Learning about different faith traditions and discovering connections shared by people of faith was the aim when some 50 members of religious groups recently gathered in St. Anthony of Padua Church, Hightstown.

The parish’s Social Justice Group sponsored an interfaith dialogue attended by 20 Muslims and 26 members of local Roman Catholic, Quaker and Jewish assemblies to promote greater understanding and to build bridges among people of various faiths.

Dr. David Abalos, professor emeritus of Religious Studies and Sociology in Seton Hall University, set the tone for the evening in his preface entitled, “The Sacred in Our Lives.“

“There is so much talk about the conflicts between us. I wanted to talk about what all have in common,” he said. “The call to the sacred puts us in connection with each other.”

He observed that when humans understand all people are sacred, they become co-creators with God of a more compassionate world. Dr. Abalos noted that Moses, Jesus and Mohammed experienced the sacred and went on to create new communities based on compassion and justice.

Raising awareness about the Muslim faith, Saffett Abid Catovic, a contributing scholar to a project of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, gave a 30-minute presentation introducing the Five Pillars of the Muslim faith—belief, worship, fasting, almsgiving and pilgrimage– which sum up the basic duties of a believer.  The presentation emphasized that the “People of the Book,” the collective name for Christians, Jews, and Muslims, are related as descendants of Abraham.

Jana Hussain, a mathematics teacher at Noor-ul-Iman, a Muslim school in New Brunswick, and Sami Catovic, a New Jersey attorney, discussed the lives of Muslim women and men in America. The evening ended with periods for questions and answers, and feedback from participants showed great support for the program and desire for follow-up meetings.

“It was very good,” said Dr. Manzoor Hussain, organizer of the event. “Three different Muslim organizations—the Islamic  Society of New Jersey, the Institute for Islamic Studies in Cranbury, and Noor-ul-Iman, –put together a team to organize this program.  We are in an environment where we want to reach out.  The social justice group of St. Anthony’s Church reached out to us, and we have had good chemistry.”

Lenore Isleib, member of the Social Justice Committee, said that a Quaker associate helped the two groups make contact and address their mutual concerns over the prevailing national climate of Islamophobia.

Dr. Hussain commented, “We are planning to continue to meet. Our next gathering will be Jan. 16. We want people to know that most Muslims are peaceful.  The violent are a minority.”

The next meeting will begin with a pot-luck dinner. Anyone who is interested in attending or participating in the planning of future interfaith meetings, contact Leigh and Lenore Isleib at [email protected].