Students Share Stories of Coexistence

6 September, 2007

On Monday, 5 September 2007 , three Bethlehem University students and one recent graduate (two males and two females, two Muslims and two Christians) presented at a session dealing with coexistence in Palestine during the first day of the three-day Exploring Christian-Muslim Relations in the Middle East and the West International Religious Conference held at Bethlehem University from Sept 5 th – 7 th . Sharing their experiences as young adult Palestinians and reflecting on their education at Bethlehem University , these four young adults spoke of a variety of personal growth experiences and of positive Christian-Muslim relations and dialogue in their daily lives.

Khalil Fawadleh, a Christian in his fourth year as an English major at Bethlehem University , described Aboud, his home village, as a place where Christians and Muslims alike have shared and continue to share in all aspects of life. Reflecting on the daily life experiences of his early formative years in Aboud, Khalil spoke of how “the similarities between Christians and Muslims number more than the differences.”

Shatha Daqqaq, a Muslim from Beit Jala in her fourth year at Bethlehem University , majoring in Business Administration, described her early life experiences growing up in the predominantly Christian community of Beit Jala. Shatha spoke of the variety of positive daily life experiences she and her family encountered visiting with her Christian and Muslim neighbors. She concluded that it was her daily family experiences that helped her to see that the differences between Christians and Muslims in Palestine were far fewer than the similarities they shared. Recounting the early childhood memories of her first years in elementary school, Shatha recalled feeling awkward and somewhat confused at the age of 6 when her 1 st grade teacher began to separate her and her classmates according to their religion. “I really did not know who I was, a Christian or a Muslim, and my closest friend and I were surprised to discover we were of different religions” Shatha recalled feeling at that time.

Muhammed Jubran, a Muslim from the predominantly Christian town of Beit Sahour , is in his fourth year as a Computer and Information Systems major at Bethlehem University . He said that his interactions with the various Christian clergy, teachers and De La Salle Christian Brothers over the years helped him realize the importance and value of respectfully engaging people of all faith traditions in intellectual dialogue and interpersonal relations so as to grow in understanding of oneself and of the other.

Shireen Awad, is a 2006 Bethlehem University graduate from Beit Sahour, the Shepherds Fields town just south of Bethlehem . She said that the first time she had the chance to truly interact with Muslims was during her four years as a student as Bethlehem University . Shireen, who is now a teacher at the Greek Catholic School in Beit Sahour, concluded that it was her education and the culture of the Bethlehem University community which made it possible for her and her Christian and Muslim colleagues to freely engage in dialogue. She emphasized that it was her education and experiences which helped her to counteract the potentially harmful effects of mass media, which often creates and portrays stereotypic assumptions about the other.

From their own lived experiences, all three students along with the young alumna of the University, identified specific venues at Bethlehem University that encouraged people of both faith traditions to continue to enrich each other through dialogue and academic interaction.

Among the other presenters during the first day of the three-year Conference was Dr. Bernard Sabella, a current member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and former faculty member at Bethlehem University . Bernard emphasized that when thinking of Palestinian Christians, one must remember that they are proud of being Palestinian. He emphasized that the shared history and daily living experiences of Palestinian Muslims and Christians foster positive relations in Palestine . Dr. Sabella concluded that while religion is often a significant force in determining different aspects of daily life, it is characteristic of Palestine Christians and Muslims to live harmoniously.