On February 10, 2005, 45 Muslims, Christians and Jews took a journey to the Holy Land to explore the common spiritual roots of the three great Abrahamic faiths. The objective of this pilgrimage was to deepen the understanding and the mutual respect in spite of the on going political conflicts and violence. Three enrichment sessions at the Islamic Center of Southern California, Wilshire Boulevard Temple and St. James Episcopalian Church presented different perspectives of faith.

Arriving to Tel Aviv Airport was a tremendously emotional experience for the fifteen Muslims, but once we cleared the legal formalities we realized that it is up to all of us to make the best out of this rare opportunity. The theme of sharing each others’ faiths and spiritual experiences was demonstrated in our daily activities. We started Shabbat with a veiled Muslim woman lighting the Shabbat candle. It must have been an unusual site to the Israelis to see Muslims and Christians joining in celebrating such a sacred Jewish holiday.

The next day, everyone was at ease intermingling with Israeli Arabs in Akko around Al-Jazzar Mosque in this Muslim city. In Nazareth: Father Rick and Deacon Eric led a Sunday Eucharist service at the Nazareth Synagogue Church, the place where Jesus is believed to have started preaching as a young Jewish Rabbi. To be in such a historic place and for Muslims and Jews to receive Christian service dissolved any remaining doubt of our common roots in believing in One God, the God of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Mohammed. In the evening everybody joined the Muslims in Maghrib prayer. One Rabbi was moved to tears when he explained the serenity that he felt prostrating his head to the ground upon the call of “Allahu Akbar.” He explained how Jews prostrate only once a year in Yum Kippur, but he never felt closer to God than when he joined Muslims and Christians in this ultimate expression of submission to God.

At the Basilica of Annunciation of Mary, both the Biblical account of the Immaculate Conception and the Quranic narrative of Jesus’ birth were read: “O Mary! God gives you glad tidings of a word from Him; his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary.” As Father Rick often put it, “Different shades of the same light.”

A visit to the 1,800-year-old Nabatian city of Petra, Jordan, was thought to be a break from our religious journey. However, it became apparent that this magnificent city carved in a mighty red mountain may be the dwelling of the people of Thamoud mentioned in the Quran and discovered only 200 years ago.

At Mt. Nebo, we saw the Holy Land to the Mediterranean as Moses once stood urging the Israelites to heed God: “O my people! Enter the Holy Land which God had assigned unto you”. The rebellious response of some of the weak at heart among the Israelites was; “Go forth, you and your Lord and fight together, while we sit here.”

The climax of our pilgrimage was the first glimpse of Jerusalem in the evening where the golden Dome of the Rock overwhelms the city’s light. One could not see the tears in everyone’s eyes, but we felt the emotion and the awe that breaks through all barriers of religion, ethnicity and political persuasion. This experience can only happen once. Going to Al-Haram Al-Shareef and praying Fajr at Al-Aqsa Mosque cannot be explained: the ground that has been touched with prophets from Abraham to Muhammad was incredible!

Due to the tenacity and the insistence of the Muslim pilgrims, our Christians and Jewish friends had the rare experience to be inside the Aqsa Mosque and The Dome of The Rock. The pouring of emotion was unparalleled to anything we had experienced. Tears of joy and love were in everybody’s eyes could no longer be controlled. Under the Dome of the Rock, a Jew and a Muslim could be seen hugging and comforting each other with “It’s going to be all right.” A fellow Christian could no longer hold the emotion and joined in with words like “This is a place for peace and love. How can anyone see it any other way?”

A journey that started with a great deal of apprehension and uncertainty, ended up with lots of love, friendship, and true understanding.