Source: Hudson Sun

http://www2.townonline.com/hudson/artsLifestyle/view.bg?articleid=370194

On November 17, 2005 the Hudson Sun reported, "Long before Muslim-Christian relations became front page news, on Nov. 16, 1989, Muslim and Christian New Englanders gathered for their first inter-religious dialogue. Last week, the group met at The Islamic Center of Boston in Wayland to celebrate more than 15 years of forging strong relationships between members of the two faiths. The dialogue meets three times each year, with the location alternating between a church and an Islamic Center. Co-sponsored by The Massachusetts Council of Churches and The Islamic Council of New England, the dialogue was later expanded to include co-sponsorship by the Office of Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs of Archdiocese of Boston. Dr. A. Karim Khudairi, co-chairman of the Interfaith Committee of the Islamic Council of New England noted: 'The Muslims in the United States are a minority faith community living in a Christian-dominated society. The Islamic Council of New England felt the need to communicate and cooperate with people of other faiths'... One benefit of the dialogue became evident after Sept. 11, 2001. 'Because we already had strong relationships with leaders of the Islamic Council of New England, forged through our dialogue, we were able to respond immediately to the crisis as in inter-religious community,' noted the Rev. Dr. Diane Kessler, executive director of The Massachusetts Council of Churches."