Know Thy Neighbors

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Know Thy Neighbors – Traditions/Worships/Prayers

On Wednesday, November 20, Know Thy Neighbors’, a Muslim-Christian interfaith collaboration between WNYMuslims and St. Joseph University Parish, second session, ‘Traditions/Worship/Prayers’ was held at Hyatt Place, Buffalo. Like the previous session, it was another successful event.

Ms. Sana Iqbal started the program with a welcome speech and introduced Ms. Farina Mirza, Community Outreach Coordinator, WNYMuslims, who gave a brief introduction of the organization through a small presentation. Later Prof. Faizan Haq, President & Founder, WNYMuslims was invited to the podium to proceed further with the program by introducing the following panelists:

• Deacon Ted Pijacki, Deacon Emeritus at St. Joseph University Parish
• Sister Jeremy Midura, Pastoral Associate at St. Joseph University Parish
• Imam Syed Khalilullah Qadri, ISNF, Masjid Noor, BA in Intensive Islamic Studies
• Ms. Syeda Ume-Aiman, Student of Western Philosophy and Islamic Theology

Prof. Faizan, handed over the microphone to Deacon Ted Pijacki to formally start the program. He started with an explanation about the evolution of Traditions/Worship/Prayers in Christianity, with time. He also discussed the importance of Mother Mary in both Islam and Christianity. He further on elaborated the importance of ‘Traditions’ with the capital and small “T”, which may vary by geographical locations. Later on, Sister Jeremy took over and explained the types of worship in Christianity and the reasons behind them based on traditions. She further spoke about the sacrifices made by Jesus and said, ”He took over everything on himself and died’. Sister Jeremy also humbly asserted, ‘We are living as a people of hope and resurrection’. While wrapping up the discussion from his side Deacon Pijacki added, “These sessions are being conducted to promote the commonality among all of us”.

Later Imam Kahlilullah took the charge of the event as a representative of the Islamic faith. While defining the actual Islam, he said, “Islam is believing in it from the depth of your heart and verbalize it at the same time’. Furthermore, he spoke about the importance of number “7” in both religions and elaborated the 7 articles of faith while discussing the pillars of Islam, he described Islam as a continuation of previous religions. He also pondered upon the attributes of God in Islam and emphasized on the role of destiny in the life of a Muslim. Moreover, Ms. Ume- Aiman joined the conversation and continued the discussion on the pillars of Islam and further explained that for every type of worship there’s a corresponding thought. She also mentioned the 5 mandatory worships called ‘Salah’ and their role in the personal development of a Muslim. She said, ‘Salah is a connection to God, the more devoted we are, the more connected are we and as a result, it affects our steadfastness, sincerity, and punctuality, it gives us a sense of direction”. She further pondered upon the fact that physical abstinence from food while fasting builds piety among Muslims and improves self-control. In the end, she briefly emphasized on the importance of Zakat, mandatory charity, and termed it as a right of the poor rather than a gift. Followed by the Panelists’ presentations the floor was opened for the question-answer session, in which the audience participated, quite enthusiastically. Upon the request of the audience, Imam Khalilullah recited a few verses of the Quran along with its translation and so did Deacon Pijacki recited a prayer. Afterward, Prof. Faizan thanked the panelists and audience for another successful event and invited everyone for the refreshments.

Once again, we would like to thank our community for such an overwhelming response, we hope that we will get the same response in our remaining 2 sessions of the 4-lecture series out of which our third session: Putting Religion into Daily Practice being scheduled for:

Wednesday, December 18

at

The Jaffarya Islamic Center

10300 Transit Rd.East Amherst, NY 14051

jaffaryacenter@jaffarya.org

(716) 689-3120

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The “Know Thy Neighbors” Conversation Series Topics:

Concept of God: Wed. Oct. 23, 2019

Traditions/Worship/Prayers Wed. Nov. 20, 2019

Putting Religion into Daily Practice Wed. Dec. 18, 2019

Our Sacred Text Wed. Jan. 29, 2020