WHERE THE CROSS MEETS THE CRESCENT
Reflections on Muslim and Christian
Spirituality in the Southland

Haditha, Anbar province.  The very name conjures up two conflicting images.

First, a place where in 2005, US Marines killed 24 civilians, leading also to charges of dereliction of duty for their superiors for not conducting a proper investigation.  The unit involved was from the Southland’s Camp Pendleton.
Secondly, a site of one of the largest hospital renovation projects in Iraq funded by the US, if a doctor from Tennessee, a cattle rancher from Georgia, and a Navy engineer from Los Angeles have their way.
What makes the difference in how Haditha will be remembered?  Hopefully, hearts of compassion — and having enough Marines of sufficient rank to make it happen.
Navy Lt. Cmdr. James Lee was filled with compassion when struck by the sight of crying children crowded into a small room while they awaited care.
“I kept thinking of my own kids and wishing these kids could have the same level of care we enjoy,” he said in a report published by the Los Angeles Times.
The same compassion is echoed in local Sheik Daham Husayn Dumaythir, who expressed his enthusiasm about the hospital project.
“This must be done for the children, for all of our children and their mothers,” he said in the same published report, noting that residents must now travel to Syria or Jordan. 
In each of these men, I see the results of someone near to God who is living a submitted life – a life near to the heart of God/Allah.
Being near to God/Allah is a characteristic of both Christianity and Islam.  Shaikh Kabir Helminski explains the concept from its Qur’anic source.
“God is closer to him (the human being) than his jugular vein.” (Qur’an, 50:16). 
The Christian Bible describes the nearness in the words “I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. (Hosea 2:19).
Throughout the Qur’an, the foremost attribute of the Divine is compassion toward creation.
“God, who has willed upon Himself the law of Compassion and Mercy (Qur’an,, 6:12).  This exceptional quality of God’s grace and mercy is further stressed with the words “My Compassion/Mercy overspreads everything.” (Qur’an, 7:156).
Shaikh Dumaythir has taken these concepts and expressed them in a very unique way:  At a recent feast he gave for one of the Americans working on the hospital project, he promised to name his next three sons after the Marine officers.  What a beautiful expression of solidarity and brotherhood!
So will we remember Haditha as a place of great tragedy or a place of great healing?
Insha’Allah (God willing), mercy and compassion will prevail.  Let us pray for Navy Capt. John Nadeau, Marine Maj. Kevin Jarrard, Navy Lt. Cmdr. James Lee, and all the Iraqis who will be joining them.  Insha’Allah, they will be able to turn the $4 million that has been authorized into their goal of $10 million.  Recently, Jarrard sponsored a young Iraqi girl’s surgery in the United States.  He didn’t wait for the hospital to be built — so great was his compassion.
Shared values and shared dreams – that’s where I find that the cross meets the crescent.

Rev. Connie Regener, a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary inPasadena and chaplain at OrangeCoast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley is a religious commentator in the Southland.