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Muslims and Christians in Long Island, New York, came together to share festive season and interfaith relations with hundreds of members of the community, CBS Local reported.
FEED THE POOR
Feeding the poor and needy is an act that draws us closer to Allah. We earn His forgiveness, mercies and blessings through this act of charity.
“Anyone who looks after and works for a widow and a poor person is like a warrior fighting for Allah?s cause, or like a person who fasts during the day and prays all night. (Bukhari)
“When we join our Christian brothers
and sisters for Christmas, this is a message of love and peace which we should
all believe in the universal message,” said Dr. Isma Chaudry of the Islamic
Center.
“With so much hate going on and lack of tolerance for people who are different from me or you, it’s so important that we see families getting together who are of different traditions,” said church volunteer Rose Walker.
The Wednesday celebration is an annual event organized by the Westbury United Methodist Church partnered with the Islamic Center of Long Island to celebrate what different faiths have in common.
Volunteers from both groups cooperated
to serve struggling neighbors, delivering a warm welcome and warm meal.
“I think it’s really important that we give back to the
community,” said Dr. Uzma Syed.
Common Ground
In 2010, the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) reported that the number of Muslims in the State of New York reached 392,953 people. According to the 2014 report of the Pew Research Center, Muslims represented 2% of the total population of New York State.
Muslims believe in Jesus as one of
the great Prophets of God and that he was born miraculously, conceived with no
father, to his mother, Mary, but Muslims believe that he is not Son of
God, because God begets not nor is He begotten
While Muslims regard Jesus as a holy prophet, most do not celebrate his birthday, a date historians note could not have been in December at all.
Read Original Report Here By About Islam