eagles are found in trash pits. Since we are all connected humanity is
unhealthy- we see now black clouds of viruses and disease. It is a warning
from the Animal Nation to humanity that we must again pray for peace and
care for Mother Earth.

Jose Arguelles played a flute and spoke as a messenger of the Mayan
tradition. He explained that in the Mayan calendar, time began in 3133 BC in
Uruk (ancient Iraq) and that this cycle will close in 2012. According to
the Mayan prophecy, as the end of that cycle approaches things will
accelerate and seem chaotic. Only if we can learn to live in harmony by the
closing of this cycle then the coming universal religion will be the
religion of peace. "I came to take this message to Baghdad, close to the
original Uruk, to help fulfill the prophecy".

Then Sufi Sheikh Ahmad Aziz and three other Qadiri Sufis chanted in Arabic
and played their handheld drums, which was quite moving for everyone. Three
Iraqi children sang, bringing the voice of the next generation. Then
Yarovit, dressed in leather and fur offered a shamanic ritual dance and
chant. He then chanted "for peace, for love, al-hamdulilah", getting
everyone to sing with him.

Warigia from Kenya brought blessings for the Iraqi people from the elders
of her country. Then she read out a letter written by her 10-year-old
daughter Nyambura. "War won't solve anything. If they just put their guns
down...they will see that killing is only hurting. They don't see we are all
one big family in heart and spirit. So find peace and love within yourselves
and there will be no more wars." The letter touched everyone's hearts.

The Shiite cleric from Hilla, Shiek Abd Al-Jalil Al-Taei told us: "I
believe in the love religion everywhere I go, this is my religion. How much
we need the dew points of clemency instead of the hell of begrudgements...
Our mission for peace and unity is an urgent necessity. Putting the bridges
between us is better than deepening the pits. We must realize the sanctity
and hugeness of the message we carry, which belongs to all the prophets."

The Sunni sheikh had some harsh criticism of the policies of Israel and of
the American presence in Iraq. He added an invocation calling for peace and
justice.

Then the Asst. Patriarch of the Chaldean Church in Baghdad, Shlemone
Warduny, spoke about his ancient Christian community in Iraq and offered
prayers of peace for the people of Iraq and the world. Sister Nadira Khayyat
from the Carmelite monastery in Baghdad offered a prayer for peace in Jesus'
name in Aramaic.

As the last speaker I was uncertain how I would be received as an openly
religious Jew, wearing a kippah and peyot. The audience relaxed when I
spoke in Arabic, apologizing that I only speak a little of the Palestinian
dialect and not the Iraqi. I said "I come from Jerusalem, the holy city for
all our religions. Remember that the Jews lived side by side with their Arab
neighbors here in Iraq for thousands of years. The second most holy book in
our tradition was written here and is named after Babylon-- it's called the
'Talmud Bavli'."

And then I said "we are near Ur, the birthplace of Abraham, our shared
father and therefore we, the children of Isaac and you the children of
Ishmael, are brothers. Also know that many Jews are working with their
Palestinian friends for peace and understanding. Of the Holy Land, everyone
agrees it is G-d's Land. Ultimately we are all the children of Adam and Eve
and thus all one family, the human family. " The Iraqis could all be seen
nodding in agreement.

Then we all went outside to dedicate a peace pole in front of the National
Theater, adjacent to one of the busiest traffic circles in Baghdad. As we
reached to touch the pole and offer a blessing for peace, I got everyone to
chant together first in Arabic "a-Salaam il'alam ajma'u", and then in
English, "may peace prevail on earth". It was quite a magical moment to see
us all openly gathered at such a public spot in the center of Baghdad.

We then held up the peace banners and posed together for pictures. Even
though we were told it was risky if we lingered outside as a group for much
longer, no one wanted to leave. Many felt it to be a historic moment. Ra'id
shaking his head in disbelief, said, "It¹s a miracle - what happened here
today," he said. ŒA miracle for Iraq.' "People will talk about this for a
long time."

Donna later wrote 'we had been warned that it was dangerous to bring a Jew
into Iraq. The anti-Jewish feeling here is strong and deep. "Muslims sitting
with a Jewish man to pray for peace! It¹s unheard of," Ra¹id exclaimed.

That night at our hotel we gathered to sing for James Twyman on his
birthday and to honor him for this amazing gathering that he, Donna and
others had organized. Yerovit led a shamanic meditation. Then I led our
group, with Iraqi friends in attendance, to sing and dance together for
havdalah, the traditional Jewish end of Shabbat ceremony.

In our last night in Baghdad, Grace, the daughter of the Sioux chief, and
I were invited to the home of our driver Sahel in New Baghdad. There we met
his family- his parents and siblings and their wives. We spent the evening
comparing words in the Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic and Lakota languages.

On Sunday morning we drove back to Amman feeling both a sense of
accomplishment and relief. At the Iraq-Jordan border I noticed that the
monument of missiles had been taken down. It seemed a sign.

In the lobby of our hotel in Amman, some of us came across a group of
Iraqi tribal leaders, each representing the largest tribes in central Iraq.
They were delighted to hear that we had just come from downtown Baghdad to
pray for peace with the people of Iraq. One sheik said, "we are proud that
Abraham is an Iraqi...anytime you want to come back to Iraq you are most
welcome as our guests".

I returned to the Holy Land to news of increased tensions after the Yassin
assassination and of even deeper crisis in Iraq. Nonetheless I can't help
but feel that seeds were planted that day in Baghdad. Our Iraqi friend
Ra'id said about our gathering: "We have a long way to go, but maybe this
is the first step."

This report was prepared with the help of Donna Mulhearn.

To see some great pictures of this gathering, visit:
www.emissaryoflight.com/_.aspx?content=iraq_pictures

Shalom, Salaam,

Eliyahu McLean,
Rodef Shalom, 'Pursuer of Peace'