Brothers and Sisters

On Saturday evening my wife Ruth and I attended an event sponsored by the Interfaith group of Belleville at the Islamic Society building on Moira St. http://bellevillemasjid.ca/ We were told that we would be fed --always an incentive-- and there would be a brief presentation and tour of the building. That's exactly what happened, although saying so does not come close to capturing the spirit of the evening. We were welcomed by the imam who spoke of being brothers and sisters as God's people, and that we gathered in a spirit of peace and mutual respect. He let us know that several doctors and eight pharmacists in the city are members of this mosque and the desire of all from their faith community is to contribute to the health and wellbeing of the wider community. We did watch a short slide show which was more information than propaganda.

Now, the food! The majority of the members of this community are originally from Pakistan, and the spread of Pakistani cuisine was delicious. I really can't say exactly what was in the various dishes, although I do know what wasn't there --pork. While we were in line several members of the community engaged us in conversation. They couldn't have been warmer or more welcoming.

When we sat down a teen, maybe fourteen, asked if he could join us. He was a very bright, very open young man who patiently responded to our questions. His family emigrated to Canada when he was six months old, and his two younger brothers were born here. His father was a doctor in Pakistan and is a pharmacist in Belleville. His hope is to be a physician one day.

I commented that I'd heard Ramadan, the month of fasting was tough this year because it was so close to the Summer Solstice. Muslims fast from sunrise to sundown, and the days without food or drink were long. He told us that this was his first year observing the adult fast -- children are exempt or do a partial fast -- and it was a challenge. He seemed pleased he had been able to make it through the thirty days. I wonder how many teens from a Christian background would do with a month of fasting, not to mention the regimen of daily prayer?

We left this event quite moved by what we had experienced. There were probably close to one hundred guests, so it was a worthwhile effort toward mutual understanding and respect. Ruth was expected to wear a dress and a headscarf, but she didn't really mind that expectation. Yes, the Muslim women and men seemed to be somewhat apart from one another, although two women addressed us during the evening. We do need to keep in mind that there are Christian groups which still separate men and women and their clergy are all men. And they don't invited us to dinner!

So, are you sorry you missed this gathering? Would you feel comfortable attending? Do we need more of this to foster understanding rather than suspicion?