Over the past decade we have traveled to Syria nine times. These past journeys have been the scene of some of our most powerful encounters in the Middle East. We have listened to and made friends with people from young students to government ministers. Elias has spoken three times at the largest mosque in Damascus before thousands of people, as well as been interviewed on Syria’s most popular television news show. It was in Syria where we first met with the people who turned out to be key players in the unfolding of the Masar – Abraham’s Path.
To us, Syria represents a key element in the equation that will ultimately release regional tensions. This is partly because of its common border with Israel (and with Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Iraq), and partly because of its long role as the site and occasion for melding Arab and European cultures.
Syrians are a proud and intelligent people—proud of their ancient heritage, their religions, and their geographical and cultural position in the Middle East. At the same time they feel, along with much of the Arab Muslim world, isolated and misunderstood. As long as the powerful nations of the West marginalize Syria, there will be conflict in the region. We have been told that at present Syria is undergoing “a cultural and political renaissance.” If this is true, we will seek to find more ways to serve the greater openness and the people of Syria.
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Letter from the Road #23: Damascus: SYRIA PILGRIMAGE – Elizabeth
“In America, the idea of us Syrians is that we eat foreigners,” joked Mahat El-Khoury, a 71 year-old human rights worker and recent Damascus “Woman of the Year.”
“We Syrians feel misunderstood by the West. You don’t understand our religions, our family ways, our history, or our politics. You think we’re terrorists. We like American people but we feel poorly treated by your government and its policies.” Mahat’s feelings were echoed by the multitude of Syrians we spoke with during the past three weeks in Syria.”
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