Opinion

Before the tragedy of 9/11, conservative American Muslims were opposed to interfaith dialogue out of ignorance and thought of it as compromising their faith. Thus in 1984 when I with Imam Ihsan Bagby, Rabbi John Stein and Rev. Jerry Zehr started the Interfaith Alliance in Indiana, they hesitated to participate in it. After 2001, the perception of interfaith initiatives changed. Most of the mosques realized their need and interfaith committees were formed. Several other interfaith organizations emerged. We held the first interfaith iftar (breaking fast at the end of the day in Ramadan) at ISNA mosque in Plainfield in 1992. Now it has become an annual tradition in White House, State Department, Pentagon, and is hosted by State Governors and city mayors.

Interfaith movement is a window to share one’s faith and other’s holidays. The Holy Qur’an encourages interfaith dialogue - “Invite all to the way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and engage with them in ways that are best and most gracious” (16:125)

“ Say (O Mohammad): O people of the book, come to a common understanding between us and you, that we shall worship no one except One God that we shall take no partners with Him and none of us shall take others for Lord beside One God” ( Qur’an 3:64)

“ Nearest in love Muslims will find those who call themselves Christians, as among them are those who are dedicated to learning, those who have renounced materialism and those who are not arrogant” (Qur’an 5:82)

Thus, Muslims and Christians have engaged in dialogue. It was a Christian priest Waraqah, cousin of Khadija (Prophet Mohammad’s first and only wife for 25 years) who first testified that Prophet Mohammad had divine revelation. It was a Christian king Najashi of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) who gave asylum to 80 Muslims who migrated from Mecca because of prosecution by pagan Arabs.

On March 22, 2013, Pope Francis urged Catholics to dialogue with Islam and said “the role of religion is central to peace. We should engage in service to the poor and not in mutual rivalry”. I agree and thank him for this statement.

When a delegation of Christians from the Roman Empire visited Prophet Mohammad, he invited its members to stay in his mosque and allowed to pray in their Christian ways. In 628 AD he granted a charter of privilege to the monks of St. Catherine Monastery in Mt.Sinai, to assure them of the rights of Christian minority.

This is a letter from Mohammad ibn Abdallah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity. We are with them, they are my citizens, we will defend them.
No compulsion is to be on them.
Neither their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries.
No one is to destroy their house of worship, or to damage it, or to take anything from it to a Muslim’s house.
No one is to force them to fight (for Muslims). Muslims are to fight for them.
If a Christian woman is married to a Muslim man, it should not take place without her approval. She is not to be prevented from attending her church to pray.
No one from my nation is to disobey this covenant till Last Day.

Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, has a unique high place in Islam. Chapter 19 of the Qur’an is devoted to the miraculous birth of Jesus and ends with the mention of the first miracle of Jesus when he spoke as a baby from his cradle: “Peace is upon me, the day I was born, the day I die and the day I will be raised alive”. We also believe in many other miracles of Jesus, to include healing the blind and the leper, making bird out of clay and reviving the dead, all signs given to him by God to establish him as a divine prophet. We Muslims are waiting for Jesus to come back and not Moses or Mohammad.

There are many misconceptions about Islam. Twenty-five of them are addressed in my booklet.

Shariah laws: It is the Islamic legal and moral code covering all aspects of a Muslim’s life including prayer and fasting not just criminal justice.
Blasphemy: No injunction in Qur’an to kill someone who does this wrongful act. Prophet Mohammad did not order killing of anyone who opposed, insulted or tortured him or his followers. Most of the battles he participated were defensive when Muslims were attacked by unbelievers.
Treatment of women: Men and women are equal in all acts of piety (Qur’an 33:35) and they get same punishment for a particular crime. Their oppression was pre-Islamic culture which Islam opposed and librated them. Their confinement to home started with colonization of Muslim lands, a culture which was later continued by Muslim kings and tribal leaders.
The sanctity of human life: “If anyone has killed one person, it is like he has killed whole mankind” (5:32). There is no place for terrorism in any faith. Condemning terrorism is not enough. We should deal with the terrorists according to the law once we identify them, do not negotiate with them, dialogue with all to dissuade them but never harm any innocent civilians in the process as that may create more terrorists. When our youth fail to uphold sanctity of human life, we should also look inwards and examine where we failed in their upbringing at home, school, media or peers.
Jihad: Is not holy war but is striving in the cause of God, externally and internally by fighting evil temptations. Prophet Mohammad said, “The highest level of jihad is conquest of self ( against evil temptations) .

All have right to their belief and religion. “Let there be no compulsion in religion” (Quran). All conversion is done by God.
Interfaith is a window to share your faith without compromising your beliefs.
Look for a common ground as a human. All the concerns of the society we live in, from pollution, to terrorism, to potholes are common concerns. Share them as your own.
Respect other’s belief as you expect them to respect yours. The Qur’an forbids Muslim to deride other’s deity.
Do your best to remove prevailing misconception about your faith.
If you win their heart with your love and compassion they will become your friend.
Serve the needs of those who have been given less. Your wealth, knowledge and even your visible piety is a test for you. Treat their children as your own. This is God’s work and He has chosen you to do His work. Ask what kind of society you are going to leave for your children and grandchildren. A nation of love and compassion or of hate and apathy.

Prayers of Prophet Mohammad “O Lord, grant me Your love that I love those who love you that I might do deeds that win Your love, Make Your love, dearer to me than love of myself, my family and my wealth”.

(8 th Annual Fr. Illies Memorial Lecture at Newman Center, St. Cloud, MN, on April 13, Dr Athar is a founder and past president of Interfaith Alliance of Indiana)