PART V
THE ISLAMIC COMMUNITY/1980'S
CHAPTER 13
Interfaith Activities
As soon as the mosque was built, students from churches, high schools, elementary schools, and colleges came to tour or request that someone come to them and talk about Islam. Although the response to the genuine interest of the non-Muslim community was positive, interfaith activities were rarely initiated by the Muslims.
When Dr. Abdul Karim Khudairi was president of the Center (1983-1989), he was the exception to this rule. He gave interfaith relations high priority. Under his leadership, he initiated interfaith meetings with organizations like the National Conference for Christians and Jews. In more recent years, he formed the Islamic Interfaith Committee which meets on a regular basis with the Massachusetts Council of Churches.
In 1985, when international politics reached new lows, interfaith activities reached new heights at the Quincy mosque. Reports of "Muslims" taking hostages aboard a TWA plane resulted in a demonstration outside the mosque organized by the Jewish Defense League who burned the Ayatollah Khomeini in effigy. The media demanded a response from the Quincy mosque. Dr. Khudairi called a press conference in which he stated that the mosque was a "house of God," not a political organization, and was therefore protected from "harassment" by the Bill of Rights. The reasons why interfaith activities increase during times of crisis are speculative. It would seem that relations between Muslims and non-Muslims would be strained. But in fact, since the revolution in Iran (1979-80), which generally heightened awareness of Islam among Westerners, bad publicity has been the single most driving force for positive interaction between non-Muslims and Muslims in America.
Some facts are borne out by the experience of this researcher who served as secretary to the Center from 1985-1989. As a result of the TWA crisis, a public relations committee was formed, made up of the Religious Director (Imam Eid), the Chairman of the Board (Dr. Khudairi), and myself. As a spokesperson on that committee, I observed that the demand for information about Islam corresponded directly to international incidents involving Muslims.
Sensational news like the publishing of the Satanic Verses and the threat to kill its author, as well as the Gulf War of 1991 have continued to spark interfaith activities. Institutions in America at the vanguard of improving Muslim/Christian relations include the Hartford Seminary and its Duncan-Black Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian/Muslim Relations, and the Office of Christian-Muslim Concerns, NCCC USA. These institutions, headed by Orientalist scholars, are frequently called upon during an international political crisis to impart their expertise on matters concerning Islam and the Muslims.
Although there is room for improvement, it is my view that non-Muslims in the West have never been better informed or more curious about Islam than they are today. The most effective medicine for mending sick relations between Muslims and non-Muslims appears to be a generous dosage of knowledge and a forum for people of different faiths to voice and realize their common concerns. For Muslims, the action of imparting knowledge about Islam to non-Muslims and to Muslims is called, da wah. For Christians, the educating of non-Muslims and Muslims about Islam in order to bring about peace and harmony in a pluralistic world is a part of the ever-evolving nature of Christian mission.