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They are only a block and a half from each other. But the religious and cultural differences between them could make the distance seem much wider.
Instead the clergy and parishioners of Our Lady of Good Counsel parish, Staten Island, and of the nearby Albanian Islamic Cultural Center have chosen to focus on things the two communities share, chief among them a concern for those who are less fortunate. As a result they’ve forged a partnership that may be a model for interfaith understanding.
On Dec. 15, a group of young people from Our Lady of Good Counsel went to the Islamic Cultural Center to help Muslim young people prepare a stew dinner for the homeless. The teens chopped pounds of potatoes, carrots, peepers and radishes, which were then simmered with seven pounds of meat to serve to clients and at a soup kitchen run by Project Hospitality.
It also gave the youngsters an opportunity to learn a little more about their respective faiths, particularly the role that Jesus plays in both.
“There are major parts of it that are different. But surprisingly there was a lot you’d recognize,” explained Father Liam Tomas O’Doherty, O.S.A., pastor at Our Lady of Good Counsel, who taught the Muslim teens about the central figure of the Christian faith. “I spoke about Jesus, mostly about the birth narratives and the baptism by John. Imam Ferid (Bedrolli, secretary and the center’s school administrator) spoke about the prophet Isa (Jesus) and how he is spoken of and respected as one of the most important of the five prophets in Islam. And he also read from the Koran various verses that had to do with the Annunciation and the birth. The kids were kind of fascinated with that. When we asked them if they had any questions or observations, kids on both sides said the same thing, that they were surprised by the parallels.”
The project grew out of the ongoing relationship between the two religious institutions brokered by the Interfaith Center of New York and supported by the GHR Family Foundation. It is part of a larger program that promotes interfaith social service initiatives by Catholics and Muslims. The Interfaith Center is also involved in Harlem and the Bronx.
Father O’Doherty and Imam Tahir Kukiqi of the Albanian Islamic Cultural Center had earlier organized a visit by Cardinal Dolan to the Mosque June 19. Father O’Doherty said the relationship between the clergy of the two religious institutions goes back a long way.
“They’re about a block and half away from us, so they’re our neighbors,” he noted. “And I’m just here a little bit over three years. Our parish, especially the clergy of our parish, but also the parishioners to some extent, the clergy of our parish and the imams there have had a very, very cordial and cooperative relationship going back well over 15 years.”
While Father O’Doherty acknowledged the real differences that exist between the two faiths, he said it was nonetheless important for Catholics and Muslims to work together on areas of common concern and to work to understand each other better.
“The more I get to know them, the more I see stuff in them I see in my own self and I see in our clergy and parishioners—a desire to grow closer to God,” he said. “Helping people in need is an important part of both our faith traditions.”
