An uncommon ally for at-risk minority
July 22nd, 2007 at 2:19 pmMailing List Registration, Please Click Here
July 22, 2007
BY DAVID CRUMM
FREE PRESS RELIGION WRITER
Internet sites are a dime a million these days, but there aren’t many that leap as many cultural chasms as the one designed by Eastern Michigan University senior Aaron-Micael Beydoun.
He’s a Muslim, Lebanese-American peace activist who uses lessons from the late Pope John Paul II and the philosopher-poet Kahlil Gibran in a Web site dedicated to protecting Lebanon’s most endangered minority: Jews.
“Many people who care about world peace don’t understand this very important point,” Beydoun said at his Dearborn Heights home, where he runs his global effort from a laptop.
“The point is this: If I want to protect human rights in my own community — let’s say in my family’s homeland of Lebanon — then I can only be successful in protecting human rights if, first, I reach out to protect the most vulnerable part of that community.
“No, I’m not Jewish, but I want to build a community in which everyone is safe in fully expressing their faith and culture.”
His Web site has attracted global attention, including news reports in France and the Middle East.
Beydoun’s site opens with John Paul II’s words during a 1997 visit to Lebanon in which the pope praised the country’s tradition as a multicultural oasis in the Middle East. If it can preserve that ideal, the pope said, “Lebanon is more than a country. It is a message.”
After those lines, visitors jump inside his site to find photos and news items about efforts to protect Jewish cemeteries, synagogues and other sacred sites in Lebanon.
“My goal right now is to have the central synagogue in Beirut, which is empty but is still standing, declared a World Heritage Site that should be protected,” he said.
Near his laptop lay a volume of poetry by Gibran, a Lebanese-American writer who died in 1931. Opening the book, Beydoun read from “A Poet’s Voice”:
“You and I are all children of one religion, for the varied paths of religion are but the fingers of the loving hand of the Supreme Being, extended to all.”
He closed the book.
“That’s what I think. Our vision must get bigger if we are going to live together in peace.”
wadi abu jmil Said,
July 22, 2007 @ 9:12 pm
Great job as usual !
Norm Said,
July 22, 2007 @ 11:19 pm
I congratulate Mr. Beydoun on your nobile effort to preserve Jewish history of Lebanon.
At the same time, empty Jewish institutions is a reminder of what happened to these communities in many if not all Arab countries. Empty monuments will not bring back Jewish life to Lebanon so let us preserve and improve lives of Palestinian refugees and eliminate camps where they lived for over 60 years. They could be easily integrated in to Lebanese society as were Jewish refugees in other parts of the world including Israel. It will be a great start to the Middle east process and world stability since most of terror is initiated in these camps- education of next generation of refugees is also a key.
Let’s put all detractors like Hezbollah, Hamas and others out of business forever!
Hussein Said,
July 23, 2007 @ 11:33 am
Mabrook… btw.. do Lebanese Jews LIVING in Leb talk here??
I would like to see them communicate and have plans, meet… and let them know that people r ok with them being Jews.. I would like to see a big step from the Jewish community and declare its presence.. by rebuilding the bet-knesset Magen Avraham..
Hussein Said,
July 24, 2007 @ 3:24 pm
I’m sorry Mr. Beydoun but instead of uniting Hezbollah and Hamas with the Jews.. Norm is making it harder.. I think that those comments shouldn’t be posted.. because they don’t help the Jews in Lebanon… it is a clear message that he (Norm) wants to eliminate us (Hezbollah and the resistance to “Israel”) and thats not a national position.. why do Lebanese (like Hezbollah) oppose Israel and other “Lebanese” like (Norm) or speaking in favor of the Jews say that about their compatriots?
Someone Said,
July 25, 2007 @ 3:37 am
Hussein, yes there are Lebanese Jews living in Lebanese who talk here. I am one, though I am currently (temporarily) out of the country. I’ve posted here before, as you might have noticed.
il wadi Said,
July 26, 2007 @ 12:11 am
Hussein with all do respect this isnt a political website norm this isnt one for u 2 lol last time me and my friend started this whole topic which was not good for the website. But since you said something about 7ezballah Libnana would be fine without them in fact better we wouldnt go to war there would be NO fighting with israel and all the crap in LEbanon allllll of is because us the lebanese well nto all of us in fact not most of us but the ones there let it happen and didn nothing about it.
Again mabrouk khayyeh beydoun keep it up habibi
Allah ma3akon
il wadi Said,
July 26, 2007 @ 12:13 am
We want to gather all of the lebanese brothers not elminate ! BUT the proper will have to be done in order ot get there for peace
the day we say knis maghen abraham rebuilt is the day that jews will maybe be able to consider lebanon what it use to be
inshallah soon!
A-A Said,
July 27, 2007 @ 2:10 pm
Lebanese jews have nothing to fear from Hezbollah… They are anti-zionist, not antisemitic… Hassan Nasrallah even met a group of anti-zionist rabbis some years ago in Lebanon… Many of the jewish sites are now located in regions where Hezbollah is strong and yet are untouched and intact… The jewish cemetery of Sodeco lies a 100 meters from a huge picture of Hassan Nasrallah and has never been vandalised… The cemetery and synaguoge of Saida; another place where Hezbollah is very present; are also intact, the cemetery was cleaned up some years ago!
I won’t go any further with this as these subjects hurt the integrity of the site… But please don’t fall for those cliches, or at least if you still grip to them, refrain to spread them on this site, which is supposed to be absolutely non-political…
Thank you…
Hussein Said,
July 31, 2007 @ 8:29 pm
Someone.. am glad to know that now
and if u don’t mind.. i would be delighted to talk to u through the e-mail at least 
and not to show sympathy towards the Jews of Leb and cry coz of wat happened in the past but to do something for it 
il wadi.. u can’t be less march 14.. ur comments aren’t at all patriotic nor peaceful.. (as usual march 14 speeches).. look.. u said that we shouldn’t talk about politics and that u previously harmed the site.. well u did it again.. (talking about Hezbollah now).. so am not gonna answer that since it is irrelevant to the issue of the site.. talk to me about that in a political blog..
when i talk about politics i say that everything is politicized in Lebanon.. thats why.. the return of the Jews MAY be politicized and is controversial.. (since Zionism and “Israel” exist.. and r usually related to the Jews in general).. so thats why the issue of the Jews is more likely to be politicized.. i wouldn’t talk about Hezbollah unless it is brought up or at least to show the opinion of a Hezbollah supporter.. which is usually called a terrorist or a fundamentalist.. now even in Lebanon)… and to show that the Jews shouldn’t fear Hezbollah coz of their arms or of their ideology (usually feared by SUNNIS, CHRISTIANS, and other religions in Leb)
and i want to say something now about Zionism.. that we (Arabs, Jews, and anti-Zionists) should work to free the Jews from Zionism.. and thats becoz we r right and we know the difference between “Israel” and the Jews..
Hussein Said,
July 31, 2007 @ 8:32 pm
and that NO ONE should fear Hezbollah.. because we aren’t harming nor threatening anyone…
Administration Said,
August 7, 2007 @ 4:52 am
Comment Guidelines
All feedback and comments are welcomed and encouraged. The site administration preserves an atmosphere of freedom, transparency, and respect. However, all posted comments must be strictly confined to the aforementioned post to which the visitor is commenting upon and must remain in a strictly relevant context. All posts that have no relevance, such as those dealing with the Arab-Israeli conflict, are not tolerated and will not be published. This is a strictly apolitical, humanitarian, and Lebanese project and will as remain as such. Ultimately, all comments and feedback must be reflective of these fundamental principals.
alebanesejew Said,
August 9, 2007 @ 5:25 am
السلام عليكم أخ حسين،
أكيد فيك تراسلني. عنوان بريدي الإلكتروني هو: اسمي (كما يرد في هذا الردّ) آت جيمايل دوت كوم.
w bil nesbe la Hezballah, fi nes ma fiya ma te7ki 3an el moqawame khususan ba3d 7arb tammouz w intisar el muqawame w Lbnen dodd qiwa al damar al shamel. el moqawame shawke fi 3ayn w jism el kayen el sahyouni, 3ashen heik jama3at el daght, ay el lobiyet el sahyouniye, w el mutwajde bi kathafe 3al internet, btshteghel leil nhar 3ala tashwih sooret el moqawama wa i3ta2 bu3d dini lil sira3, fi 7in enno el sira3 msh dini wala ta2ife, bal huwa sira3 bein el 7aq wl 7urriye mn jiha, wl isti3mar wl damar mn jiha tenye. Fa bitmanna enkon ma ta3toowon majel la yerja3o ye7ko 3an hezballah. Henne aslan msh jeyeen hon lada3m el mashru3 (ta7iye la Harun/Aaron!). Yelli 3ambijeebo siret el hezb bi kll zghire w kbire henne sahayne w ma ra7 ye2ten3o shu ma katabto. Sem3een bi shi esmo ghasil dmegh? Eh, fa ma tdayy3o wa2tkon.
alebanesejew Said,
August 9, 2007 @ 5:57 am
Ba3dein, if Hezballah is so anti-Semitic, then how come I never received one hate mail from a Hezballah supporter, and dozens of hate mails from so-called Jews, in which I was called everything from a “bad Jew” (deserving Hashem’s wrath) to someone who deserves to have an Israeli bomb dropped on my house (all because I said I did not support Israel)? Lemme guess — is this yet another instance of the unquestioned “all Jews good/enlightened, all Muslims bad/terrorists/anti-Semites” theory?
Parasites breed on hatred and hate tolerance and coexistence. Fighting tolerance is their number one priority - an existential one. That’s zionism for you in a nutshell. Now, if you are a zionist, then I gave you a piece of my mind (sue me), and frankly I do not care one iota what your views are, but let me tell you, the more you advance your politicized arguments on a website that is intended to be (and is) apolitical, the more you are showing your true face and intentions. If you are seeking the minds and hearts of innocent potential brainwashees, you better apply for a position at one of the university campus “Hillel” brainwashing offices.
Judy Ann Said,
August 20, 2007 @ 12:07 am
What a fabulous forum for communication. Mr. Beydoun, thank you so much for having this site to promote a fresh understanding of each other. I think that we - humanity - are at a pivitol crossroads right now.
We’re at a point where we could sadly surrender to falling for all of the negativism - or we could give rise to a new hope.
We’re lost. In regard to religion, I think that its the “extremest” postitions of ANY religion that distort God’s intended paths to spiritual connection. If ANY religion leads one to think in terms of hatered - than i believe it to be false - and not that of God. God’s very essence is Love - its that divine power that inspired Creation - and its the same divine power that can lead us to Light. Resist hate - give yourself to Love and watch the miracles begin.
NAMASTE-
judy
(a Lebanese - American - i claim no religion other than that of Love)
Karim Said,
August 24, 2007 @ 6:42 pm
“Chapeau”! Fantastic site. The video should be seen by ALL Lebanese.
Already started forwarding it to friends. Keep the good work Mr. Beydoun!
To Hussein, Norm…come on Gents, let’s forget political issues & just try to imagine Lebanon leaving in peace with its neighbors, Palestinians enjoying a decent live & Israeli not feeling threatened!
Or imagine the Nejmeh soccer team beating the Maccahbe’s on their home turf! What a day this would be! Or Israeli skiers competing in Faraya, and getting all the medals (in fact, it can’t happen, as we Lebanese are better skiers…hahaha lol)
Or imagine an Israeli farmer sharing his know-how & skills with Abu Ali from
Bint Jbeil, helping him to improve his productivity!
Or imagine Haifa Wehbe singing in a Tel Aviv stadium: That day my friends,
Israelis would simply give up & admit our superiority! hahaha lol
On a more serious note, one day Inchallah, we should all be praying side-by-side in Jerusalem & Deir Al Kamar (where a Synagogue, a Church & a Mosque has been “coexisting” for centuries)
Karim
ram79 Said,
August 28, 2007 @ 10:10 pm
goodluck mr beydoun great job and we hope to see u in lebanon and to talk about all these things.
about karim 3ajabne kel shi katabto la2anno ana nejmewe hope to meet u karim.hope to see u bel madine lama nel3ab againt ansar
ramiwalid@hotmail.com