Source/Credit: India Post
By IPNS | September 2, 2011
CHINO, CA: Sunday, Aug. 21st was a time of interfaith intermingling at the Baitul Hameed Mosque in Chino on Ramona Ave. when congregants from the United Church of Christ in Claremont, led by Pastor Rob Patton, paid a neighborly visit to the Chino Mosque. Around 30 Christians, including ladies donning head scarves, listened to a lecture by Imam Shamshad A. Nasir on the Islamic concepts of atonement, repentance and forgiveness and how to achieve them.
The Imam quoted from the Holy Quran, the sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, the writings of the Promised messiah & Imam Mahdi, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and even some verses from the Old Testament – all of which agreed in their position that God alone was the sole granter of forgiveness, and that it was man’s responsibility to seek forgiveness directly from God, and to atone for sins through sincere repentance and by making amends for one’s misdeeds by doing good to others.
The Imam’s lecture lasted about 45-minutes and ended at sunset to allow the Mosque parishioners to break their day-long fast by partaking of water and dates. Afterwards, the first evening prayer was conducted aloud in Arabic and then the nearly 300 Ahmadi Muslim men and women (in separate, segregated areas) and their Christian guests enjoyed a free dinner provided nightly throughout the month of Ramadan. The menu included chicken curry, Indian basmati rice, salad, dessert, water and hot tea, Indian style with milk and sugar.
On the previous Friday, another, smaller group of Christians visited the Chino Mosque to participate in Ramadan activities and dinner. These included Rev. Jan Chase with several of her members from Unity Church in Pomona, and Kenn Rasmussen from the LDS-Mormon Church in Chino Hills. The visitors in attendance on Friday are all longtime friends of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the Chino area, and have attended many of the Interfaith gatherings and symposiums held over the past two decades at the Baitul Hameed Mosque on Ramona Avenue.
India Post News Service
Read original post here: Guests sample Islamic spirituality & food during Ramadan
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