Inferfaith Dialogue promotes respect for all faiths

Ashley Smith

The Signal

The sound of laughter and interlacing conversations drifted through Atrium I as students, faculty and community members sat at roundtables scattered throughout the open area. The subject of religion, which can sometimes be an intense and touchy subject, was the topic of discussion at the Interfaith Dialogue, held on campus Oct. 27.

Hosted by the Cross-Cultural, Anthropology, Sociology Student Association (CASSA), and the Muslim Student Association (MSA), the event brought students, faculty and community members from all faiths, as well as those curious about other faiths, together to create an environment of open discussion.

“We were inspired to do this through other organizations, like the Institute of Interfaith Dialogue,” said Tonya Tipton, president of CASSA.

Anyone who wished to participate could easily join a discussion already in progress or start a new one. To help jumpstart conversation, a list of questions was provided, asking how people saw their faiths as well as how they perceived other faiths.

“I went to a Russian Orthodox private school, so I got more into theology and I could discern many things that regular church-goers couldn’t,” said Eva Jane Terekhova, anthropology major. “As I grew up, I realized that my belief was actually starting to limit my scope and that I’m not connecting to other people.”

One of the questions asked how each person’s faith helps that person connect in the world.

“I’m a Muslim, and I know in the media and everything you see, we are like these people running around with guns and stuff like that; but for me, my religion teaches me to be connected with other people, to be a part of a whole society,” said Shahd Nimeriy, psychology major. “Society is so strongly stated in our beliefs. I don’t want to be that person who’s looked at differently. I don’t want to be excluded from things, I want to integrate myself into society and get to know people and the more I get to know people and their faiths it helps me connect with them.”

Other roundtable discussions dove into the importance of rules and obligation in faith.

“Even though the Quran is specific, it says there is no compulsion in religion,” said Mustafaa Carroll, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). “It does say you are obliged. If you believe in something, you are not compelled to do it, you’re obliged to do it, and that obligation comes from something you have personally.”

On the subject of the importance of ritual in religion, associate professor in sociology Mike McMullen took the sociological approach.

“All religions have rituals,” McMullen said. “You’re supposed to do something, get down on your knees, head to the floor, face a direction, wash your hands, all of that is to put you in a different mind frame because in the everyday life, we’re caught up in life, and all of that is sociological to say that ‘okay, now I am in a different frame of mind.’ If you could get into that frame of mind all the time, then you wouldn’t need those rituals.”

This is the second year the Interfaith Dialogue event has taken place, and Tipton saw it as a great opportunity to gain respect for other religions and for each other.

“A lot of times, people say ‘Oh, we should have religious tolerance’ and I don’t like that word, tolerance; I don’t think that’s a very positive word,” Tipton said. “I think we should have religious respect, and the only way we can respect each other is to get to know each other.”

For more information about CASSA, MSA or future dialogues, visit the Student Life tab at www.uhcl.edu.




Video created by Ashley Smith.

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