Very Close and at the Same Time Far Apart
Two highlights of the conference for me were the visits we paid in London to the Islamic College and the Islamic Centre of England. It was special for me as I never get the chance to visit these places from where I am.
In the Islamic College we were warmly greeted by a group of women, mostly young, in hijabs and long robes, among whom I felt quite at home in my long, black monastic habit. They were very hospitable and offered us delightful sweets and drinks of coffee etc. to make us feel at home. They had a prayer session and prayed in the same way as the men with a series of prostrations, while a man chanted the prayers from the other side of a big screen. I have to say I did find the screen a bit disconcerting, not being able to see the men at the other side. Fr Benoit gave us an excellent talk on Wisdom, able to communicate equally well to both sides of the screen.
The Islamic Centre of England in Maida Vale was very impressive, and we were made very welcome with delicious food and drink. After that I felt very honoured to be asked to give my paper in that august setting with the Imam and Director, Dr Shomali, sitting next to me. An unforgettable experience.
It was a pleasure to meet and exchange conversation with the sheiks who were present, and also the Muslim women who had come from far and wide.
I wish we had had time to discuss Dr. Shomali’s comment that neither Jesus nor the Prophet Mohammad intended to found a new religion. To my mind, I don’t think it’s quite accurate to say that Jesus didn’t found a new religion. Jesus, like Muhammad, certainly subscribed to the one religion of the One God. I think what the Qur’an is saying is that the prophets brought the same message to different communities over the ages. The New Testament, I believe, presents Jesus as one who definitely brought something different. He most certainly founded the Church, which theologically is his body. He himself is the new religion in his own person, not just a messenger from God.
I reckon this is an area where we differ fundamentally from Islam. As Abd-el-Jalil loved to say - we are very close and at the same time far apart.
Sister Agnes Wilkins OSB
Stanbrook Abbey
