mon Word talked about “how Chris- tians and Muslims can learn to live side by side and share the same com- munity,” he said.
They also learned “how to be sympathetic and empathetic with each other ...,” he added. “We live in one community and the least we can do is understand each other. Inter- faith dialogue is the best way to do this.”
Jungkuntz and Amer explained some of the differences between the two religions. Muslims, for example, believe Jesus was only a prophet. They look at the Trinity as associat- ing partners with God, thus violat- ing the oneness of God. “[Muslims] believe Jesus did not die on earth,” Amer added. “He was raised to heaven by God.” Harold Vogelaar, a retired profes- sor of Islamic studies at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, now lives in Arizona. He and his wife, Mai Vogelaar, a Muslim from Thai- land, joined the Saturday group by telephone. Vogelaar said the group looked at their distinct understand- ings of God and had “fruitful conver- sation about what it means to love your neighbor.”
Early in the process, the Chris- tians in the group had a lot of fear and anxiety growing out of the terrorist events of 9/11. “But in time we began to realize that the folks who did that abused the teachings of Islam, much to the chagrin of Muslims,” Vogelaar said. “[The terrorists] are extremists. They have a lot of grievances, but their methods of dealing with them are destructive. The vast majority of Muslims disapprove.”
The group resulted in plenty of give and take. “Christians like to discuss theology, such as incarnation and Trinity, while Muslims focus more on ethics and action,” Vogelaar said.
Muslims hold to a saying of
Muhammad that “if you see an evil, correct it with your hands,” he said. “If you cannot, then with your tongue, and if you cannot do even that, then with your heart.”
Amer added, “God wants us to get along with each other. God created us to worship him and if we worship him, then we will get along with each other, rather than fight.”
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January 2012 17
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