Meeting Bishop Kevin Manning

Assalamu alaykum

On Saturday I attended an Interfaith gathering especially prepared for Bishop Kevin Manning, as he’s retiring. I think I heard of his name before but I never met him; it was like "whatever…just another priest, doing priestly work…" But on Saturday I got to find out that he was very much involved in interfaith and a very big advocate for Muslims. Whenever the media spoke ill of us, he’d be amongst the first out there, gathering people and telling them that is not true and what Islam truly is. I was really impressed and surprised at the same time, because I knew that a lot of Christians know what Islam teaches, but to go out of ones way to defend a religion other then your own is really something!

He made me realize that interfaith is something that is really, really necessary. And not for us to come together and compare the religions as the Bishop said, but for us to get to know each other, each others beliefs, and build trust - the key point. I always thought that I could see benefit in this, since I attended a few interfaith functions, but I couldn’t put my finger on it, and that’s what it was – trust.

So even though we have differences in belief, this is not what should be dividing us at all as the Bishop said, not at all; it is the trust at human level that binds us.

And what’s the use of the trust? Well if I don’t trust you how would you expect me to believe anything you say, and to believe you, and that you are who you say you are. So trust is the power that gets people to be on your side, so when others speak ill of you, he/she will be standing by you.

So in the case of Bishop Manning he trusts that Islam does not teach Muslims certain things that the media likes to pick on, because he studied Islam and met Muslims who proved that they are good people; and the Bishop has people who have trust in him as the leader of their community and when he spreads the word of who Muslims really are, they listen to him; and those people will mention to someone else, and/or teach their children what they’ve been taught …and so on and so on.

Interfaith works! No doubt!

Just wanted to share that with everyone because as Imam Afroz and the Bishop talked, my eyes teared up at what wonderful things he had to say about Islam…[remember, coming from a Christian!]. Allah works in amazing ways =)