18
January
2017
Benedictine University Welcomes Muslim Students
Original article by Ted Gregory published in the Chicago Tribune on 01/14/2017
As of last spring, 540 undergraduate students who attend Benedictine University in Chicago identify as Muslim. That’s roughly 24% — a pretty high number for any university, but especially one that is a notable Catholic institution.
According to the Chicago Tribune, “that percentage is rising and reflects a trend at other Catholic institutions of higher learning. It’s a result in part from the church’s effort to define its education as accepting all faiths in hopes of serving everyone in the search for what the president of the national Catholic association of universities called ‘transcendence and meaning.’”
To accommodate its growing Muslim student population, the university has brought on a Muslim faith adviser, Ali Yurtsever, who is president of American Islamic College in Chicago and president of the Rumi Forum, a nonprofit that promotes interfaith and intercultural dialogue (and prior to this, was a math professor at Georgetown).
Benedictine President Michael S. Brophy says Mr. Yurtsever is “worth his weight in gold” for his ability to help both Muslim students and the administration. Mr. Brophy says that welcoming Muslim students aligns with the school’s value “to welcome the stranger as if they were Christ.” Abdul Rahman Damra, a student studying health science, concurs saying that he thinks “the way [the university] receives Muslims is very welcoming. Benedictine caters to the needs of Muslims more than most schools do.”
“Typically, we find they are very devout students,” says Mr. Brophy. “Not only to their faith, but to their studies.”
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11
January
2017
Catholic Clergy Shows Support To American Muslims
Original article published on Crux on 01/10/2017
Photo Credit: AP
The Catholic clergy community is reaching out to the Muslim community as a show of “public support” stemming from concerns expressed by U.S. bishops in the wake of “a serious uptick in violence against American Muslims … to make sure that they are sensitive to what is going on in the (Muslim) communities,” says Anthony Cirelli, associate director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Mr. Cirelli reports that interfaith dialogues have been underway since early last year, involving both Muslim and Christian scholars and religious leaders, and have focused mostly on academic discussions and comparisons of their respective religious texts which has resulted in improved understanding among Muslim and Catholic leaders on a theological level.
“The bishops’ priority at the moment is to listen to (Muslims’) concerns, their fears, their needs … and so discern how we as Catholics can help them achieve their goals of full participation in their communities,” says Anthony Cirelli, associate director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.
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26
October
2016
Kansas City Christians Rally For Muslims
Original article published in ALJAZEERA on 10/22/2016
Photo Credit: Aljazeera
On October 14th, law enforcement in Wichita, Kansas announced the arrest of three men charged with a domestic terrorist plot to bomb an apartment complex where many Somali immigrant families lived.
In a show of support for the local Muslim community, Reverend Denise Pass, pastor for the Presbyterian Church in Garden City, organized a rally near the apartment complex. “When I heard this tragic news, it came to my mind that we – as members of this community and as Christians – should support and protect the local Muslim community,” says the Reverend. “The actions of few racist individuals should not be taken to represent the whole community, just as the Muslim community should not negatively labeled or held responsible for the actions of the very few terrorists who happened to be Muslims.”
Mursal Naleye, who came to the U.S. from Somalia in 2010, says he was heartened by the support. “We are really thankful for everyone who came out supporting and protecting us, the police, the FBI and the local community.”
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08
September
2016
In Kenya, Artist Paints Mosques and Churches With Same Brush
Photo Credit: The Huffington Post
Original article published in The Huffington Post on 08/25/2016.
Spearheaded by artist Yazmany Arboleda, the “Color in Faith” is giving Muslim and Christian houses of worship across Kenya a much needed coat of paint and throwing in some interfaith activism as the congregations will all be painted with the same color — yellow. “One of the premises of our art is that by working together ― putting a paintbrush to a wall ― with people who believe differently than one does, one builds bridges of understanding,” says Mr. Arboleda.
One mosque and two churches have so far joined in on the project with three others on the books. For years, Kenya has experienced religious tensions between its majority Christian and minority Muslim populations (roughly 83% of the country are Christian, and 11% are Muslim).
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05
August
2016
In Normandy, Muslims and Christians Strong Bond Survives Terror
Photo Credit: New York Times
Original article published in The New York Times on 08/01/2016
Last week, beloved Reverend Jacques Hamel was viciously murdered in an ISIS-related attack in St.-Étienne-du-Rouvray, a small countryside village in Normandy France which, according to local historian Pierre Ménard, has “always been a melting pot of nationalities and immigrants.”
For years, Muslims and Christians in town have enjoyed being neighbors, learning and depending on one another. According to the New York Times, this “exchange served as a reminder that long before Father Hamel was killed, he and many others from both faiths had worked together to build bonds. In fact, the only mosque in St.-Étienne-du-Rouvray was built on land adjacent to one of the town’s churches after the church sold it for a symbolic price of one euro.”
Local Imam Abdellatif Hmito spoke for the Muslim community, decrying the extremists: “You don’t know, you the murderer, the history of this town, who was Father Hamel, and the history of this mosque. You mistook the community you attacked, you mistook the city and the target, and I would even say you mistook the country.”
Sister Marie Wandrille worked with Reverend Jacques Hamel for twenty years and says of the beloved man of cloth: “He was so attached to interreligious dialogue. He and I used to give tutoring classes for children after schools. Muslims and Catholic children used to come to our parish every day.”
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05
August
2016
In France, Muslims Attend Catholic Mass to Mourn Slain Priest
Photo Credit: Al Jazeera
Original article published in Aljazeera on 07/31/2016
Following the vicious murder of beloved Reverend Jacques Hamel in an ISIS-related attack in Northern France last week, more than one hundred Muslims attended Catholic mass in churches throughout France to show their sorrow and support. “I thank you in the name of all Christians,” said Rouen Archbishop Dominique Lebrun as he addressed the Muslim mourners. “In this way you are affirming that you reject death and violence in the name of God.”
“Being united is a response to the act of horror and barbarism,” commented Nice’s top Imam, Otaman Aissaoui.
“I’m a practicing Muslim and I came to share my sorrow and tell you that we are brothers and sisters,” said a woman named Saida who attended a church memorial service in Paris. “What happened is beyond comprehension.”
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14
July
2016
A Radio Station Unifies Muslims and Christians
Photo Credit: Huffington Post
Original article published in The Huffington Post on 05/31/2016
For decades, Muslims and Christians lived together in Bambari and throughout the Central African Republic, but in the past few years, sectarian conflict has ripped the country apart, displacing one-million people (half of which are now refugees in neighboring countries). The Ouakra river divides the city, literally and also by faith — on one side of the river are Muslims and on the other side, Christians.
Established last year, The “Voice of Ouaka” is the region’s only functioning radio station serving as a vital mouthpiece — without it, rumors were quick to spread and fueled lingering tensions. “The community told us that they wanted to hear the voices of Bambari better represented,” says Adja Khaltouma Boulama, President of Voice of Ouaka’s managing committee. “I wanted to do this for my country… so we could put rumors to rest and cultivate social cohesion between us, between Christians and Muslims, so that peace could return.”
“The radio hopes to be like a kind of bridge over the river that could help people to be reconciled,” says station spokesperson, Mathias Manirakiza.
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01
June
2016
Muslims Flock To Virgin Mary Shrine
Photo credit: PATRICK BAZ/AFP/Getty Images
Original article published in The Huffington Post on 05/26/2016
Catholics around the world honor the Virgin Mary during the month of May, in a practice dating back to the 13th Century. But they are not the only faith that greatly admires the Virgin Mary – enter Islam. Built in 1908, The Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon, draws Muslim visitors to the religious site, located in Harissa, Lebanon.
“All of [the Muslim visitors] have big respect for Mary,” says Father Younen Obeid. “This respect stems directly from the Quran, the holy book of Islam, which references Mary 37 times — even more occasions than the Bible. The 19th chapter of the Quran is in fact named after Mary and tells the story of her life and how she came to give birth to Jesus, though Islam does not hold the belief of Jesus’s divinity.”
Randa Youssef, a Muslim woman from Beirut, says that she likes to come to the shrine to ask for forgiveness. “I hope she listens to us to give our prayers to God,” comments Ms. Youssef.
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12
May
2016
Church of the Holy Sepulchre To Get Rehab From A King
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
Original article published in Christian Daily on 04/14/2016
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is one of the most sacred places for Christians, many believe it is the location of Christ’s tomb but alas, it is in great need of repairs due to smoke and moisture which have damaged the structure’s mortars. Restoration is said to cost an estimated $3.4 million dollars but good news just came in — King Abdullah II of Jordan has personally pledged to help fund the project.
Bishop William Shomali, the Latin Patriarchal Vicar in Jerusalem, has praised King Abdullah for his act of benevolence. “This is excellent news,” said Bishop Shomali. “This decision shows the kindness of the king toward Christians and his constant concern to preserve the heritage of Christianity, including his role as guarantor of the holy places, Christian and Muslim, Jerusalem, according to the Wadi Araba agreement.”
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