Christianity, Islam share similarities
By Becky Barclay
Published in News on February 25, 2017 11:53 PM
Two local clergymen will share both the common threads and the differences between Christianity and Islam in a free programs Thursday, March 9 and Thursday, March 16.
"Meeting of the Faiths: Conversations from the Holy Bible and the Holy Quran," will take place from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. both days at North Carolina Wesleyan College at 1101 Parkway Drive.
Mufti Qasim Siddique will talk 20 minutes about the Quran; James Taneti will talk 20 minutes about the Bible, and the audience will have a question and answer period for 20 minutes.
Taneti said the two clergymen want to get the audience involved in the conversation.
"What is on our minds is to talk about things that we (the two faiths) share and treasure," Taneti said.
"The first week will be about Abraham, who is a shared ancestor between the two faiths.
Siddique tells about Abraham and how he is special to the Islamic community, the theological significance of the person of Abraham, Taneti said.
"Then I will talk about the Jewish and Christian rendering of Abraham.
"We want to see what is common and what is different. And why does it still matter to us. And why do we cherish those differences."
The second week will focus on Jesus.
Taneti, a Christian, regard Jesus as his savior, he said. And Muslims respect Jesus as a unique prophet.
"We'll sit and learn from each other about these two individuals."
The idea for the program came about after the two men first met.
"In my first meeting with him, he asked me if I could teach him something about the New Testament," Taneti said. "I said 'I can do it, but if you can teach me something about the Holy Quran.'"
There was a willingness to learn from both sides, he said.
"We sat and talked about things we share. That's how it started," Taneti said.
The clergymen thought if they got so much from the conversation, others in the community might get something from a conversation in the form of a program.
"One of the reasons we are doing this is that we live in a world where people are political instead of being polite, hostile instead of hospitable," Taneti said. "So at the end of the day, we want to demonstrate to them that both faiths teach being polite, being hospitable and coexist in peace.
"It's not about what makes the two faith traditions different primarily, but what do both have in common, he said. And if there are differences, we will honestly talk about it and learn about it.
"We want to model listening from one another. We hope that, despite the differences, we can be respectful of the other, sit in the same room and come out as friends."
Using the example of yeast from the Bible that grows, ferments and changes things, Taneti hopes the program will have the same effect in Wayne County.
"And who knows, maybe other counties will learn from our Wayne community on how to be respectful, how to embrace others and how to live in harmony."