Great Speech on Islam & Christianity Given to Episcopal Convention

Address by Imam Mohamad Bashar Arafat to the

234th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of New York

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York City

November 13, 2010

Your Excellency, the Right Reverend Mark Sisk, Bishop of New York, and My Dear Respected

Episcopal Clergy and Lay Representatives,

I greet you with the greeting of Peace (Salam) and I thank you for your heartfelt invitation to

speak at your annual convention.

It is an honor for me to stand here today among my brothers and sisters of faith and humanity,

members of the house of Abraham, to share with you my understanding of reading the Qur’an in

America.

Just before I left Syria to come to the U.S., my teacher, the late Grand Mufti of Syria, Sheikh

Ahmed Kuftaro, said to me, “ Your studies in Shari’ah [Islamic Law] in the Seminary and your

understanding of it here in Syria will be different when you are in America, so keep that in mind

when you face new situations.”

I thank Almighty Allah day and night for such a teacher because after living in Baltimore for a

few years, I realized that Muslim clergy in the U.S. needed to be freed from the “cultural”

pressure that most immigrant Muslims bring with them.   Many immigrant Muslims still expect

the Imams to minister to them as if they were still in Asia, the Middle East or Africa, not realizing that America is unlike any other country in the world.   Change happens at a much faster

pace here and things are constantly in flux.

A problem occurs when Imams, who live and remain in America, do not themselves change.   I

do not mean that they should change the teachings of the Qur’an, because the Qur’an is Divine

and does not change, but the Shari’ah – Law and Customs – which are not Divine, can change

with the changes of the time and circumstances. It is the same principle by which the Supreme

Court seeks to make the Constitution a living presence and not just an archival document in the

dust bin of history.

The teachings of the Qur’an are divided into three parts:

A large part of the Qur’an concentrates on inviting people to believe in the One, Loving,

Merciful God; Allah, the Creator and Sustainer.   It also includes teachings surrounding the seal

of the prophets, Muhammad, the Son of Abdullah, and the importance of following his path and

his example.

The second part of the teachings focuses on the “People of the Book”, the Jews and the

Christians.

Muslims are supposed to look to Prophet Abraham as a uniting figure and interact with the

People of the Book, which is known by you as the Bible, with the utmost level of respect,

kindness and solidarity.   We must make every effort to come together for the common good and

betterment of humanity.

The third part of the teachings emphasize life, in general, and how to interact with people from

all religions or no religion at all, by being just and kind and seasoned with ethical and moral

values.   Common sense and human rights issues are important principles for any society on the

surface of the earth, and without social and economic justice, there will be no peace and

prosperity.

All three parts that I have just mentioned are founded in Islam on Rahmah (Compassion).   Each

chapter in the Qur’an starts with this verse “Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem” (In the name of

Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful).   The entire teachings of the Qur’an revolve around

Rahmah, Compassion, because without Rahmah, there is no credible life.

This Rahmah is the fruit of the love of Almighty Allah.   If our daily worship does not produce a

genuine love for Almighty Allah, there is something faulty in our worship.   And if that love does

not produce compassion or lead to compassion, one must question it.

The compassion I am speaking about knows no color, no race, no region and no religion.   It is a

compassion for the entire creation of The Almighty - for those who are falling victim to human

trafficking or addictions, for those, who are poor and struggling to break free from the grip of

poverty, for those, who are oppressed and have been prevented from tasting the sweetness of

liberation.

This was the message of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him).   This is a message of

cooperation, benevolence and mercy for all mankind.   Muslims are taught to reach out to their brothers and sisters in faith using the path of common words, which lead to common efforts and

this is mentioned in Chapter 3, Verse 64 of the Qur’an:

” Say: "O People of the Book! come to common terms as between us and you: That we worship

none but Allah; that we associate no partners with him; that we erect not, from among ourselves,

Lords and patrons other than Allah”¦."

Christianity was never supported by any religion like it was supported by Islam in many of its

teachings, which respects Jesus Christ and his mother, the Virgin Mary, (peace be upon them)

and relates their lives and their stories in the Qur’an to be recited during our 5 daily prayers by

more than 1.5 billion Muslims around the world.   The second largest chapter in the Qur’an is

called Al-Imran (The Family of Jesus) and mentions many of the miracles performed through

Jesus and his mother, Mary, Zachariah and John the Baptist.

There is another chapter in the Qur’an that honors Christ’s mother and is called Maryam.   The

name of Jesus is also repeated throughout the Qur’an along with other great prophets and

messengers such as Noah, Abraham, David, Joseph and Moses.     All of that and more has been

overlooked by some of the media, who constantly

re-tell the tragic event of the Twin Towers in New York that fell as an act of murderers, it was

not the act of one who follows the true teachings of Islam.   I wish that we had media that

constantly reminds us also of the more than 95% of what we have in common and brings us

together.   If we don’t have love for others as much as we have it for ourselves, then, we are not true

believers.   Just as Allah created Adam in His image, so does Allah like to see our actions in His

image regardless of whether we call ourselves Muslim, Christian, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist or

something else.

From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for this generous invitation.   It tells me that

people around the world are now looking for something different from America.   People are

looking for something that has nothing to do with armies and military. People are looking for

something that is greater than armies and the military. What is greater? The love of Allah, of

God, is greater than the might of armies and military. Why? Because the love of Allah is what

saves, is what heals, is what teaches peace.   It makes bad things right.   It makes bad people good.

That is what has warmed the heart of Bishop Tutu.   That is what warms the hearts of you and me.

It is what makes us truly brothers and sisters and people of faith.   It is the kind of Godly love that

delivers hope to all.   This is what people are looking for. This is how joint missions of Muslim

and Christian clergy and lay people show the world that we, as Americans are united against all

forms of aggression and occupation.

We see it in the fact that America does not have only Tomahawk missiles and intercontinental

weapons, but it also has skilled, dedicated clergy,

who are sincere about their interfaith efforts

and can penetrate ignorance and hate and change it into enlightenment, love and compassion,

especially toward those aff

ected by the social ills of the world.

America is very rich with the blessings of religious and cultural diversity, but what we need

today is a St. Francis of the 21st

century and a Rumi of the 21st

century, who come from America,

hand-in-hand, showing the world that the Abrahamic House in America is intact and ready to

share the love of God with everyone.

We do have hope that together in the 21st Century, we will continue to work in concert with our

eyes and hearts focused on the Divine Interests and we will let the ego and narrow interests fall

to the way side.

I pray that this blessed invitation by you to me today will help provide the momentum needed to

rescue all those in the American society, who are tired of the rhetoric of fear, hatred and

Islamophobia and the twisting of the truth and the reality of the teachings of God for their own

political purposes – for, to twist faith for political purpose that serves self and neither God nor

humanity – to twist faith for one’s own purpose is blasphemy.

The whole world is looking to America and America cannot afford to spend its money on wars

and conflicts any more.   If one tenth of what has been spent on wars and bloodshed can be spent

on programs like this, which promote better understanding and combating ignorance in America,

we will have more positive results and we will be an example for the whole world.

America is already doing a great deal by sponsoring many exchange programs and I, myself, am

involved with these exchanges, both the inbound and outbound.   I am truly thankful for those

programs, but we can still do much, much, more.   We will be giving our young generation a different kind of memory and example to follow rather

than letting them see someone, who wants to burn the Qur’an or someone, who tells his Muslim

neighbors that you cannot build a mosque in one state or another.

Or someone, who kills the Christians in Baghdad and tries to blow up airplanes and calls that

Islam.   The teachings of Almighty God clearly reject all of that regardless of what someone calls

themselves.   He wants us to actively demonstrate our solidarity and engage in joint efforts and

programs to benefit humanity and reveal the fruit of our compassion and mercy toward one

another as we read in the Qur’an in chapter 49, verse 13:

“O mankind!   We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, And made you into

nations and tribes, that you may know each other (Not that you may despise each other), Verily

the most honored of you in the sight of God is (he, who is) the most righteous of you, and God

has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).”

As we strive to build upon our common heritage and work together as one body, these efforts

will be supported by the prayers and goodwill of all believers here in the U.S. and around the

world.

I ask the Almighty Loving Lord to bless your work and efforts and to help me and all Muslims to

be ready to work beside you to promote God’s love for all.

May God bless you, bless America, and bless the family of Adam and Eve.

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