Imam Fode Drame had given a speech at St Francis-in-the-Wood, an Anglican Church in West Vancouver, for their mini-series on “Conversations in the Universe of Faith”. The Church’s following newsletter spoke about their experience with Imam Fode’s speech and some reflections.
Here is an except from the article:
“When we come to Islam however there is much more of a sense that we are dealing with a religion akin to Christianity in terms of having a founder, being more doctrinal and adhering to the teachings of its holy book, the Qu’ran. As Imam Fode Drame spoke about mercy, peace and love I became even more conscious of how similar we are. Many people were surprised when the Imam said in response to the question, “Can there be such a thing as Christian-Muslim?” that Muslims are Christians in the sense that they believe Jesus is both a prophet and a messenger and that they believe he will indeed return.
Many people were surprised by some of the things that the Imam said that didn’t match up to our preconceived ideas about Islam based on images of extremism and fundamentalism that so easily attract media attention. Though he acknowledged that there is a wide variation amongst Muslims in terms of practice and outlook and this he attributed largely to culture. This is something that could be applied to all four of our speakers – when asked a question they often replied that they were not speaking for all Jews or Buddhists or Hindus or Muslims and that you might get a very different answer from someone else. This of course could be said of Christians as well.
Each of our inter-faith speakers spoke with dignity, poise and humility and they responded to our questions with grace and patience. I felt challenged by each one in terms of the authenticity of my own walk of faith but at the same time I felt affirmed. As I listened to each of them share from their own traditions I felt the call to go deeper into my own faith to make it real in my own life. I was challenged and affirmed not just by what they said but how they said it and their whole way of being. There was frequently a sense that they were comfortable and “at home” in their own beliefs and traditions. I felt this particularly as I spoke with some of the young Muslim brothers and sisters who accompanied Imam Fode – they radiated a deep inner peace and a real joy in their devotion. I felt deeply privileged to have met them and profoundly grateful that they came to be with us. They in turn expressed gratitude for being invited and for the warmth of welcome they received from us. They have invited us for a return visit to their Mosque.”
The full article can be found at their winter 2007 newsletter here: http://www.stfrancisinthewood.ca/pdf/sf-news-winter2007.pdf
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