BUILDING BRIDGES - NOT WALLS - IN THE HOLY LAND.

An inter-faith pilgrimage of eight Christians and 13 Muslims have been together for a week in Jerusalem visiting and praying at the holy places (5th – 12th February). Immigration officials at Tel Aviv airport spent six hours checking the passports of the ten Muslims who were under 50 years of age. “This is a very unusual group”, they said as they tried to comprehend what inter-faith dialogue might mean. Eventually everyone’s patience was rewarded by an early morning panorama of domes, steeples and minarets on arrival in the old city of Jerusalem. We were welcomed by the Sisters of Zion at the Ecce Homo Convent situated in the middle of the Muslim Quarter.

The pilgrimage was organised by Building Bridges in Burnley. The intention was to learn more about the three Abrahamic faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam so as to promote mutual understanding and trust here at home.

Members came from many different backgrounds and professions yet were able to freely share laughter and tears together, as well as their prayers and hopes for the future. Muslims joined Christians and many other pilgrims from every continent in the traditional Friday afternoon Stations of the Cross. This a procession along the Via Dolorosa which commemorates Christ’s journey to his passion and death at the Holy Sepulchre. Christians were invited by Muslims into the Dome of the Rock where Jews remember the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac and where Muslims commemorate the Night journey of the Prophet Muhammad to heaven. The Al Aqsa Mosque is the third most holiest shrine in the world.

This visit led to a unique privilege when Mualana Fazlurrahman Hassan, a chaplain to the Blackburn and Burnley Health Trust, was asked to lead prayers in the Dome of the Rock, a duty normally reserved to the mosque’s own Imams. The visit to the Yad Vashem holocaust memorial brought home the sufferings of the Jewish people during the Second World War which led to many fleeing from Europe and seeking refuge in Israel.

A day in Bethlehem involved entering this Palestinian town through an Israeli checkpoint in the recently build Separation Wall. This 20 foot high barrier will eventually extend for over 300 miles and deprives Palestinians of their freedom of movement and consequently of their lands and livelihood. The Arab Educational Institute enabled the Burnley pilgrims to meet both Christian and Muslims Arabs who spoke movingly of their plight. A guided tour of Manger Square with its mosque and church visited the birth place of Jesus Christ, revered by both religions. A small delegation were welcomed by the Vice Consul of the British Consulate in Jerusalem who gave them a detailed briefing about the policy of the British Government in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the ways in which they are promoting peace and providing humanitarian aid. The programme also included visits to Hebron, the shrine of Abraham and

the Patriarchs and to Massada, the fortress in the Dead Sea valley where the Jews made their last courageous stand against the Romans in 130AD.

Fr. Michael Waters, group leader, said, “The whole pilgrimage was summed up for me when someone made the statement, ‘Fear builds walls but faith builds bridges’. I believe that our visit together as Muslims and Christians provided a small flame of hope to the peoples of God’s Holy Land and strengthened our resolve to work even more closely for the good of Burnley.”