The first-ever Muslim prayer service to be held at Washington’s iconic National Cathedral was unexpectedly disrupted by a Christian heckler, who could not help but express her displeasure over Muslims worshipping at a Christian house of worship.
“America was founded on Christian principles... Leave our church alone!” the woman reportedly shouted.
The disruption was not long-lasting however, as security quickly escorted the heckler out of the church.
The religious event, which is part of a joint initiative by Islamic and Catholic leaders who want to push for religious unity, was closed to the public and protected by heavy security. A few hundred Muslim worshippers had assembled at the venue on November 14 for the weekly recitation of their prayers as well as to hear leaders of both faiths preach about peace in the face of extremist violence and hate.
After the Arabic call to prayer faded into the background, Ebrahim Rasool, an Islamic scholar who serves as South Africa’s ambassador to the United States, started delivering an impassioned speech, urging Muslims and Christians to come together and create a common cause that will help fight against extremists who give Islam a bad name.
“We come to this cathedral with sensitivity and humility but keenly aware that it is not a time for platitudes, because mischief is threatening the world,” Rasool said. “The challenge for us today is to reconstitute a middle ground of good people … whose very existence threatens extremism.”
The other speakers, too, echoed Rasool’s sentiments and emphasized on the urgent need for people of different religions to understand and collaborate with one another.
Reverend Gary Hall, who serves as the dean of the cathedral, cited Saint Benedict, who used to stress the importance of prayer and hospitality. Hall referred to the sound of the Arabic call to prayer as “a beautiful sacred language in a beautiful sacred space,” before saying he hopes this service would only be the first of many such efforts in the future.
This particular event was the result of Rasool and Reverend Canon Gina Gilland Campbell’s close association, as both of them had discovered their common vision for world peace while working diligently on Nelson Mandela’s memorial service. Campbell is the cathedral’s director of liturgy.
Arif Ali, a lawyer in Washington DC, who brought his 12-year-old son to the gathering, said he was moved.
“[It] really makes one think about the common heritage and values in Christianity and Islam,” he said.
Another visitor, Rashid Makhdoom, said he hoped for the message of the service to “reverberate throughout the world” and serve as an example for people everywhere that “Muslims and Christians are all one.”
Even though the event received support from various quarters, Reverend Franklin Graham, who heads the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, wrote on a Facebook post that he was disappointed to see a church open its doors to the worship of anything other than the one true God of the Bible.
Photo Credits: International Business Times
