Abundance Beyond
Generosity: On The Road to Babylon on Day 11 by Steve Clemens
It was raining this morning as we left for the city of Hilla
and the nearby ruins of Babylon. We were riding in a 20+ passenger bus with
members of the Muslim Peacemaker Team as we headed about 45 minutes north of
Najaf. Deborah, a delegate from Boston had asked Sami Rasouli a question about
the structure of the Arabic language in comparison to English. Sami was
explaining the difference between a “request” and an “order” when someone is
asking another to do something and the conversation flowed into a discussion
about our differing cultures. Because of his long-time experience both as an
American and an Iraqi, Sami has been an ideal guide in helping us navigate
between the two cultures on this journey of reconciliation.
Sami started talking about the culture of generosity in Iraq
and gave this illustration: many individuals have approached him about hosting
our American delegation. Some want generously want to take us to a restaurant
and buy us a meal. The restaurant might be even a five-star rated establishment
but you will still order only one meal each when you are there. Other Iraqis
have asked to host us in their homes. Even though our delegation is only 7 foreigners
and are accompanied by as many as 7 additional MPT members, one host had made
enough food to serve 100 people! That is abundance. The host not only has
welcomed us into his home, already a gesture of honor and respect, but in
providing so much food so no one could possibly go hungry communicates a
measure of abundance which flows out of his hospitality.
The host and his family did not eat with us – they waited
until his honored guests had their fill and only then, as we gathered in
another room for fruit, sweets, and tea, did the family members eat. Sami tells
us that other Iraqis are vying for the opportunity to host us, outdoing one
another. Here in a land without reliable energy from the national grid or clean
enough water from the local treatment plant one might expect a culture of
scarcity and protecting what you’ve gotten already. Of course there is some of
that; Iraqis are humans and humans often fall short of the goals set by
themselves and others.
We witnessed the flip side to abundance as we stopped to
visit the tomb of the Prophet Ezekiel of Hebrew Bible fame. It is located in a
small town between Hilla and Najaf. The grab for power and the use of authority
to exercise that power over others depends on scarcity rather than abundance.
After walking through the souk to get to the path to get to the site where the
bones of the Old Testament prophet, exiled to Babylon, were buried, our group
was halted by an Iraqi policeman who told us we couldn’t enter. After an
animated back and forth between Sami, Ishan (an MPT member) and the three
policeman who gathered, Sami tells us we must leave for our own security.
After returning to the bus, Sami tells us the policeman
noted there were foreigners in our group and this local policeman wanted to
exercise his authority by being able to tell us “No!” The excuse given was that
the tomb was under repair and they were afraid we’d take pictures and make it
look like the Iraqis weren’t preserving this historical site properly. Sami
speculated however that the real reason might be because he saw foreigners and
we might be Jews because many of the foreigners visiting are Jews. Despite all
the deference given to “People of the Book” by those promoting inter-faith
dialog, many ordinary Iraqis, just like typical Americans, are often influenced
by negative stereotypes promoted by the media or politicians. 
Another classic example of power rather than
generosity/abundance was very evident at the ruins of Babylon. Across the
Euphrates River, on a hill overlooking the partially excavated site of one of
the most famous cities in the world, is a palace constructed by Saddam Hussein.
That megalomaniac fancied himself as the new Nebuchadnezzar, and he promoted
himself as the Lion of Babylon. After all, he had much of the wall of the city
rebuilt during his reign to the dismay and scorn of real archeologists who
wrote off the work as inauthentic. Even some of the bricks are inscribed with
Saddam’s handwriting in a way to mimic the real bricks that have writing dating
back to Nebuchadnezzar’s age. For Saddam, ruling a country with an iron fist
wasn’t enough – he imagined himself as an historical figure. Maybe he is
correct: he’s now viewed historically as someone who produced great and lasting
danger and destruction to his own country.
But let us return to abundance. Sami is a great storyteller.
He regaled us with an account of a US soldier and a Najafi civilian resident.
After an encounter at a checkpoint, the man from Najaf invited the American
soldier to visit him in his home – provided he came without his uniform or his
gun. When the American arrived, the Najafi invited others of his friends to
come meet the American. They clambered to invite him into their own homes – again
with the same conditions, no weapons, no uniform. He was feted with tea and the
Iraqi hospitality and he left realizing that “the enemy” was just like himself.
When the soldier returned to his barracks, he told his fellow troops about his
experience and he was quickly disciplined and removed from that base. If you
question who is the enemy, you can no longer be trusted to follow orders is the
presumption made by officers in charge. After all, if the enemy is one you can
break bread with, they actually become human rather than stereotypes. Thus
abundance, generosity acted upon becomes the heart and soul of nonviolence.
