Habeeb Alli: Toronto, Canada – I’m thrilled again to have been a part of recent history – while someone burned the Qur’an in the United States, another presented us with a Qur’an in an expression of solidarity. I told this to my congregation during a Friday service and they were all moved by the gesture.
For the eighth year, an exercise of interfaith exchange between Jews, Muslims and Christians in Ontario has progressed in good faith – and the gift of the Qur’an was this year’s highlight. The Abraham Festival in Peterborough originated on the premise that all three faiths have a common heritage, which needs to be explored and shared. Walking through the symbolic tent of Abraham – referring to the Biblical prophet’s tent, a place of hospitality and engagement with strangers which was open to the four winds – in order to enter the St. Andrew’s United Church gave attendees the sense that history can be relived, even in a modern day setting.
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