Bridging the gap

Deirdre Newman

COSTA MESA -- Iman Bennabi wants to make sure the horrific events of

Sept. 11 are never repeated.

So, Bennabi, a Muslim, decided to participate in an informal

discussion group in Costa Mesa sponsored by Orange County Human

Relations.

Over the past month, about 30 groups have convened for what they call

living-room dialogue, discussing their responses to the terrorist attacks

and how they can increase understanding in the community among various

cultures.

“You can either dialogue or have a clash of civilizations. There is no

alternative,” Bennabi said. “The best thing to do is dialogue. The enemy

is ignorance.”

Dialogues in Orange County are not a novel idea. The Los Angeles riots

in 1992 provided the catalyst for the first group. The current discussion

groups were planned to ease tensions after the terrorist attacks, when 69

hate crimes were reported against Muslims and Arabs in Orange County

during the month of September, said Bob Cerince, human relations

specialist.

The Costa Mesa group included about a dozen religious leaders and

residents.

The first session enabled participants to share their cultural

experiences with each other. The second focused on personal responses to

Sept. 11.

The third, and final, dialogue session on Monday involved assessing

the community’s greatest needs as a result of the terrorist attacks and

the steps that must be taken to fulfill them.

Bill Gartner, pastor of Harbor Christian Fellowship, expressed concern

about the volatile environment on Costa Mesa’s Westside, which he said is

the result of a lack of understanding between residents of diverse ethnic

backgrounds.

“My community is like a ticking time bomb,” Gartner said. “It’s not

if, but when. If some concerted effort doesn’t happen soon, I can see

something that makes the L.A. riots seem like a Boy Scout jamboree.”

The Rev. Joseph Robillard, pastor at St. Joachim Church in Costa Mesa,

said he has witnessed friction within his own church.

“The tension between Newport Beach and Hispanics comes with a lot of

misunderstanding,” Robillard said. “The project we’ve been working on is

integration and unity. If you can get to know each other, you may

eventually like each other.”

After the last dialogue session, many of the participants said they

had gained new insight about what must be done to enhance awareness.

“We need to help America understand more about Muslims,” Bennabi said.

“We are the bridge.”

Ideally, the dialogue sessions should serve as springboards for

participants to take action in their communities, Cerince said.