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Sarah Coley"
Alex Dooley"
Lauren Gin"
Kayla Slagter"
COMM 367"
Dr. Giuliano"

"

Story Lunch Project: The Muslim Society of Glendale Heights!

Section I: Sarah Coley!

"

We met with five Muslim men at the Muslim Society building in Glendale Heights on a

Sunday afternoon. When we contacted them, they invited us as their guests and very graciously
provided a meal along with our discussion. Their names were Mohammed, Mohammed, Abdul
(Shawn), and Michael; the fifth man never introduced himself formally because he was running
a bit late and flustered by trying to babysit his three daughters, communicate with his wife, and
meet with us."
"

The first Mohammed was the protg of the second Mohammed we met. Both were

initially from overseas. Mohammed, the mentor, was from Saudi Arabia, while Mohammed, the
mentee, was from India. Both have lived in the Wheaton-Glen Ellyn area for more than ten
years, but Mohammed, the mentor, was planning on moving to Dallas, Texas, in a few months.
He had a wonderful, kind nature and did his best to put us at ease as well as help us out in
every way possible including refuting some of the mistaken beliefs that he thought we held as
Christians."
"

Mohammed, the mentee, shared that the biggest trial of his faith was his son being born

with a hole in his heart about 15 years ago, and the medical staff did not know if the boy would
live for very long. Mohammed talked about the struggle he lived in wondering that God would
allow something like this to happen, but eventually realizing that this too was only a test of his
faith. He prayed to Allah, and for his devotion, his son was healed and will soon be having his
15th birthday like any normal boy of his age. He stressed the importance of pushing through

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doubt because we are called to do so and that God will reward faithfulness. Mohammed was
extremely polite and humble, and he shared what he could with us."
"

Abdul was a devout Muslim man that came to his faith after many years of agnosticism,

although he grew up in a devout Muslim family. His birth name was Shawn, but when he finally
committed to the Muslim faith, he decided to call himself Abdul meaning slave of the one
God. He emphasized the fact that there is only one God to us repeatedly and the idea of how
sweet it is to serve Him. He had a passionate and wonderful love for Allah and an astounding
desire to find truth both for himself and others as he questioned us on the purpose of life and
eventually challenged us to reconsider our views of Jesus."
"

Michael was a convert to Islam of only two months. Formerly he had been raised in

Poland as a Catholic and had started his years of higher education to become a priest. His main
points about the merits of Islam were the fact that the Quran was word-for-word Gods
instruction and that in Islam there is no need for any mediators such as priests or clergy
spiritual matters are between you and God alone. Michaels search for answers in this complex
world and commitment to following facts were inspiring."
"

The fifth man tended to share the basic facts of Islam as the need for us to understand

them arose. He also shared that though he had never encountered a period of doubt in his
beliefs, he had struggled with his level of commitment to the Muslim lifestyle. He described how
he has come to realize that it is actually a process of learning to do good works over your whole
life to become devout rather than simply plunging into the ability to do all the things you should.
His desires to be good and to exalt Allah were moving."
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As a group, they discussed the beliefs of the Muslim faith (especially in contrast to

Christianity), their views of women, what had brought them to faith, and the daily life of a
Muslim. The mens respect for other human beings and God through their language and actions
was incredible. All of them expressed frustration with the media for depicting Muslims in an

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untrue manner and suggested that we keep doing exactly as were by going directly to Muslims,
asking questions, and listening when we did not understand rather than listening to rhetoric or
hearsay."
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We spent several hours talking with them until they invited us to stay for just a bit longer

in order to view their group prayers, and after that they spent time explaining them to us. They
used Arabic during the service in order to demonstrate the advantages of Gods decrees
verbatim rather than inspired. They showed us the ways that Arabic communicated meaning
beyond the terms literal meanings, and it was truly beautiful to behold the power of language
especially Arabic. Our hosts stood rigidly for their beliefs, but all the while gently encouraged us
to understand them and consider our own beliefs based on love for God and others through
service, dedication, and respect. Their hospitality was overwhelming. Their commitment to
service and community was unwavering, and their hard work evidenced in all of their lives
throughout their stories, prayers, and efforts to help us see the truth that they believed to be
objective was striking and quite admirable. "

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Section II: Kayla Slagter!
" Overall, this experience was positive and educational for all the members of the group.
While there were moments of awkwardness or discomfort due to cross cultural boundaries, the
Muslim Society brothers were wonderful and gracious hosts, treating us to lunch and inviting us
to watch the prayer service, all while engaging our many questions."
" One of the greatest highlights for the group was observing the evening prayer service.
We were allowed to watch from outside the room, looking through the glass wall to observe the
men as they lined next to each other, shoulder to shoulder, and were led by the Imam in their
prayers. Afterwards, it was helpful to have a space to ask questions about what the prayers
meant and why they prayed in the structured manner that they did."

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" Through debriefing the experience, we felt the hardest part of the experience to be the
perceived miscommunication between our Muslim brothers and ourselves. One of the brothers,
Michael, is a recent convert (or revert as they would prefer) to the Islamic faith from his journey
to become a Catholic priest. Thus, it seemed as if they assumed that we shared the same
beliefs as he previously held as a Roman Catholic from Poland. It was difficult to fully engage
without feeling fully understood. However, we gained a better appreciation of the discipline of
listening unconditionally in order to demonstrate love to our neighbors."
" In retrospect, we could have been more clear in first communicating our purpose and
background in the initial email. The first thirty minutes felt slightly awkward in not knowing what
to say or how to ask questions. Perhaps being more effective communicators would have
provided more structure for the meeting. Overall, the meeting seemed to be beneficial for both
the Muslim brothers and ourselves as we learned to engage and listen with true love. "

"
Section III: Lauren Gin!
"

As a group, we were amazed by how well the Muslim men we ate lunch with understood

and articulated their faith. Many of them have studied and even memorized the Quran in Arabic.
Each of the Muslim brothers had a unique perspective, but were able to relate it all back to what
the Quran says and where it says it. This is a perfect example of the fact that the perspective of
the other makes just as much sense to them as ours does to us. These men have spent just as
much, if not more time studying what they believe as we have, and they are absolutely
convinced that they have the truth, just as we are."
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As our lunch progressed, it was amazing to see the responsiveness of the Muslim

brothers as they began to open up and the conversation began to flow more naturally as our
group took time to go to the balcony, rather than responding to the things they were saying
(particularly about what we believed were misconceptions about the Christian faith). Instead, we

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practiced the spiritual discipline of active listening, rather than engaging in an emotionally
charged argument. This created the space for the Muslim brothers to feel comfortable and open
as we asked increasingly difficult questions about womens rights, and other common
misconceptions about their faith. By listening rather than arguing, they were comfortable
speaking honestly and freely. "
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Walking away from the conversation, the group was excited and blessed by the

opportunity to hear what the Muslim brothers had to say, but many of the group members also
felt hopeless that these men could even know Jesus as the Savior that He is. Even though we
did not argue during the Story Lunch, it is just as important to be captured by hope as we
continue to engage in conversations with those we disagree with, because as Christians, we
have Ultimate hope. Jesus is the reason that we have any ground to stand and proclaim Truth in
a way that leaves the other person feeling respected and taken seriously."
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Moving forward from this conversation, we must respectfully consider the possibility that

they are right, and after discovering what is true, become recaptured by the hope that in Christ
all people and hearts can change and be softened toward Him."

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Section IV: Alex Dooley!
"

Meeting with a group of strangers for the first time is always a bit unsure at first.

Whenever the said meeting happens on the basis of difference, not similarity, uncertainty is only
increased. It is safe to say that none of our group members were biting our nails, nor did we
anticipate any sort of harrowing encounter, but the situation was not completely within any of
comfort zones. Everybody would agree that it took some time before both groups were even
fully aware of the others expectations and motives. Within about twenty or thirty minutes,
however, our conversation began to flow and a relatively consistent pattern of active listening
and questioning was established."

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Of course, there was much variance in perception and experience among the group

members in how the conversation went. The idea of conversing in non-argumentative dialogue
was neither foreign nor uncomfortable to the group as a whole, but some group members found
themselves slightly uneasy with the monopoly the brothers had regarding the exchange of ideas
during the conversation. Although they were polite and had many good things to share, simply
taking what were, in our eyes, misrepresentative statements about our faith was a challenge
for some. Our meetings lack of women made some wish we had a womans perspective on
Islam; the patriarchal structure that exists in Muslim culture, thus, in our conversation,
contributed to the inability of some to feel genuinely capable of breaking through on an
individual level of connectedness with our conversation partners as individuals."
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In contrast to this perspective, other members of the group found the Muslim Societys

misunderstandings and misconceptions of Christianity to be more interesting than frustrating.

The amazement at the level of knowledge they have of the Bible made us aware of the
complete lack of knowledge many of us have of the Quran. Many of the personal anecdotes
and stories the men shared with us were particularly moving, sparking a desire to ask questions
and learn more. "
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For the group members coming in with less prior knowledge of Islam, entering listening

mode came more easily. A desire to understand the perspective of our conversation partners
continually piqued our interest at every detail; absorption was more important and more easy
than challenging and arguing. The spiritual discipline of listening became extremely necessary."
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As a whole, our group was struck by the level of knowledge the men at the Muslim

Society have of the Bible. Seek first to understand, then to be understood is lived by them; we
are all more aware of the necessity of understanding another culture before passing judgment.
We all learned, and hope to continue learning, to be better listeners by creating safe spaces for
open, honest dialogue for the purpose of furthering mutual understanding and respect.