By Ebadur Rahman

On March 24th 2008, SHURUQ, a New York University (NYU) club dedicated to “celebrating the many cultures represented in the Muslim world,” put together an event that served particular importance in our times of extreme tension and animosity between people of different views and beliefs. The second in a series of diverse events, this program was entitled “Crossroads of Islamic Divisions: A dialogue for Sunnis and Shi’as to discuss how to bridge divides within our communities and to examine the differences between these two branches and discover commonalities.”

This program brought together two very accomplished and respected speakers, one Shi’a and one Sunni. Sayed Ammar Nakshawani is a dynamic and popular speaker educated in psychology, law, and politics. In Islamic studies, he has completed his masters degree and will obtain his PhD from Exeter University this year. He came together with Dr. Muneer Fareed, the current secretary general for Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), a professor of Islamic studies, and the co-founder of American Learning Institute for Muslims (ALIM).

The program started off with a recitation from the Qur’an and introductions by SHURUQ co-chairs, Shermeen Rahman and Sahal Kango, who expressed their hope that Muslims would find a window into different perspectives through this event. The program was moderated by Irfana Hashmi, a third year PhD candidate at NYU, who began by bringing the Amman Message to the attention of the audience as a historical landmark and beacon of hope for the future of Sunni-Shi’a relations. The Amman Message, signed by many of the world’s leading Muslim scholars, involved ”Three Points,” which included a push for recognition of the diverse schools of thought in Islam, a precise definition of who is a Muslim and a call to cease unwarranted declarations of apostasy and disbelief based on this definition, and an appreciation for the scholarly preconditions required for legal rulings.
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The San Francisco Bay Area Muslim community is one of the most diverse and most blessed communities in the USA. We are also not shy of controversy….

Open Forum: Should Muslims use the N word? Finding balance between being Muslim and being cool

The Lighthouse Mosque is pleased to announce its first community forum. This program is designed to elicit a frank and open discussion of a pertinent issue vexing the Muslim community. This first discussion will discuss the limits of cultural assimilation for a Muslim. Imam Zaid Shakir, Shaykh Abdullah Ali and Brother Adisa Banjoko amongst others will be in attendance. All are invited.

For background reading we suggest:
Randall Kennedy’s concise book, Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word and A.A. Akom’s article, The House that Race Built: Some Observations on the Use of the Word Nigga, Popular Culture, and Urban Adolescent Behavior.

Date: Sunday, February 10, 2008

Time: 12:00pm - 3:00pm

Location: Lighthouse Mosque, 4606 Martin Luther King Blvd, Oakland, CA

Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=10178390406

To supplement today’s announcement about Muslim scholars reaching out to the Pope, we would like to share a recent paper that was published. Titled “New Paths in Interfaith Dialog : Understanding Islam from the Light of Earliest Jewish Christianity“, this paper was presented at the Conference on Muslim Peace, Justice and Interfaith Dialog in Washington, DC in May 2007. The event was hosted by the Salam Institute and ISNA.

Author Rodney Cardoza writes:

“Recent developments in the study of earliest Christianity provide great opportunity for interfaith dialog, enabling us to see there is far more common ground between Islam and Christianity than has been previously assumed. New perspectives afforded by these developments are also opening a growing number of Christians to consider the prophethood of Muhammad in ways they never before imagined. Unfortunately, most Christians and Muslims are unfamiliar with these developments and their theological implications. Therefore, most Christians continue to believe medieval assessments of Muhammad and the Qur’an, thereby erecting enormous barriers to interfaith dialog and peacebuilding. Similarly, while the Qur’an certainly brings correction and warning to Christians who persist in excessive doctrines not taught by Christ, many Muslims believe that various titles of Jesus found in the Bible constitute clear evidence of its corruption, further complicating interfaith dialog and understanding. This paper will examine one significant development in the study of earliest Jewish Christianity, show how worldview and translation complicated later developments in Christian theology, then propose a cooperative effort between Muslim and Christian peacebuilders to gently and respectfully expose both Christians and Muslims to these matters in order to build genuine understanding and greater peace between these communities.”

To read the complete the whole article: New Paths in Interfaith Dialog (Scribd)

Cardoza is a cultural, theological and linguistic anthropologist. He has published ethnographic research on Muslim ritual and lectures internationally on Muslim-Christian dialog. He is presently working to form an international organization uniting Jews, Christians and Muslims to work together for peacebuilding, relief of extreme poverty, and sustainable development.

And presented here is the introductory paragraphs of the letter issued by more than 130 Muslim scholars from all over the world to many Christian leaders. To read the complete letter, click here: Muslim scholars reaching out to the Pope (PDF).

A Common Word between Us and You
(Summary and Abridgement)

Muslims and Christians together make up well over half of the world’s population.
Without peace and justice between these two religious communities, there can be no
meaningful peace in the world. The future of the world depends on peace between
Muslims and Christians.

The basis for this peace and understanding already exists. It is part of the very
foundational principles of both faiths: love of the One God, and love of the neighbour.
These principles are found over and over again in the sacred texts of Islam and
Christianity. The Unity of God, the necessity of love for Him, and the necessity of love of the neighbour is thus the common ground between Islam and Christianity. The following are only a few examples:

Of God’s Unity, God says in the Holy Qur’an: Say: He is God, the One! / God, the Self-
Sufficient Besought of all! (Al-Ikhlas, 112:1-2). Of the necessity of love for God, God
says in the Holy Qur’an: So invoke the Name of thy Lord and devote thyself to Him with a complete devotion (Al-Muzzammil, 73:8).

Of the necessity of love for the neighbour, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)  said: “None of you has faith until you love for your neighbour what you love for yourself.”

In the New Testament, Jesus Christ (peace be with him) said: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. / And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31)

In the Holy Qur’an, God Most High enjoins Muslims to issue the following call to
Christians (and Jews—the People of the Scripture):

Say: O People of the Scripture! Come to a common word between us and
you: that we shall worship none but God, and that we shall ascribe no
partner unto Him, and that none of us shall take others for lords beside
God. And if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are they who
have surrendered (unto Him). (Aal ‘Imran 3:64)

The words: we shall ascribe no partner unto Him relate to the Unity of God, and
the words: worship none but God, relate to being totally devoted to God. Hence they all relate to the First and Greatest Commandment. According to one of the oldest and most authoritative commentaries on the Holy Qur’an the words: that none of us shall take others for lords beside God, mean ‘that none of us should obey the other in disobedience to what God has commanded’. This relates to the Second Commandment because justice and freedom of religion are a crucial part of love of the neighbour.
Thus in obedience to the Holy Qur’an, we as Muslims invite Christians to come
together with us on the basis of what is common to us, which is also what is most
essential to our faith and practice: the Two Commandments of love.

Credits: Thanks to Sidi Tariq Subhani for the BBC link and to the Sherfy family for the Interfaith article.

UPDATE:

Exclusive!* Imam Zaid Shakir has been confirmed as the keynote speaker at the Cordoba Center Ramadan fundraising event: Feeding The Soul. This event is an annual fundraiser that the South Valley Islamic Center/Cordoba Center conducts during the month of Ramadan. Imam Zaid has blessed the small (but growing) community with his participation at the inaugural and second Feeding The Soul event. We** are ecstatic to have Imam Zaid and his wife, Umm Hassan, with us again this year for the 4th annual event.

Following last year’s tradition, the community plans to finish reciting the Quran during the nightly Tarawih prayers after the fundraiser.

Imam Zaid has just published an article titled Ramadan Lessons: Lesson One. Imam Zaid has also initiated a new endeavor: The Lighthouse Mosque in Oakland, California. Check out the Facebook group here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5069346607

Check Imam Zaid’s upcoming events and programs here: http://www.newislamicdirections.com/nid/programs/

* As of this posting, no announcements have been made on Imam Zaid’s site, Zaytuna or Cordoba Center.

** Most of the IslamCrunch team reside and contribute to the community.