A MESSAGE OF PEACE AND ENCOURAGEMENT
by Ellen Caringer, PhD
This is a departure from our usual format of presenting meditations. We received this special message from the leader of the Muslim community in France. It is important that the community of Shine Your Light – those who have created meditations, art, and music, and each who has offered our full hearts in prayer and meditation – recognize the impact of our intentions and connections with the world at large, as well as our own country. Dr. Ellen Caringer, psychologist and neuropsychologist on Maui, and also a member of our Shine Your Light Team, introduces those who have sent this message to reach each member of the Shine Your Light community (this means YOU!). What you are doing matters!
by Imam Hassen Chalghoumi, introduced by Ellen Caringer, PhD (see video above)
In 2018 while visiting in Paris, my husband and I received an unexpected invitation to dinner through our dear friend, concert pianist, Nathalia Romanenko. Our host for the meal was Marek Halter, renowned Parisian artist and author, the founder of the International Committee for a Negotiated Peace Agreement in the Near East, and a man who played a crucial role in organizing the first official meetings between Palestinians and Israelis. He invited us to a dinner at the Municipal Drancy Mosque, near Paris.
It was there that we were honored to meet Imam Hassen Chalghoumi, the imam of the 2000-member Drancy Mosque. We watched as prominent rabbis, imams, and members of the French Parliament gathered to work on issues of peace in their community.
Both Marek Halter and Imam Hassen Chalghoumi are leaders internationally and in France, seeking peace between the Muslim and Jewish communities of faith. They have worked tirelessly with prominent rabbis and imams seeking to find ways to prevent the radicalization of children and youth in their community. This work, particularly in Imam Chalghoumi’s case, often means he lives with threats to his life and that of his family. But he fearlessly persists, as can be seen in the article linked below, where he and Marek Halter attend the funeral of Samuel Paty, the teacher recently murdered by terrorists in Paris.
Today we are incredibly blessed that Imam Chalghoumi took time to encourage us in our work for peace and social justice that supports and celebrates diversity.
Here are his words in French and in English:
“Je m’appelle Hassen Chalghoumi et je suis président de la Conférence des Imams de France. Je tiens à vous féliciter pour votre campagne en faveur de la paix et de la différence. Le Coran dit ‘Ô vous qui croyez! Entrez tous dans la paix.’ (Sourate II, 208) Merci encore pour votre action.”
A Translation: “My name is Hassen Chalghoumi and I am the President of the French Conference of Imams. I want to congratulate you on your efforts to pursue peace and to make a difference. The Koran states, ‘Oh you who believe! Enter all in peace.’ (Holy Quran: 2, 208)”
