The memory of ordinary, everyday intercultural or interreligious relationships, in brief
Christians, Muslims and Jews lived together in Penjwen for a long time. Communities of different denominations spoke and prayed amongst themselves in their own languages – Kurmanji (Kurdish), Arabic, Neo-Aramaic and Hebrew – and also conversed together freely in Kurmanji. Residents shared cultural and religious myths which passed between communities so that Jews learned Muslim lore, and Muslims learned Jewish tradition.
The context in which these relationships made a difference at the time
“Seclusion (in the isolated mountain village) bred fraternity: Muslim, Jew and Christian suffered alike through the region’s cruel cycles of flood, famine and Kurdish tribal bloodshed. They prospered alike when the soil yielded bumper crops of wheat, gall nuts and fragrant tobacco. In important ways they were Kurds first and Muslims, Christians and Jews second. Muslims sent Jews bread and milk as gifts after Passover. They ate matzoh, which they called “holiday bread” as a delicacy. They sent their Jewish neighbors hot tea during the Sabbath, when Jews were forbidden to light fires. Some Muslims even asked the synagogue to wake them early in the days before Yom Kippur. They viewed early rising on Jewish days of penitence as bringing good luck. And the Jews paid back the respect, forgoing cigarettes, for instance, during the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims may not smoke.”
Ariel Sabar, My Father’s Paradise: A Son’s Search for His Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq, 2008, p.69.
Penjwen is a district at the eastern border of Iraq – on a route for traders travelling between Suleymaniyeh and Iran – named because, according to legend, five Jewish families settled there. It is a rural part of Suleimaniyeh Province in Iraqi Kurdistan, distant from the Arabic and Kurdish cultural and political centres of the region.
What has happened since, which makes the memory valuable
The Jews of Penjwen were forced out as a consequence of the political changes brought about by the creation of the State of Israel – Kurds living in Penjwen can describe this as a result of the pressure of the Iraqi regime, and not as a reflection of local relationships. The memory of interreligious harmony between Muslims, Christians and Jews in the area is still treasured.
How might the memory be used in bringing people together in practice now?
We would like to share reflections from anyone sharing memories: In what ways do you see the memories of Penjwen’s multicultural and multireligious solidarities can be used, perhaps in teaching about the value of cultural heritage and diversity, or to promote peace and understanding, or to teach lessons about small-scale, local social and economic cooperation?
Additional context/Some additional reading
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penjwen_District
Kiaksar Ahmed has written a story about conflict and identity in Penjwen, which takes on something of the vibrant oral culture which was shared by communities of different backgrounds. https://cultureproject.org.uk/2020/08/09/a-jewish-man-who-lay-down-under-the-moonlight/