الولايات المتحدة: نشاط للتعريف بالإسلام بين عناصر المجتمع النصراني

قام المركز الإسلامي بمدينة "جاترسبيرج" بمقاطعة "مونتجمري" بولاية "ميرلاند" الأمريكية بعقد لقاء مع عناصر المجتمع النصراني على المستويين العام والقيادي من أتباع كنيسة "مونتجمري فيلدج" للتعريف بالإسلام ولترسيخ التفاهم بين أتباع المعتقدين.

وقد أكد "هيثم يونس" - منسق التواصل بالمركز الإسلامي - في إطار تصحيح المفاهيم - أن غير المسلمين يعتقدون أن الإسلام يأمر أتباعه بالاعتداء على غير المسلمين, ولكن الصواب أنه كدين سلام يأمر بالتعريف بالإسلام دون إكراه على اعتناقه, ودون ممارسة للعنف ضد غير المسلمين ومنشآتهم, في استنكار لأحداث "الإسكندرية" الأخيرة التي يحاول الغرب إلصاقها بالمسلمين.

وقد أشار عدد من الحضور إلى أن لديهم صورة مغلوطة عن الإسلام والمسلمين, وطالبوا بضرورة التعرف على المسلمين والإسلام عن قرب, مثلما فعلت "ديبي شانكمان" التي أكدت عبر مدونتها الخاصة أنها بعد اللقاء بممثلي المركز الإسلامي تغيرت خلفيتها عن الإسلام.

الخبر من مصدره الأصلي:

Church Pushes for Tolerance, Understanding Among Muslims and Christians

With religious differences at the root of so many worldly conflicts, members of Christ the Servant Lutheran Church are promoting tolerance at home and trying to bridge the gap in interfaith understanding.

In the first of a two-part dialogue, two dozen members of the Montgomery Village church met Sunday with a representative of the Islamic Center of Maryland of Gaithersburg in an effort to promote inclusiveness throughout the religious community.

"In order to share God with each other, we have to get to know each other," said Tom Eastlack, one of the event's organizers.

Haytham Younis, outreach coordinator for the Islamic Center of Maryland, addressed misconceptions of Muslims.

"People have gotten the notion that Muslims hate non-Muslims, that they want to convert non-Muslims, that they want to harm non-Muslims," Younis said. "The truth is that while Islam defends itself and Muslims struggle for the right to practice Islam, the norm is peace and the exception is conflict. The Quran explicitly says that we are not allowed to force our beliefs on anyone."

Younis had considered converting to Judaism as a young man after being raised as a Muslim, he said—an experience that helped spark a passion for clarity among Muslims, Jews and Christians.

"My inspiration is that I hate misunderstanding and conflict," he said.

Part two of the dialogue—at 9:50 a.m. on Sunday at Christ the Servant—will take on the ever-difficult topic of violence in the Muslim world.

"I will say that Islam is not a passive religion. But, it is not a religion that permits the violence that is found in the Middle East," Younis said. "Never should it be that a Muslim attacks a religious establishment."

Church members contributed to Younis's conversation that was designed to provide an accurate glimpse into Islam.

"It was interesting. I understood a lot more," Dorothy Gerald, 77, of Gaithersburg, said. "It became more clear."

This was the reaction Christ the Servant's members were hoping for when they set out to spur the interfaith dialogue.

"We have a strong belief that God loves everyone, and individual beliefs are not as important as loving each other," Eastlack said.

Silver Spring resident Debbie Shankman started a blog about her perspective of Islam, as non-Muslim, after being upset by a joke she heard a few years ago. She said the faith—and its adherents—are widely misunderstood.

"If people had direct contact with Muslims, they wouldn't listen to the negative things [about Muslims] on TV," she said.

Interested in a follow-up to this art.