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Catholics in the Albany Diocese will have a chance to learn about their Muslim neighbors' faith - and possibly their own - during a roundtable discussion May 31 at the Islamic Center of the Capital District.

At the Schenectady event, a priest and a Muslim imam will explain each religion's beliefs on the afterlife. The gathering is titled "Concept of the Hereafter: Is There Life After Death? Is There a Heaven or Hell?"

Co-sponsored by the Albany diocesan Commission for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs and the Muslim community of the Capital District, this will be the sixth public dialogue event between Muslims and Catholics in the region since a Muslim-Catholic Dialogue committee was resurrected in 2006.

Committee members say the topic of life after death will provide further proof of the similarities between the faiths.

Not so different
"We realize that we have so much in common," said Imam Djafer Sebkhaoui of the Muslim community in Troy, one of about six mosques in the region. "The belief of the hereafter is fundamental to Islam. We believe that this world is going to someday come to an end."

Audrey Hughes, chair of the Muslim-Catholic Dialogue committee, expects Osama bin Laden's death to come up in the conversation.

Christians, she said, wonder about proper Muslim burials and the different levels of heaven described in the Quran. Catholics may also need a refresher on the current theology of concepts like hell, purgatory and limbo.

"It's up to us as people of faith to come to a clear understanding of what is really true," said Mrs. Hughes, a parishioner of Immaculate Conception Church in Glenville.

Among the principles of the Muslim faith is a day of judgment, which guides followers to perform good deeds, offer prayers five times a day, fast during the month of Ramadan and more.

"We live in this world to gain some rewards in the hereafter," said Humera Khan, who attends the Islamic Center in Schenectady. "We have to make a straight path to the right thing."

Why she'll go
Mrs. Khan plans to attend the discussion to learn more about the Christian perspective on heaven and hell. She and her husband have been on the committee for six years.

"You get to know so much about each other," she said - adding that adults could take a lesson from children, who don't get wrapped up in politics and cultural misconceptions of religions.

"We want to be friends with people and show them the right faces of Islam. The fright inside you - that's not there anymore because you try to understand the person that's next to you."

The roundtable discussions do not touch on politics. In part, they aim to eliminate myths about Muslims being terrorists, jihadists or misogynists.

That "has nothing to do with the Quran or the teachings of Islam whatsoever," Mrs. Hughes asserted.

Already accomplished
Previous discussions in the series have addressed Catholic and Muslim perspectives on Jesus and Mary, the worship styles of both faiths and how Abraham is covered in the Quran and in the Bible.

Mrs. Khan and Mrs. Hughes have discovered that both religious texts mention many of the same prophets.

"I have been deepened in my own faith," Mrs. Hughes said of learning about Muslim customs. "At Ramadan, their joy in fasting as a unified community is just breathtaking.

"We are all created by God and we are creatures of God to serve and love Him. Since God loves us, He wants us to love each other. Our dialoguing is just one small bridge to understanding the faith. We've come a long way. We have a long way to go, but the main thing is to build the trust."

"Concept of the Hereafter" will be held May 31, 7-9 p.m. at the Islamic Center at 21 Lansing Road North, Schenectady. The event is free; call 453-6660 for information.[[In-content Ad]]

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