centuries
of Muslims, Jews, Christians thriving together
Tuesday, 06 November 2007
ONE OF OUR GREATEST SUCCESS STORIES of all time
is finally being remembered properly.
For more than 700 years,
Jews, Muslims and Christians thrived, flowered, and excelled while living well
together in
"Convivencia" is was called -- living together.
Al Andalus is
the Arabic name for Andalusia --
There was legendary sharing of knowledge and
cultures, leaps forward in sciences, math, philosophy and the arts, as well
as relative peace among Muslims, Christians and Jews.
This extraordinary, free exchange of culture set the
stage for the European Renaissance.
It was the mid-1950s.
"Then moonlit Granada will live again, the
glory of yesterday," was the prophecy of the hit song
"Grenada" sung by Frankie Lane then Frank Sinatra on records, and
radio and television broadcasts worldwide.
Then 50 years later -- November, 2005 --
diverse
The Spirit of
http://www.amwa.us/Andalusiahome
The creators said: "It was a
place where the people of three great religions Islam, Judaism, and Christianitymanaged to live together in harmony, and it
can perhaps serve as a model for us today."
Today, more Muslim, Christian and Jewish relationship
builders are returning to
=== 1 ===
West-Eastern Divan Orchestra (symphony
preparation)
In Andalusia, Spain, since 2002 several weeks each
summer young Israeli, Palestinian, Lebanese, Syrian, Jordan and Egyptian
musicians gather to create a superb 100-piece orchestra and build
relationships.
"This is indeed an orchestra against
ignorance," concluded the New York Times music critic.
The West-Eastern Divan Workshop then concludes, and
the concert tour of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra starts. These Arab
and Jewish musicians received many honors including the Prize Pr�ipe de Asturias of the Concorde in 2002 for
co-creators Edward Said and Daniel Barenboim, the
Premium Imperiale awarded by the Japan Arts
Association as well as an Emmy International award for its DVD -- KNOWLEDGE IS
THE BEGINNING.
KNOWLEDGE IS THE BEGINNING
A beautiful, inspiring
93-documentary of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra
http://www.amazon.com/Ramallah-Concert-Knowledge-Beginning-West-Eastern/dp/B000BS6YBA
This ensemble began in 1999 with
the relationship between the Argentinian-Israeli
conductor, Daniel Barenboim, and the late
Palestinian-American academic, Edward Said.
In 2002, the workshop was finally established in
Published by Time Magazine --
Sunday, 25 August 2002
Hearts and Minds
by Rod
Usher /
http://time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901020902-340702,00.html
This work was one of Edward Said's great loves when he died in 2003.
In 2004, the Barenboim-Said
Foundation -- http://barenboim-said.org/
-- was established by the Regional Ministry of Culture of the Autonomous
Regional Government of Andalusia.
This also established
Last December, 2006, the inspiring Jewish-Arab
symphony crossed the Atlantic to perform in
Brown to Host Daniel Barenboim, West-Eastern Divan Orchestra
http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/2006-07/06-060.html
=== 2 ===
JITLI (leadership training)
In Andalusia, Spain, each summer.JITLI -- http://jitli.org/
-- brings Arab and Jewish teenagers together for part of their communication
and leadership training.
Created in 2000, the San Diego, Calif.-based JITLI
creates partnership between the communities of
JITLI is dedicated to education and leadership
development of young people in the context of interaction with other cultures.
Participants begin to appreciate their similarities,
acknowledge their differences and understand each other's cultures.
Young women and men -- Muslims, Christians, Jews --
get experiences and tools to affect their own futures and those of their peers
and communities.
Published in Ha'aretz
(
Program looks back to Golden Age
for a brighter Arab-Israeli future
By Daphna
Berman
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/891942.html
Published by YNet News -- 09 August 2007
When
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3435699,00.html
=== 3 ===
AL ANDALUS: The Legend (musical
creation)
AL ANDALUS! The Legend is a
theatrical, multi-disciplinary dance epic created in August, 2007, in
The first performance featured singers, actors,
nearly twenty dancers, live music and video.
Next year in
The creators come, in part, from the two-year-old
Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue in
READ more:
Published by The
Al Andalus!
The Legend
A dance epic recalls
by Lee
Williams
http://houstonpress.com/2007-08-09/calendar/al-andalus-the-legend/
SEE PHOTOS of the first
performance:
HEAR a
radio interview of the principle creators, with some of the music:
KUHF-FM radio broadcast -- 07
August 2007
http://www.kuhf.org/programaudio/thefrontrow/2007/08/070808Andulus_128k.m3u
AL ANDALUS: The
Legend reveals a fictional but classic tale of inter-ethnic love featuring
characters that are based on historical figures.
The stage is populated with pilgrims, troubadours,
mystics, and other colorful characters.
Historic and original instrumental and vocal music and
modern choreography is influenced by traditional dance styles to enchant.
Narration in English, Spanish, Arabic and Hebrew is
woven into this spectacle
In 2007, it is time to
remember what we were -- who we are, at our highest.
And what we can be together -- neighbors forever.
The
true nature of anything is the highest it can become.