Priests and lay people learn about Islam at events

By David Eck

ARCHDIOCESE - Based on the premise that world peace begins with an understanding of different faiths and traditions, several priests and some lay people in the archdiocese recently attended daylong seminars on Christian-Muslim relations.

The events, "Christians and Muslims, Building the Foundation for Dialogue," were held in Dayton and Cincinnati. The events featured presentations designed to share details about Islam, show the roots Islam shares with Christianity and Judaism, and introduce local Muslims.

CT/DAVID ECK

Amir Hussain, an associate professor of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, speaks during a workshop on Christians and Muslims building dialogue in Dayton.

"Most of us have a huge gap in our (knowledge) about this major world religion," said Father Thomas DiFolco, director of the archdiocesan Priestly Formation Office. "We're trying to understand this great religion of the world."

Father Mallon said that the influx of Muslims to the United States has grown over the last 40 years, which has led to increased interfaith relationships. In the last decade there have been nearly 900,000 immigrants from Pakistan alone.

"We weren't trained for that kind of a world, pastorally," Father Mallon said. "To learn about a religion, you really have to see it living in the practitioners."

Islam uses the word "Allah" for "God," and Muslims believe Muhammad is the messenger of God. Muslims revere Jesus, but believe that He is only human. Muslims highly regard many figures of the Hebrew Bible, and there are chapters of the Qur'an named Joseph (12), Jonah (10), Abraham (14) and Noah (71).

The Qur'an also has a chapter (19) named after Mary, the mother of Jesus, whom Muslims hold in high regard.

Father Mallon also discussed the daily prayers of Islam.

"Muslims have a rich spiritual life," he said.

In a second presentation, Hussain discussed Islam in the West, pointing out that Islam is the second largest religion in Canada, Britain and France, and may well be the second largest religion in the United States.

There are about 600,000 Muslims in Canada and about 7 million in the United States.

One aspect of Muslim contributions to the West can be found in literature and another in music, Hussain said.

"Islam is a western (religion) sharing very deep roots with Judaism and Christianity," Hussain said. "It's a shared heritage."

The Muslim presence in North America goes back centuries, Hussain said. Thomas Jefferson purchased a copy of the Qur'an in 1765, and he began learning Arabic in the 1770s.

There has been a documented presence since the slave trade, and Muslims were listed in the Canadian census of 1871. The first mosques in the United States and Canada appeared in the 1930s.

Missionary of the Precious Blood Father Richard Friebel, pastor of Holy Trinity Parish in Dayton, was among the priests who attended the event.

"There are some seven million Muslims in the United States, and I think that it is important for Catholics to know about the Muslim religion," Father Friebel said. "And I, as a religious leader, can share what I have learned with my congregation, and by this I hope that I then can open avenues of learning about the Muslim religion. It is time for individuals to know and learn.”