Interfaith Dialogue Aims to Erase Barriers Between Islam and Christianity

February 16, 2007

Author: Pamela J. Podger

Source: The Roanoke Times

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/wb/xp-103733

Omar Rabb stood Sunday morning in the parish hall at Christ Episcopal Church and raised his hands to his ears before singing out in Arabic that Allah is the greatest.

Ordinarily, the muezzin, or the man appointed to call the faithful to prayer, would stand in the courtyard of the mosque or in a minaret, a type of tower used in Islamic architecture.

Rabb's resonating voice was an unusual experience for about 40 people listening inside the Christian hall. It's part of an interfaith dialogue that seeks to erase barriers between Islam and Christianity.

Rabb and other members of the Clarence Sabree Islamic Center in Roanoke, including Imam Ibrahim Hamidullah, have teamed up with the Rev. Jan Fuller, the chaplain and religious studies professor at Hollins University, to lead a six-week lecture series on the Muslim faith.

Fuller, who attends Christ Episcopal Church, said she broached the lecture series as a way of fostering mutual understanding, conversation and respect.