Meeting our Muslim Neighbors

I did something on Friday night, September 3rd, 2010 that I can honestly say left me feeling nothing but hope for the future. In an effort to build relationships with other faiths in our community, so that we can pave the way for our youth to build their own relationships and friendships this year, my family and I attended an Iftar at the Islamic Center of Tucson. Many of us from First United Methodist Church attended.

For those of you who don’t know what an Iftar is, it is the breaking of the fast during Ramadan in the Islamic faith. During Ramadan, which is the 9th month of the Islamic calendar, people fast all day long from sunrise to sunset. It is a time of purifying oneself for God and to offer prayer. It is a time to learn about patience, and a time to become more spiritually aware.

On Friday night, I was welcomed warmly. I met some wonderful people and feel like I may have even made some future friends. One was a woman who recently converted to Islam last month. She has been studying it for years and has maintained several good Muslim friends through the years. I met another woman who was a new mother of a 2-year-old. We shared similar experiences and stories about life with young children, how we are often feeling starved for adult conversation, how it feels to take time off work (whether we miss it or not), and how our husbands don't often understand what it is like to spend all day every day with a young child.

Most importantly, I felt a connection with the people that I met on a personal, human level, rather than a disconnect between faiths.

And now, several days later, the prospect of a future relationship with our Muslim neighbors and friends feels strong and fresh and positive in my mind. I know now that it was not just a fleeting thought from the momentum on Friday night.

This is an opportunity to show the world that we can work and live together, that we can build relationships and friendships, and that we can rise above the constant background chatter about the impossibilities of different faiths working toward a common goal. I'm more than excited to make the next step with our youth. I can't wait for them to discover how our beliefs in God, our spirituality, and our humility can be strengthened in this experience.