November 15 2012, NJCU hosted the Peace Islands Institute in an Abraham’s Table.
The theme: Negotiating Our Private Faith in Public Spaces
Moderator: Dr. Nuray Yurt – Peace Islands
Speakers:
Imam W. Deen Shareef
Rabbi Debra Hachen
Father Luke Edelin
We thank Dr. Antoinette Williams for organizing this program
Imam W. Deen Shareef:
Spoke on the Koran, the holy book of Islam. “There is a value and worth of someone even different from you,” said the convener of the Council of Imams in New Jersey. He then listed four “r’s” that must be respected, “rights, relationships, roles, and responsibilities.”
He said that “every human being’s right to experience justice must not be oppressed.” He rejected what he called, “the Judaeo-Christian misconception” and substituted an Abrahamic vision since Abraham also has a role in the founding of Islam. “The hope of Abraham aspired to have a society that included every human being.”
He also shared a story about a Newark interfaith trip to Nazareth where the various religious leaders lived and traveled for eight days. One day they were leaving a church en route to a synagogue when they heard the Muslim call for prayer. And they decided to make time to go to the mosque. “Hallelujah means praise belongs to God,” he said. And there are many paths to God in a pluralistic society.
Rabbi Debra Hachen:
Touched up on how she lived also in a predominantly Christian area where there was an abundance of Christmas trees “and mouthing of Christmas songs with some token Hanukkah songs.”
There was an attempt “to make a statement from neutral ground about each part of a religious tradition,.
Father Luke Edelin:
Recalled a famous document from the Second Vatican Council, the Declaration on Religious Freedom. “God and the Church could adapt to the American experience,” said Edelen, the former NJCU chaplain.
This watershed document erased the typical hostility to American society, though recent church-state spats might seem otherwise. “The point of privilege for any church must be accorded to all,” he added. “Religions have a right to have their voices heard.”
And that becomes the thorny issue.
Moderator Dr. Nuray Yurt:
Noted. But it’s hard to talk about one’s faith without excluding .Yet she mentioned that the workplace is a good place to share one’s traditions. For example, let your co-workers know how you celebrated a holy feast and what it means. Thanksgiving has seen more interfaith services in communities where there is mutual respect for different faiths and denominations. Yurt recounted how a service has been held for five years in New Brunswick.