VOA News - Children = of Diverse Religious Backgrounds Celebrate Jerusalem

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Children of Diverse Religious = Backgrounds Celebrate Jerusalem
By Gini = Sikes=20 New York 14 December = 2005

Sikes=20 report (Real Media) - Download 477k 3D"audio

Listen=20 to Sikes report (Real Media) 3D"audio

Around the = world, battles are=20 waged in the name of religion. But in Brooklyn, New York, a = simple=20 children's book about Jerusalem brought together Christian, = Jewish=20 and Muslim children for a special holiday event.

Although it's been called the City of Peace, perhaps no = city has=20 been fought over more than Jerusalem. Yet thousands of miles = away, a=20 group of Christian, Jewish and Muslim school children came = together=20 to discover what the Holy City means to all their = faiths.

In a project initiated by the Jewish-sponsored = Anti-Defamation=20 League, children from three schools, one Jewish, one Roman = Catholic=20 and one primarily Turkish Muslim, read the illustrated = children's=20 book, "Jerusalem Sky: Stars, Crosses and Crescents." They = then=20 exchanged letters and met for the first time in a holiday=20 performance. The Muslim children shared what they'd learned = in short=20 speeches.

"I'm going to talk about making peace with the three = religions.=20 How could we do this? We could write letters to each other, = talk=20 about our differences, and we could keep on writing letters = to each=20 other so that we could be pen pals and friends," one Muslim = child=20 said.

Jewish children presented paintings of the three = religions'=20 sacred sites in Jerusalem: The Jews' Western Wall, = Christians' Holy=20 Sepulcher and Muslims' Dome of the Rock. The Catholic = children sang=20 in Spanish, reflecting the Latino heritage of many Catholic = New=20 Yorkers.

"Esto es el d=C3=ADa Esto es el d=C3=ADa Que el = Se=C3=B1or ha hecho Que el Se=C3=B1or=20 ha hecho Regocij=C3=A9mosnos y estemos contento en ello." = they sang. The=20 lyrics mean "This is the day this is the day that the Lord = has made=20 that the Lord has made Let us rejoice and be glad in = it".

The children are ambassadors of love and respect, said = Brooklyn=20 borough president Marty Markowitz. Just like kids in = Jerusalem they,=20 too, come from a very diverse city. "Here in Brooklyn, we're = lucky=20 that we have it all. We have every religion in the world, = and even=20 some you never heard of in, Brooklyn. I can assure you if = it's out=20 there, it's somewhere here," he said.

To the delight of the children, Mr. Markowitz read from=20 "Jerusalem Sky," switching from a Jewish Yarmulka to a = priest's=20 collar to a kufi representing Islam. "Atop these majestic = monuments=20 to miracles, synagogue stars, church crosses and mosque = moons meet=20 under the Jerusalem Sky and merge their shadows. And there = are the=20 world's three great religions side by side," he said.

The author and artist of "Jerusalem Sky," Mark Podwal, = listened=20 in the audience. "I didn't know what to expect, you know I = didn't=20 know whether this would be a chore for the kids. But one = mother told=20 me something that moved me: her son was so excited that he = wanted to=20 wear a suit," he said.

After the presentation, the children mingled and talked = about=20 things they had not known about the other faiths.

"I'm Jewish and I learned that I didn't know that there = were=20 Christians in Jerusalem," said one girl

"I didn't know that either. I thought Jerusalem was = pretty much=20 Jewish land owned by Jews. I thought that was all it was. I = know=20 there are many Christians, a lot, but I wouldn't have = guessed that=20 Muslims because I never thought who the Dome of the Rock = belonged=20 to. And I don't think I ever heard of the Church of the Holy = Sepulcher," a boy said.

To an adult eye, there were few differences among these=20 youngsters. Girls huddled in circles and giggled, boys = chased each=20 other. Both Catholic and Muslim girls wore plaid school = uniforms. An=20 11-year-old girl wore a headscarf and just shrugged when = asked=20 whether other children wanted to know why.

"They are like what's that mean? Why do you wear that = thing? I'm=20 Muslim. I believe that Allah to cover my hair so I'm really = proud=20 that I wear a hijab," he said.

A children's book may not be able to ease the battles = that wage=20 among all religions, but for a single afternoon in Brooklyn = it=20 brought joy and forged friendships among children from three = faiths.

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