A Palm Sunday Parable For Christians: The Good Muslim

Excerpt:

“A man was traveling from Washington DC to Manassas in the predawn hours Friday morning. At a stoplight, a gang broke his window and dragged him from his car. They stripped him naked, beat him to a pulp, took his wallet, his laptop, his iPhone and his car, leaving him on the sidewalk half dead.

A Catholic priest drove by minutes later and stopped at the light. He saw the man bleeding on the concrete and trying unsuccessfully to stand, but it was a seedy part of town, so he continued on his way.

Then a Protestant minister drove up and stopped at the light, but he too sped off as soon as the light turned green. But a Muslim, driving that same road, stopped at the light and saw the man. His heart was moved with pity, so he covered the man’s nakedness with a raincoat, helped him get in the car, and drove him to the nearest clinic.

When they arrived, the man had passed out, perhaps from loss of blood. The clinic did not want to take this unconscious naked man with no ID or proof of insurance, but the Muslim insisted, giving them his credit card and promising he would pay whatever it cost.”

When he finishes telling this parable, Jesus asks the Christian* ministers, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who was beaten and robbed?”

FULL ARTICLE FROM THE WASHINGTON TIMES 

Lebanese Christian and Muslim Leaders Meet to Promote National Unity

BEIRUT: A gathering of Lebanese Christian and Muslim religious leaders at Bkirki called for the bolstering of national unity and expressed sorrow over the political divisions in the country.

“The gatherers discussed the situation in Lebanon and stressed the need to bolster national unity, which is based on coexistence between Muslims and Christians, to protect from the effects of the events in the region on Lebanon,” a statement following the meeting at Bkirki said.

“We reject discrimination and strife, and stress the main Lebanese decision to remain together in an entity that is their final homeland, independent and united,” the statement added.

Participants at the event, which coincides with Annunciation Day, included Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai, Grand Mufti Mohammad Rashid Qabbani, Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan, the deputy head of the Higher Shiite Council, Druze religious leader Sheikh Naim Hasan, Greek Catholic Patriarch Gregorios Lahham III and Greek Orthodox Bishop Elias Audi.

FULL ARTICLE FROM THE DAILY STAR

Jews, Christians, Muslims meet to promote neighborliness

More than 200 people from the Presbytery and other Christian denominations, the Multi-faith Peace and Justice Alliance, several Muslim mosques, and Jewish temples from the area participated.

Rev. Dr. Thomas T. Peters, First Presbyterian Church of Stirling, Imam Adel Barhoma of the Islamic Center of Morris County in Rockaway, and Rabbi Benjamin Adler of White Meadow Temple offered opening prayers.

There were presentations on “What is Neighborliness and Being a Good Neighbor” by Imam Mohammad Qatanani, Islamic Center of Passaic County, Guillermo Lopez-Acosta, commissioned lay pastor atRidgefield Park Presbyterian Church and WhartonUnited Community Church, and Rabbi Adler.

The crowd attended the dinner in the Fellowship Hall, broke bread together and chatted. The menu included 15 types of soup, bread, salad and main dishes to accommodate all three faiths.

The purpose of the dinner was to give participants the opportunity to network and develop relationships showing that their faiths encouraged loving one another.

FULL ARTICLE FROM NORTHJERSEY.COM

Muhammad Liked Christians, Muslims Should Too

by Dr. David Liepert

I have a lot of great friends from a variety of religions, best evidenced by the outpouring of support, affection and prayers when my wife had major cancer surgery last month.

I was truly touched when I received word of prayer services in churches, mosques and synagogues literally from around the world. Words cannot express the depth of our gratitude for all your earnest kindness. My wife was particularly moved to learn that across her birth country of Pakistan and the Middle East, food was donated and hungry people were fed in her name. God bless you all.

But my agnostic friends also deserve a shout-out. Because even though they weren’t sure whether their prayers could do any good, they were in there with me throughout all the same, doing everything they could think of to help out too, as far as I’m concerned doing just as good of a job honoring God’s commands that we look after each-other as everyone else did, even though they’re not even sure whether God exists or not!

However, it’s the prayers I want to talk about.

Because although my Muslim and Jewish friends didn’t feel it necessary to clarify exactly which God they were praying to—because everyone of us knows we pray to the same one—many of my Christian friends; respectfully, kindly and to my mind tragically, felt they needed to assure me they were praying to the God of Abraham rather than to Jesus, because they thought I’d be offended otherwise.

FULL ARTICLE FROM THE AMERICAN MUSLIM

Christians, Muslims unite at Nigeria protest

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — A human wave of more than 20,000 surrounded the Muslim faithful as they prayed toward Mecca Friday, as anti-government demonstrations over spiraling fuel prices and corruption showed unity among protesters despite growing sectarian tensions in Africa’s most populous nation.

While violence sparked by religious and ethnic divisions left about 1,500 people dead last year alone in Nigeria, some hope the ongoing protests gripping the oil-rich nation will bring together a country that already suffered through a bloody civil war.

“It shows that Nigeria is now coming together as one family,” said Abdullahi Idowu, 27, as he prepared to wash himself before Friday prayers.

Labor unions, meanwhile, announced Friday they would halt their five-day strike for the weekend, allowing families stuck largely inside their homes to go to markets and rest. Union leaders also plan to meet President Goodluck Jonathan and government officials on Saturday for new negotiations, just ahead of a promised labor shutdown of Nigeria’s oil industry.

FULL ARTICLE FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

The Lowe’s Controversy and the Success of Religious Pluralists

by Daniel Tutt

As someone who works in the field of promoting interfaith dialogue on Islam in America, I can tell you it has been a hectic couple of weeks. When Lowe’s Home Improvement decided to pull its ads from TLC’s new reality show “All American Muslim,”they sparked a national crisis over Islamophobia in America. But crisis is the wrong word. I prefer opportunity. I say opportunity for two reasons.

One, the Lowe’s debacle has already proven that the Muslim community is well organized, ready to respond, and even able to lead a movement thatgarners support from acclaimed entertainers and public figures such as Sen. Ted Lieu and Russell Simmons. In fact, more than 32 congressional representatives have publicly called on Lowe’s to re-instate advertising on the TLC show.

Secondly, the controversy has shown that interfaith dialogue, relationship building between faith groups, and coalition building when there is no crisis, really does pay off. As Eboo Patel, author of “Acts of Faith,” has rightly pointed out, the future of religious pluralism will be decided by the success or failure of two groups: religious pluralists or religious totalitarians.

FULL ARTICLE FROM THE HUFFINGTON POST

Conservative Christians Demonizing Muslims? It’s an Old Story

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 spawned a spate of conservative Christian reflections on the essential characteristics of Islam. Figures from Christian Broadcasting Network’s Pat Robertson to Colorado Springs pastor Ted Haggard pointed to the inherently violent nature of Islam. Liberty University’s Jerry Falwell said on 60 Minutes that “Muhammad was a terrorist,” a glib comment that set off riots among Asian Muslims, and earned him a fatwa from an Iranian cleric calling for Falwell’s assassination. As recently as 2006, even Pope Benedict XVI generated a major controversy by making disparaging comments about Islam’s violent history. One might think that these Christians’ views simply represent angry reactions to the horrific violence of 9/11 and ongoing jihadist terror. But a closer look reveals that American Christians have deep-rooted views of Islam as a violent, demonic religion.

FULL ARTICLE FROM THE HISTORY NEWS NETWORK

In Tribute to Mary Ali, 1939-2011

Mary Ali was a faithful supporter of the work of CCME as a member of our advisory board,  as well as a supporter of the work of all who were promoting positive Christian-Muslim relations in Chicago.  Our prayers go out to her family in this time of mourning.  May God grant them peace.

This is an article that just appeared in the Chicago Tribune about her:

With roots in a small town in Iowa, Mary Ali seemed an unlikely prospect to become a follower of Islam and a leader in the Muslim community in Chicago.

But an investigation of Islam for a high school essay and a friendship with a Muslim man who would later become her husband led her to convert.

“The logic and simplicity of Islamic teachings really attracted her,” said her daughter Nilofer Ali-Rodgers. “She decided Islam was the right faith to follow.”

Mrs. Ali became an early member of the Muslim Community Center in Chicago, a co-founder, with her late husband, of the Institute of Islamic Information & Education, and a friend and mentor to young Muslims, particularly young women, many of whom called her “Mary Auntie.”

Mrs. Ali, 72, died of complications of leukemia Tuesday, Dec. 6, in the University of Chicago Medical Center in Chicago. She had lived in Chicago since 1967, except for four years spent in Saudi Arabia.

Mrs. Ali grew up as a Christian in northwest Iowa. Her first look at Islam came when she was assigned to choose a world religion for a high school essay subject.

FULL ARTICLE FROM THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Muslims and Christians: if you don´t communicate, you don´t exist

By Safia Aoude – ALEXANDRIA, Egypt

“We can write anything now!” said an editor of the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram to some visiting Danish participants in Cairo as a part of a recent Alexandria-based conference called “Media´s Role for Changing Society and Democracy”. The Egyptian revolution has certainly become a catalyst for free speech and for more political debate in Egyptian media. Yet, the chaotic climate of the revolution has also suffered some backlash. Another editor at Al-Ahram warned that the media in Egypt is now in a political limbo, and can sometimes even motivate the Egyptian public towards sectarian violence and false information. The conference and the changing media landscape made it clear to all participants that both mass media communication as well as Muslim-Christian dialogue were of immense importance during this time of transition in Egypt. And participants did note that the media has the potential to promote positive dialogue. New media, especially social media sites like YouTube, Facebook or Twitter, has brought new players into the game of mass communication and challenged the hegemony of the “old” regular mass media. FULL ARTICLE FROM MIDDLE EAST ONLINE

Protesters in Egypt Urge Christian-Muslim Unity

CAIRO (AP) — Hundreds of protesters marched Friday from Egypt’s pre-eminent mosque to a central Cairo cathedral in a show of Muslim-Christian unity after a bloody clash earlier this week involving Coptic Christian protesters and the military.

Demonstrators chanted slogans against the country’s military ruler, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, who has increasingly become the focus of activists’ anger during the bumpy transition following Hosni Mubarak’s ouster in February.

A crowd of onlookers threw rocks at the demonstrators outside Al-Azhar mosque, the most important center of learning in Sunni Islam. But the group of Muslims and Christians was undeterred and marched on toward the cathedral before heading to Tahrir Square and a nearby boulevard along the Nile where Sunday’s clashes took place.

The distrust between pro-democracy activists and the military council, which is leading the country’s transitional period until presidential elections expected in 2012, deepened after the clashes.

FULL ARTICLE FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS