Journey into Europe: A Visual Contemporary Parable of the Good Samaritan
By The Rev. Dr Carol Flett

Ecumenical & Inter-religious Officer for the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, DC

As an Episcopal priest responsible for nurturing Interfaith Relations in the Episcopal diocese of Washington, I have known and worked with Dr Akbar Ahmed for several years. We have an ongoing relationship of mutual respect and passion for bridging the gaps between Jews, Christians, and Muslims. We call each other whenever we need the voice and opinion of the other in interfaith gatherings, classrooms and adult education programs, and so it was a privilege to share Dr Ahmed’s most recent documentary film, Journey into Europe, with my congregation in Washington, DC, St. Alban’s Episcopal Church. A crowd of 100 attended, eager to learn from Dr Ahmed’s most recent study on the past and present experiences of Muslims in Europe. The film explains the past history of Islam in Europe and presents the current situation in full color as Dr Ahmed’s team interviews people in the street, religious leaders, scholars, and government leaders.

The film opens with the fearful, hateful, and disturbing voices of non-Muslims in response to the increasing immigration of Muslims into Europe, particularly in Denmark, Germany, France, and Greece. Evidence of Islamophobia, racism, discrimination, ignorance, and intolerance appears to be rampant in countries previously repentant of their racist past. But political and economic instability has generated fear of those who are bringing different languages, talents and practices, and their economic needs to European culture.

Some Europeans interviewed claim that “Muslims cannot be Europeans”. A new question is being asked, “ Is Muslim European a new identity?”, and the ancient biblical question, “Who is my neighbor?” is again being asked.

The film reminded me of the Christian parable of the Good Samaritan (Gospel of Luke chapter 10), in which Jesus responds to a lawyer’s question, “Who is my neighbor?” with a tale about a man of unknown background, who was robbed, beaten, and lay in a ditch, and then was ignored and passed over by two men of good standing in their faith community. The man in the ditch was finally helped by a Samaritan man, a person who had experienced discrimination himself, but who recognized the victim as a human being in need of care, and was not concerned about the victim’s racial or religious difference. The biblical Parable is intended to inspire compassion, by asking the question, “Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” The man who asked the original question, “Who is my neighbor?” responded, “The one who showed him mercy”. Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise”.

Jews, Christians and Muslims are all taught to love God and to love their neighbor, but ignorance and fear have again replaced compassion for the stranger, our neighbor.

The film Journey into Europe is a visual contemporary parable of the Good Samaritan. The man in the ditch could be a Muslim, in need of assistance and acceptance, but many non-Muslims are either acting as bystanders or provocateurs of dissension and discrimination. The film points out the need for religious leaders to speak up and teach compassion, and bring inter-religious education to children and adults of all faith traditions so that everyone recognizes the other as their neighbor and a child of God, created by the one and the same God.