Author seeks unity of three faiths with common ancestor

Fear filled Bruce Feiler as he walked into Hebron, epicenter of Muslim-Jewish warfare and the site of the tomb of Abraham, father of Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

"I wanted to see if in the bloodiest part of the conflict, people could agree on anything," says the bestselling author of "Walking the Bible" and other books.

Feiler, a New York Jew, went to Hebron to visit Abraham's tomb a few months ago as part of a physical and philosophical expedition that resulted in his new book, "Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths" (William Morrow, $23.95).

After the Sept. 11 attacks, Feiler writes, he saw the need "to gain insight into a contemporary situation by turning away from the present and looking back to its historical source" because "especially in matters of faith, even the most modern act is informed by centuries of intermingled belief, blood and misunderstanding."

Feiler says, "I gave 150 speeches in the past year for 'Walking the Bible' and I saw a yearning for ancient texts and Scripture." So, post-Sept. 11, he visited the Middle East sites important in the Abraham story. He collected both ancient tales and modern interpretations by the three faiths.

Promoting dialogue

And as he travels the United States, Feiler says, he sees that in places of worship "adult education is the boom."

To promote dialogue among the three faiths, Feiler has arranged several interfaith "Abraham Summits" around the nation among clergy and "Abraham Salons," or house meetings of mostly laypeople to discuss their common ancestor (Abraham) and, Feiler hopes, find common ground. Before Feiler's work, such discussion groups were already under way in North Texas, as clergy and educators work to promote interfaith dialogue.

Feiler says the summit and salon ideas came to him after Sept. 11 when, like many people, he began casting about for a constructive role. "I can't be a soldier or rescue worker," he says. "But I can invite 10 people to my house to talk openly about the hardest thing" -- religious differences.

Gunfire and mortar explosions were sounding in the distance when Feiler journeyed to Abraham's tomb in the West Bank city of Hebron. A half-dozen times, Feiler and his driver were stopped and questioned by armed guards.

But at the tomb, Feiler found not only hope but joy. He read the biblical account of Abraham's death and burial and was reminded that at Abraham's funeral, "his two most prominent sons, (Isaac and Ishmael) ... scions of rival nations, come together for the first time since they were rent apart nearly three-quarters of a century earlier."

At the tomb, Feiler met an American Jew who had settled in the heart of the disputed West Bank area. His apartment is fortified with sandbags, but it is his faith that sustains him.

Then, Feiler writes, two students arriving at the tomb were moved by such religious ecstasy that they clasped hands and danced in a circle, chanting.

Deep philosophy

The 200-page book is a primer of sorts on the historical, biblical and Koranic Abraham. But the book also ventures fairly deeply into philosophical approaches to a question on the minds of many, post-Sept. 11, and succinctly phrased by Feiler in a recent interview: "Why do they hate us?"

According to Genesis, Abraham broke with tradition in a major way by leaving his father's land and following a "new" God. Later he and his previously infertile wife, Sarah, were blessed with son Isaac. But not before Abraham had fathered Ishmael by his concubine, Hagar.

Isaac, who narrowly escaped becoming a human sacrifice as part of Abraham's devotion to God, became the father and icon of the Jews. To Muslims, Ishmael is the hero; they believe he was the intended sacrifice. Christianity, as an outgrowth of Judaism, reveres Abraham and Isaac alike.

"Abraham" explores this man, a patriarch to adherents of three religions that often find themselves at odds with one another.

Many scholars and lay people believe that at the heart of the ancient rift between Jews and Muslims is the Isaac-Ishmael rivalry. Genesis reports that at Sarah's urging, Abraham sent his concubine, Hagar, and son Ishmael into exile -- and certain death -- in the desert. But Hagar's faith caused God to spare her and Ishmael; they were provided the miracle of water in a dry place.

Later, Genesis says, God called Abraham to sacrifice Isaac but spared him at the last second. Judaism considers the call to sacrifice a sign of favor; that the favored son would be the "sacrificial lamb" is considered a blessing. Many Muslims believe that instead of Isaac, it was Ishmael who was favored and chosen as the intended sacrifice.

Isaac became the father of the Jews; Ishmael the father of the Muslims.

The Isaac sacrifice story became a metaphor and model for Jewish endurance of suffering, and even the ultimate sacrifice of children, rather than relinquishing faith, Feiler writes. In 11th-century Germany, he writes, Jews were tortured if they didn't convert to Christianity. "Rather than apostatize, many Jews opted to kill themselves and their children. Jewish prayer books at the time actually contained prayers to be recited before killing children and committing suicide."