Mosque Celebrates With Interfaith Dinner

In preparation for today's Eid ul Adha holiday, the Muslim Education Center invited Morton Grove-area neighbors, and leaders of other faith communities, to a reception and dinner last Saturday.

"The purpose of it is that one of our holidays--Eid, which is a celebration of the prophet Abraham, is Oct. 26," said Sarah Kadir, one of the organizers.

"Because all three religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) are rooted in Abraham, we thought it was a good opportuity to host an interfaith gathering," she added. "People talk about how different we are, but I think each of us would be amazed if we knew how similar we are."

The evening started with appetizers, a talk by MCC President Mohammed Aleemuddin and dinner. It continued with prayers, dessert and coffee, and speakers Elaine Waxman from the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, Lolly Dominski from Morton Grove Community Church and Omer Mozaffer from the Muslim Education Center.

Aleemuddin spoke about a Quranic verse that cites a need to do sacrifice to please the creator.

"In Morton Grove, I feel we need to sacrifice our ego, our hatred--that thing which we may have against each other because we dress, look and talk differently," he said. 

That is a way to root out misunderstanding, he said.

Referring to thewhich came close to hitting  a security guard but did not actually strike anyone, he acknowleded many in the community for the concern and support they expressed. 

"We should not hate each other by people's actions or looks. I thank all who helped us with that serious situation," he said, naming public officials and police among those who helped.

He cited efforts mosque members have made to participate in the community, such as at the Morton Grove Farmers Market, the Fourth of July parade, and adopting a stretch of land in the Morton Grove Park District to keep clean.

"Let us move forward and make it a better place to live," he said.

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