Imam Irshad Malhi chanted verses of the Koran while men and women prostrated themselves in prayer with their foreheads to the ground.
Source/Credit: The Chino Champian
By Marianne Napoles | January 27, 2018
A show of unity was expressed between the Catholic and Muslim communities Sunday night when they broke bread and prayed in the parish hall at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church in Chino.
By the end of the evening, the ice had broken and the two faith groups joined hands in a prayer circle around the perimeter of the hall and sang the hymn version of the Prayer of St. Francis.
Holding a rosary, Pastor Michael Miller opened the event by welcoming Muslims from the Baitul Hameed Mosque in Chino and asking them to conduct their Sunday evening prayers on rugs laid out in the parish hall.
“We are happy to host a dinner to honor you and your work here in building up a more just and merciful Chino and California Inland Empire,” Fr. Miller said.
Imam Irshad Malhi chanted verses of the Koran while men and women prostrated themselves in prayer with their foreheads to the ground.
Fr. Miller then asked parishioners to pray the rosary as they headed to the tables set for dinner.
Videos were presented by each faith group, including “The Sultan and the Saint” showing a dramatic meeting between St. Francis of Assisi and Sultan Malik al-Kamil.
“May God accept our efforts to unite as brothers and sisters,” said the Imam.
Fr. Miller led the grace and stated, “Eating a meal can be a holy thing. When done with love, it becomes a sacrament.”
Catholics and Muslims enjoyed a hearty chicken meal and mounds of dessert while discussing faith and every day events.
“This is such a wonderful way to bridge the gap,” said Attiya Rehman of Chino Hills, a member of the mosque. “Food brings everybody together. It allows us to understand that we have a lot more in common than we think.”
Parishioner Don Andrade, like many others in the room, said he had not heard the story about St. Francis and the sultan but he was impressed by the saint’s courage to stop the violence of the Crusades.
Monas Chaudhry, Los Angeles East chapter propagation secretary, said a covenant to those who adopt Christianity from Muhammad, son of Abdullah, is still posted at St. Catherine’s Monastery at the foothills of Mount Sinai in Egypt.
He distributed and read the covenant, which states that Christians are to be defended and their churches respected.
The Ahmadiyya Community will hold the next event at the Ramona Avenue mosque to explain the role of Jesus and Mary in Islam.
Read original post here: USA: Catholics, Muslims join to pray, eat together in Chino
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