By Sister Saleha Lodhi, Fatima khan, Sarah Yusuf and Shazia Ali (Al-Iman School Students)
In a tradition of Mubahila, students of Al-Iman School extended their tolerance in Islam to meet with our brothers and sisters of the Jewish faith (Judaism) or one of the Ahlul Kitab. This is not the first time Muslims have extended that level of tolerance but its only a continuing level of tolerance for almost one and a half century now. Allah reminded us in the Holy Quran of the first meeting of all the five Holy ones with the Ahlul Kitab and its significance:"But whoever disputes with you in this matter after what has come to you of knowledge, then say: Come let us call our sons and your sons and our women and your women and our near people and your near people, then let us be earnest in prayer, and pray for the curse of Allah on the liars." - Quran 3:61 Ayah-e Mubahila
The search for a common ground between those who profess the oneness of Allah (our supreme being) as mentioned in the first of the 10 Commandments of the Holy Bible for the Ahlul Kitab or “people of the book” (Jews and Christians), in the Kalima of the Holy Quran and other places in Ahadith (Islamic traditions),as well as in the Book of the Dead (one of the first of forty commandments) of the ancient Egyptian Holy book, and us, the Muslims, was renewed by a practical application of an Interfaith Course.
The Interfaith Course is designed to establish an understanding between the Ahlul Kitab and our Muslim Community. The truth about our brothers and sisters in faith, the Ahlul Kitab, and the misunderstandings often portrayed in the media are expected to be cleared up by this course for future generations, inshaAllah (God willing). We have instructors such as Br. Khalid Latif and Sr. Yona Shemtov who have taught us about the similarities between the two faiths. As we take this course, we, the Al-Iman students are periodically assigned to write down our responses and opinions to some specific questions. The Heschel students are also given the same assignments and our opinions are compared openly in both the classes. This way we are not only taught about each other’s religion but also about each other’s views and opinions.
As a part of this program we are also required to meet with the Heschel Students. On October 31, 2005, the students from Heschel School came to visit the 12th grade at Al-Iman School .This was our first meeting with these students. In our 1st meeting, we learnt a little bit about each other and our names. We started off with an icebreaker in which we each announced our names and said something we like or like to do and then the next person had to repeat what the previous person had said, saying something about themselves too. It was a very nice experience for all of us. We each brought in an object that was special to us and symbolized our religion. We spoke about how much our items meant to us and shared our experiences. We discussed various topics such as Hijab, fasting, the Jewish holidays and our customs.
On Monday, November 21st, 2005 the Seniors of Al-Iman and Teacher Sister Merziya visited the Joshua Abraham Heschel School in the city. We left Al-Iman at 11:30 am and came back at 1:10 pm. As we entered the Heschel School we were pleasantly surprised by the warm reception we received. Our brothers and sisters of the Jewish faith came down to greet us and then led us upstairs to meet Heschel Students. The Heschel School was really bright and colorful. Everyone was friendly and we became less and less nervous as the meeting progressed further. Rabbi Dov started the meeting appropriately by introducing Prophet Abraham or Ibrahim (AS), a common Prophet to all of us. He introduced us to the Prophet who gave us the name of “Muslims” and preached the oneness of Allah and that this is where the common ground lies for Jews and Muslims. It was a very good strategy to establish friendly relations between the schools and faith, collectively. It was an amazing experience for us at the Heschel School. We hope that our brothers and sisters at Heschel School felt the same about us too.
