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| The inter-faith meeting was held at Baitus Samee Mosque in Houston, TX |
Source/Credit: Humble Observer
By Saadia Faruqi | February 1, 2012
In addition to Humble Observer, this article was also published on February 1, 2012 in Atascocita Observer and Kingwood Observer
Khalil Gibran once wrote: “You are my brother and I love you. I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your church and pray in your synagogue. For you and I are sons of one religion – the spirit.” Sadly, the ideal of inter-faith brotherhood has become lost thanks to individual misunderstandings, political propaganda and religious extremism.
As a moderate Muslim, the concept of inter-religious harmony and equality is not a hard pill for me to swallow, and I find that neither is it for many of my acquaintances from different religious backgrounds. Yet the world stands divided – now more than ever before – on the topic of religious superiority. We see a complete lack of respect towards “non-believers” by adherents of every faith, Islam included. Can we all learn to live in religious harmony? Is tolerance and respect even possible?
Leaders of religious groups across the country met last week at the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community’s Baitus Samee mosque in Houston to discuss this very issue. Addressing a standing-room-only crowd, panelists from six religions gave suggestions from their scriptures about dealing with religious intolerance and promoting peace. While I don’t think one symposium can change the world, we all can apply those lessons learned in our interactions with neighbors, co-workers and friends. Here are some ideas from the panelists that resounded with me:
First, stand up for injustices. Gurmit Singh Bhatia from the Sikh Center recommended that regardless of which religion is being targeted, we should all take a stand against a hate crime, an unfair policy or act of persecution. Similarly, Imam Naseem Mahdi, national vice president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community reminded the audience that Islam advocates the protection of all religious places of worship, and gives due rights to followers of all faiths.
Secondly, R-E-S-P-E-C-T! Reverend Butch Green of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship recommended Jesus’s teachings of love and peace as the ultimate way of showing our fellow human beings some much-needed respect. Although we all have our differences, isn’t it much better to look for similarities?
Following naturally from that is the third lesson. Our similarities are countless, because we all believe in the same things: doing good to others, giving charity, being honest, discharging our responsibilities as parents, as children… the list is endless. Dr. Asha Sharma of the Hindu Worship Society described aptly how the Golden Rule is present in every religion in one form or the other. A saying of the Prophet Muhammad summarizes my point: “None of you can be a truly faithful Muslim, unless you like for your brother what you like for yourself.”
Fourthly, be aware of your own religious prejudices. Rabbi Jonathan Siger of Congregation Jewish Community North suggested that intra-faith intolerance was even more threatening than inter-faith discord. If we can’t be accepting of the various interpretations within our own faith, how can we ever learn to consider other religions deserving of our respect?
Lastly, globalization has meant that the threat of extremist ideologies and intolerant attitudes spilling over into our own backyard is very real now. We looked on in horror a couple of years ago as Europe considered banning the burqa in an attempt to force freedom on women who they considered to be in bondage. This year the U.S. political scene is buzzing about the possibility of stopping American Muslims from utilizing their religious laws – shariah – to judge between themselves. The time has come to think of this is “our problem” and to put into practice the ideals of tolerance, understanding and peace in our daily lives. Let’s be friends!
Read original post here: Lessons on Religious Harmony
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