Text and images Britt Arnhild Wigum Lindland
In the desert, somewhere north of Damascus, you find the old monastery Deir Mar Musa. There the Italian Padre Paolo has built up a dialogue center where christians and muslims meet.
390 steps took us from the bus up to the monastery. In the burning desert sun I climbed with two water bottles, a camera and a heart filled with anticipation.
In the book The Street Philosopher and The Holy Fool, Marius Kociejovski tells about his visit to Deir Mar Musa, and his meeting with Padre Paolo. He lets Padre Paolo share his thoughts about the dialogue between religions:
When I speak of this I find myself between two points. The first is, what pushed me towards dialogue? It was a deep desire tobe in touch with God and his truth. At the same time, this so deeply pushed me into trying to understand Islam that I can no longer say it confronts me. Islam is too much inside me, it is too much part of my culture now, a part of my way of thinking and of looking towards the Word. So, in fact, the real dialogue is to be no longer as foreigners to each other but to be close, to understand each other as one would one's friends. So you can understand the opinions, ideas and feelings of the other, even without speaking. This is a good historical moment tp pursue this. For the Church Islam is a big question mark. Somebody had to go into this question so deeply as to be within himself a kind of answer. I came to the east many years ago and started then, at the beginning of my formation, to pay attention to the Islamic world. I am not really sure if I understand myself anymore. Am I just a Westerner, a foreigner, as people here sometimes sharply remind me? Yet I feel this valley has been my home, from before creation.
Our guide stayed behind in the bus when we started climbing the stairs. "You will meet Padre Paolo up there, and he will tell you everything you want to know."
Unfortunately for us, Padre Paolo was not there when we came up. he was travelling somewhere abroad. And nobody else could tell us anything in English.
Disapponted first, but then it felt quite alright. I had read so much about Deir Mar Musa already, and I can always read more whenever I want.
Now I could spend my time up there in silence and prayers.
