Friday, September 28, 2007

Your Task Is Not to Seek for Love...

By Trish Hollenbeck - North West Arkansas Times - Fayetteville, AR, U.S.A.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007

It was a night people of different faiths and worship traditions reached out to each other in peace and understanding as the Institute of Interfaith Dialog conducted a banquet Tuesday at the Fayetteville Town Center.

Every year during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the Institute of Interfaith Dialog, which has chapters in several other cities, organizes the dinner to celebrate diversity and recognize the richness of the community.

It was the third such event in Fayetteville.

Alp Erbem, a representative of the institute, explained that Ramadan is a time of worship and devotion to God, a time to read the Quran, and also a time for inner reflection, thanksgiving, giving to charity, selfcontrol and kindness.

The holy month emphasizes community, and fasting is a key part of it, he said. The dinner Tuesday was organized to celebrate the breaking of the fast and share with others who have different faiths and traditions.

Erbem quoted 13 th century Turkish poet Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi:

“ Christian, Jew, Muslim, Shaman, Zoroastrian, stone, ground, mountain, river: Each has a secret way of being with the mystery, unique and not to be judged.

Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it. ”


(...)

Espabad Babbs of the Sufi Center of the Ozarks in Eureka Springs chose to read more of Rumi’s poems to say what he wanted to say. In one, the poet writes:

“ Let the beauty of love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground. ”

No comments:

Friday, September 28, 2007

Your Task Is Not to Seek for Love...
By Trish Hollenbeck - North West Arkansas Times - Fayetteville, AR, U.S.A.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007

It was a night people of different faiths and worship traditions reached out to each other in peace and understanding as the Institute of Interfaith Dialog conducted a banquet Tuesday at the Fayetteville Town Center.

Every year during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the Institute of Interfaith Dialog, which has chapters in several other cities, organizes the dinner to celebrate diversity and recognize the richness of the community.

It was the third such event in Fayetteville.

Alp Erbem, a representative of the institute, explained that Ramadan is a time of worship and devotion to God, a time to read the Quran, and also a time for inner reflection, thanksgiving, giving to charity, selfcontrol and kindness.

The holy month emphasizes community, and fasting is a key part of it, he said. The dinner Tuesday was organized to celebrate the breaking of the fast and share with others who have different faiths and traditions.

Erbem quoted 13 th century Turkish poet Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi:

“ Christian, Jew, Muslim, Shaman, Zoroastrian, stone, ground, mountain, river: Each has a secret way of being with the mystery, unique and not to be judged.

Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it. ”


(...)

Espabad Babbs of the Sufi Center of the Ozarks in Eureka Springs chose to read more of Rumi’s poems to say what he wanted to say. In one, the poet writes:

“ Let the beauty of love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground. ”

No comments: