ABSTRACT
“My whole attitude has changed,” said Sawsan al-Momen, in Mecca to complete her fourth hajj, “Every time I come here, I become more forgiving. … I told my husband that we have to be more forgiving and patient with one another.” * Forgiveness is the driving force behind full confessional experiences, whether by Muslims, Jews, or Christians. In the next three chapters, we turn our attention to its role. We have seen how an accepting relationship is an essential precondition for confession. Once we gain a sense of self-acceptance, we discover our capacity to accept others. Receiving forgiveness opens the possibilities of forgiving one another and leads quite naturally to the practice of empathic participation in each other’s lives.
