What I Learned from the Muslims
Stroudsburg Imam
On Saturday April 6th, 2024, I witnessed the Iftar celebration at the Islamic Cultural Center on Second Street in East Stroudsburg with Anthony Stevens-Arroyo, Joseph Tufo, Herbert Vargas and Adan Stevens-Diaz and the Faithful Neighbors Ministry. The Iftar is the meal eaten at the setting of the sun which brings the ending of the daily Ramadan fast. Before the sun set at 7:31pm on that Saturday evening we were invited to witness the local Stroudsburg Muslims chant their Arabic prayers on an ornamental rug while they laid their faces on the ground, eyes turned to the East and toward Mecca. Strange Arabic verses from the Koran were recited by an aged Imam clothed in Traditional Middle Eastern garments and a Muslim skullcap, or a Taqiyah. There were no women there as they were hidden from us in another part of the building listening to Islamic holy words over the loudspeakers and presumably doing as the men were doing in front of us, which was supplicating to Allah on the rug. The entire ritual was foreign to a Catholic. The men gathered, the Imam came, and they all mirrored their holy man as he led them from a standing position, to kneeling, to lying flat on the floor, and back up again, all-the-while reciting the Arabic prayers for 10 or 15 minutes. We watched all of this while seated in the back on benches when suddenly it was over, and everyone got up to eat. There was nothing like a procession or a Homily or readings or even music, but the Arabic prayer before it was over.
Stroudsburg Muslims at Prayer
However bizarre the Islamic ritual was to an American Catholic, the friendliness of the Muslim faithful to us Catholics might have been equally astonishing. It is hard to convey the respect the average Muslim has for Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church, although they do not believe that He is God and clearly cannot be members of our Church unless they believe in Him. Putting that aside for now, I was shocked to discover the esteem that the Muslim has for the Catholic Church but the reception we received from the Muslim population of Stroudsburg confirmed that for me. Probably, the Muslims understand the history of our Church better than we do. The uninterrupted two-thousand-year history of a Church started by twelve hunted men in an obscure outpost of the Roman Empire. The fact that Jesus’ apostles, led by Peter, started a world altering Church that has lasted the test of time was only possible through God’s intervention. Similarly, the fact that the Islamic religion founded by Muhammed has survived as the second largest religion for so long is also a sign that it too is part of God’s plan. We disagree with the Muslims in so far as they do not profess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Messiah promised to Israel, but we should recognize that the Islamic faith is a power in this world, for good or for bad, and that it must be respected as such.
Iftar Meal
Our interfaith work has awaked me to the fact that many Muslims have a clearer understanding of how we are a continuation of a tradition handed down to us by Jesus Christ. Muhammad said he was given the Koran by God. Catholics say we were given the Church by Christ. To safeguard the Sacred Traditions of the Church Her followers must first understand their importance. Interacting with other traditions might help us to become more conscious of our own. I thank Anthony Stevens-Arroyo for his work and hope the Parish prays for us and the Muslims as we continue to learn from each other.
As Catholics we must constantly reaffirm our commitment to the Church, and we must endeavor to be the bearers of the Gospel in our life, in our family and in our community. In order to be the bearers of the Gospel message we are called to understand both the Gospel and the world we are attempting to bring the Gospel to. Whether we are trying to bring the Good News to fallen away Catholics, secular atheists, or Islamic Muslims, the first step is understanding. If we do not understand them then we cannot meaningfully engage with them. The Faithful Neighbors Ministry has successfully made contact with the Muslims, the Jews and a variety of other non-Catholic Christians. It is now incumbent on us to use the gifts afforded to us by the Holy Spirit, the radical Love of Christ and His Mother, the Virgin Mary, and the guidance of the Church to bring His Love into this fallen world through our Faith.
-Michael Sullivan