Looking Beyond Our Worlds: Christians and Muslims During Ramadan
Posted On July 24, 2014
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| Here I am, second from the left, together with the family of Bilal (fourth from the left) and his wife Betul (left), originally from Turkey. The two cute kids in front of us are their twin daughters of four years and their teen daughter on the right. |
Through the generous work of the Peace Islands Institute, I was able to celebrate IFTAR, the breaking of the day of fast during Ramadan with a Muslim family in our area in north New Jersey. Ramadan, for our Muslim brothers and sisters worldwide, is a special time of a more intense prayer (salat), fasting and a greater solidarity with the poorest in their great desire to surrender to God (Islam). Iftar meals in the United States are often held at mosques, households, and Islamic community centers. On 9 December 1805, President Thomas Jefferson postponed dinner at the White House until sunset to accommodate an envoy from Tunis, an event considered by many to be the first White House Iftar.
As Xaverian Missionaries, we are focused today in laser fashion on the importance of interfaith dialogue, both those of other religious traditions and those of no religious traditions, including humanists, atheists and agnostics. I cannot say it any better than St. John Paul II in Nigeria in 1982: “All of us, Christians and Muslims, live under the sun of the one merciful God. We both believe in one God who is the creator of man. We acclaim God’s sovereignty and we defend humanity’s dignity as God’s servant. We adore God and profess total submission to him. Thus, in a true sense, we can call one another brothers and sisters in faith in the one God.”
We sat at table, passed the delicacies of Turkish Muslim culture during Ramadan, talked easily with one another as if we have always been neighbors, despite the differences between us. We talked of Bilal’s family, his son doing a summer course in economics in Boston, the journey of their family from Turkey to Philadelphia, to Totowa, New Jersey near New York I shared our concerns our Catholics and how we can be part of healing a world seething with fear of the other. We also talked of the state of the world in Syria, Iraq, Turkey and other places, the perverse use of religion and what we as Christians and Muslims really dreamed of :dialogue, renewed understanding of each other, solidarity, and peace. Here too in the USA, where the fear of Islam pervades many non-Muslims, we have a particular responsibility to dialogue. It is us together who can set the record straight. At the end of the meal, we watched lovingly as his two young daughters were coaxed to pray at the end of the meal in the Turkish language. One was very shy and the second took up the responsibility with bravery and childlike playfulness. After they finished, I was asked to pray for his family and guest, thanking God and asking that this Ramadan will truly re-fashion us all anew.
After dinner one of our Muslim guests asked Bilal to be excused so he may pray. The others in the family already did so privately in anticipation of providing hospitality to us without interruption. We did so over warm and comforting cups of Turkish tea and sweets. I was struck by their respect to their non-Muslim guests as such a time. This kind of deferance is something that should make up all faiths as they seek each other out.
As we concluded the evening and headed out the door, the two small daughters wished to share their own unique goodbyes to me. One of them said to me: “Fr. Carl, goodbye, I love you.” The second twin affirmed the wishes of her sister, probably out of jealousy, when she told me: “I love you too.” This happened not long before both longingly asked me what my name is. These are the innocent expressions of young children in an adult and unruly world. In some ways, these two adorable children represent children and families of all faiths and traditions. I pray for this kind of innocence in us all. Blessed are the humble of heart.
