Chabad Rabbi Visits Abu Dhabi

By Rabbi Zalman Kastel

As a young Oholei Torah Bochur, my Chaverim and I always aspired to change the world. Yet I never imagined that I, a Chabad Rabbi wearing a black hat, would be invited to a Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim societies, in the Arab Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

The Forum was initiated by an authority on Islamic law and religion, Shaykh Abdullah Bin Bayyah. On the second night of the forum, I lit the menorah in the presence of the Shaykh and two key leaders of the American Muslim community, together with a group of other Jewish leaders, academics and rabbis from the US, Europe and Israel.

Delegates at the Forum included many Muslim leaders from the Middle East, Pakistan, Africa, Europe and the US. Alongside these leaders were one Yazidi from Northern Iraq, a number of American Christian leaders and about sixteen Jews. The diversity of the participants reflected the aim of the conference: advancing an alliance of virtue between people of different faiths. (This practical problem solving focus is very different to classic interfaith dialogue, as I have been advised by Chabad Rabbonim).

The forum openly confronted the problem of violent extremism and terrorism. “There is an implicit pact between Muslims and non-Muslims, wherever they live alongside each other, not to cause harm to each other. Violation of that implicit pact is a sin,” stated Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani of the Fiqh council, Karachi, Pakistan.

In one of the talks at the conference, a Muslim speaker explained that human activity begins as thought, as we know from chassidus. For this reason, forum speakers shared their learned thoughts about the historical origins of the Arabic concept of an alliance of virtue and its validity from an Islamic perspective.

The alliance has already moved from thought to action. Two billion meals were either fed or committed to the hungry by alliance members.

“If we don’t want religion to be part of the problem, then religion must be part of the solution,” declared Rabbi David Rosen, who came to the conference from Jerusalem.

My fellow Jewish delegates and I had many positive conversations with Imams from around the world. Some are already close to their local Jewish communities, while others had their first meeting with a Jew at the conference.

Every panel that presented at the forum, except for one, included a Jewish member. A Kosher caterer from the nearby Emirate of Dubai brought kosher food. We almost had a minyan for Shachris – 8 Jews attended the davening. We sang Hallel together in the center of this Arab country at a Muslim conference. We could hardly have been made to feel more welcome.

On the second night of the forum, Shaykh Bin Bayyah joined me and the other Jewish delegates as I lit the Menorah. He was genuinely very warm in his conversation with us. I was deeply moved by the significance of the moment. I thought about the Chanukah teaching that a little bit of light drives away a lot of darkness.

Rabbi Zalman Kastel works in combating hatred and fostering intercultural understanding in Sydney Australia. He also gives Shiurim and blogs on social issues from a Torah perspective. His blog is can be found here.

Photo: Peter Sanders

One more point of light from Hanukkah: While participating in an interfaith summit in Abu Dhabi, an AJC delegation and other Jewish attendees were joined by Muslim clergy to light the menorah. Watch the moving event here. pic.twitter.com/7Ukkjeb6NP

— AJC (@AJCGlobal) December 11, 2018