Minister's Inter-faith Blog Page 7
Little
Mosque on the Prairies
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The
Little Mosque on the Coast: Religious Pluralism and Faith
I pray forgiveness and I hope
I am not being disrespectful to the Holy
Quran or my friends in the Islamic community when I as a Christian
Minister
quote in English translation from that scripture. I am not an expert on
Islam or the Holy Quran, but friends who are Muslim have always
impressed
me with their depth and breadth of faith and compassion. It is
not
that Islam is without its faults as a religion, but then Christianity
can
hardly be viewed historically as without fault. As Jesus once said,
(my translation) “You who are without fault, throw the first
stone.” He also gave warning about the hypocrisy of the
pious. Therefore, I was dismayed this week when in the present
climate of fear and hatred, one arm of the religious family of
Christianity to which I belong held a conference that appeared verbally
to stone the Mosque next
door. All in a week when CBC
television had broadcast “Little Mosque on The Prairie,” a programme
that
through humour helps to dispel some of the fear of "the other." Quran 2:256; “God said "Let there be no compulsion in religion.” Quran 25:63 “The worshippers of the All-Merciful are they who tread gently upon the earth, and when the ignorant address them, they reply, "Peace!" Our community is small, but Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jews, Bahais, Agnostics, Atheists and many different forms and styles of Christians make up our Squamish. I realize that my denomination and my theological views are but one among many. Of course I feel that I have been given in my tradition some of the ultimate truth about the Sacred, but my faith actually brings me to a respect and an attempt to listen and care for the Sacred (Christ) in the other. When I can still my arrogant intellect long enough, I am humbled by the wisdom and the beauty I see. My religious language, tradition and theological understanding may differ widely from those in other churches and religions, but at the heart of it I have found the “All-Compassionate” One who opens us up to receiving the other as a guest. For this, I have been called a heretic, apostate, non-Christian or misguided by some of my brothers and sisters in the Church. However, this is in my spiritual life of prayer and contemplation, theological and scriptural wrestling, one of the marks of faithfulness: to approach the other with humility. This means neither sacrificing one’s beliefs nor leaving one’s religious tradition behind. It does mean that the Sacred is always beyond the grasp of any human form. The Holy One is always calling us from the comfort of our own small grasp of reality, to a deeper engagement with the other. In my ignorance I hope I may give and receive “Peace,” rather than fueling fear and ignorance. Peace, Salam, Shalom, Pax, Shanti, Pace, Hasîtî! Dr. Dan. |
I commend Dr. Dan for his article " The Little Mosque on the Coast: Religious Pluralism and Faith" Not only did he choose the most relevant two verses from the Quran for his topic, but he also articulated his arguments with humility-a true spirit of faith. All people of faith (Jews, Christians and Muslims in particular) need to remind themselves that the human race has its origin in a single pair of the Lord's creation. It logically follows that the Creator has the sole right to judge. It is God's mercy that allows humans to be diverse in choosing faith practices and yet to be able to maintain unity in diversity. As intelligent creation, we need to search and embrace common ground within this diversity without fear of losing our respective faith practices.We have no other choice if peace is to be achieved on this planet. Mohammad Afsar |
| I
agree Dr. Dan made a very appropriate reference to the programme in
"The Chief." But what do you think about the public impact of the
TV programme, Mohammad? Is it having a helpful impact on the
appreciation of the Muslim faith by the general Canadian population (as
I am sure the producers hoped)? Roy Shephard.
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