Wailing Wall and Dome of the Rock
Today, the morning started with a call home…as it does most mornings. While I’m so thankful for this wonderful experience being in Palestine/Israel; I must confess that I miss home. I miss my wife, sons, and extended family members the most. There’s nothing in particular that I miss as it is the rhythm of life that I have become accustomed to which involves their presence. In so many ways, I know who I am because of them. Dr. Naim Akbar would describe this as a part of the African World View: There is no “me” without “we.” My family provides for me a sense of identity.
And if there was a theme to this past Thursday, “identity” would be it. We started the day with a tour of two very important sites for Jews and Muslims: the Wailing Wall (which is part of the remains of the Second Temple built by Herod the Great) and Haram al-Sharif (where the Dome of the Rock – a very holy place for Followers of Islam) can be found. These two very holy sites which mean so much to these two passionate people groups are almost side by side. It is amazing looking at the Wailing Wall which Jews are praying toward and then look up and see the golden dome where Muslims believe that the Prophet Mohammad ascended to the heavens with the angel, Gabriel. Though I’m not Jewish or Muslim, I felt a deep and abiding spirit of reverence while at these locations. I decided to wear my Ghanian garb and it brought with it a few questions from the Muslim elders. I greeted them in Arabic and with my brown skin and traditional attire it made them pause and either invite me into the mosque for prayer or ask where I was from.
I could not enter the mosque for prayer (only Muslims are allowed into the al-Aqsa mosque), but the two Palestinian women who are a part of our delegation did accept the offer to enter for prayer. Already being two very proud Palestinians, I’ve seen them be edified even more so by walking the ground of their ancestral homeland. Being “home” truly does make a difference.
Which is part of the reason that I wanted to come on this trip. I wanted to learn more about the land, the peoples, and the conflict here that involves approximately 4.5 million Palestinian refugees who just want to return home to their land and to their lives.
That’s a side of the “Middle East” conflict that Americans are not allowed to see according to our media. When we see Palestinians in American news they are most times one-dimensional characters. They are stone-throwing, angry, irrational, terrorists who hate “our” way of life and don’t want peace. They are never portrayed as people living under the harsh boot of the Israeli Government’s occupation. They are never portrayed as people who at the end of the day just want to go back home. I’m going to continue hearing the un-filtered stories of Palestinians and Israelies while here and look forward to sharing my experiences in fuller detail with you when I get home…(I also look forward to throwing my television out of the window!)
That’s all for right now.
Salaam.
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