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Islamic leader wishes to build
bridges of understanding
SAN JOSE,
June 26, 2008 — A
scheduling miscommunication prevented the secretary general of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) from
offering General Assembly commissioners ecumenical greetings Thursday morning,
so he did the next best thing — he spoke to a reporter. It’s clear he
preferred the former option. “I am better able to do this addressing an
audience,” said Dr. Muneer Fareed. The ISNA is an
Indiana-based group that supports 300 mosques, Islamic centers and schools. He
deemed any chances to address the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) “invaluable
opportunities for Muslims to build bridges of understanding with Christians in
this country, because Islam is in need of friends who would stand by in its
moments of need as well as work to improve or enhance the quality of life for
all American citizens.” Fareed noted that
the Assembly had voted Wednesday night to further the dialog among Muslims,
Presbyterians and Jews and, among other things, to encourage people of faith to
observe religious holidays together. ISNA, he said, plans to invite the
leadership of the PC(USA) to a series of meetings “that would help us take the
dialog to the grassroots. Healthier relations between Muslims and Christians
can only translate into healthier relations between human beings.” Although
numerically a much smaller group, Jews fit into the equation as an equal
partner, he said. “Whatever I’ve
said about Christians and Muslims extends to the Jewish community,” Fareed
said. “Those discussions will vary. We would not, for example, be discussing
the place of Christ in our understanding of God — but we would be discussing
the place of Israel.” He continued, “The
bones of contention vary from community to community, but the need for dialog
and conversation has never been more pressing.” Fareed said he had
first-hand experience working together with Presbyterians in South Africa to
help end apartheid. “At different
places and at different times Presbyterians and Muslims have come together to
address a common cause,” he said. “I think Presbyterians in this country are
willing to work with Muslims and are showing the requisite enthusiasm to
further improve the relations between Muslims and Presbyterians.” http://www.pcusa.org/ga218/news/ga08115.htm |
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