“…to know one another”

Living the teachings of the Quaran, an Islmaic centre in Toronto works to foster respect and inclusiveness

By Samira Kanji
May/June 2014

Return to Table of Contents
Print Article

“O Humankind, behold. We have created you all out of a male and a female, and have made you into nations and tribes so that you might come to know one another. Verily, the noblest of you in the sight of God is the one who is most deeply conscious of God.
Behold, God is all-knowing, all-aware.”

Quranic Verse 49.13
(English translation by Muhammad Asad)

The Quranic verse 49.13 (above) underpins the mission and vision of Noor Cultural Centre, a centre for Islamic learning and the celebration of Islamic culture in Toronto. This teaching, together with many other similarly-oriented verses in the Quran, points us toward the profound understanding of the humility incumbent on us as but one among all of God’s created “nations and tribes,” and towards the call to know our fellow human beings. For example, verse 4.1 tells us that all humankind originated from a single soul, and verse 5.48 reinforces the purposefulness of God’s creation of diversity.

Samira Kanji, president of the Noor Cultural Centre in Toronto, and Our Lady’s Missionary Sister Christine Gebel. Photo credit: Julius Boquiren. Samira Kanji, president of the Noor Cultural Centre in Toronto, and Our Lady’s Missionary Sister Christine Gebel. Photo credit: Julius Boquiren.

The Quran tells us that our vying with one another should be in the doing of good works and not in claims of supremacy for our own ways, for God has given different “laws” to different communities.

Our presence then as Noor Cultural Centre is very consciously aligned towards respect and inclusiveness. One of the most significant occasions for implementation of that ethos is the Friday congregational prayer when, from time to time, a representative from another faith group is invited to deliver a “pre-khutba” (khutba means sermon), which the imam (person officiating the service that day) then relates to from an Islamic perspective.

By including the other faith tradition’s voice in our own worship, we formally express respect for that tradition, and we also give ourselves an opportunity to “know one another.” We discover the commonality of core values across so many traditions and often find an enriching other perspective on a common teaching.

Samira Kanji is the President of the Noor Cultural Centre. To learn more go to:
www.noorculturalcentre.ca

In November and December of 2013 Scarboro Missions and the Noor Cultural Centre brought together Muslims and Christians for four evenings of interfaith sharing. Christine Gebel, O.L.M., was privileged to be one of the participants.

Return to Table of Contents
Print Article