'Muslims in America' event draws more than 200 attendees

A rabbi, a pastor and an imam gathered in Macon on Thursday night to discuss the similarities and differences of their faiths and answer questions from curious members of the public.

More than 200 people gathered in Mercer University's Willingham Chapel for the first of four monthly educational events part of a series called "Muslims in America."

Mary Lou Jordan traveled from Monticello with her three cousins for the panel.

"I think we're very hopeful that what we'll hear is that there are more similarities among our God and among our religion than what the general public thinks," Jordan said before the event started.

Mary Lou's cousin, Betty Jean Jordan, said her Sunday school class at Monticello Presbyterian Church began studying world religions earlier this month.

"We're doing all the Abrahamic religions first," Betty Jean said. "We've got Islam scheduled for this coming Sunday, so it's very timely. ... I have a very basic understanding of Islam."

The event was organized by Mercer's department of international and global studies.

Imam Adam Fofana from the Islamic Center of Middle Georgia in Centerville, Pastor Scott Dickison from First Baptist Church of Christ in Macon and Rabbi Larry Schlesinger from Temple Beth Israel answered questions ranging from "How does your tradition tell the story of creation?" to "What must one do to be saved?"

Though each of the three religions has its own exclusive practices and beliefs, the forum highlighted the fact that all are Abrahamic faiths, meaning their origins can be traced back to a man named Abraham.

During the hour-long discussion, each religious leader responded to questions from a moderator and from the audience.

"We're all one family. We're all really brothers and sisters and that dates back to creation itself," Schlesinger said.

Fofana read a scripture in Arabic and then in English and touched on topics including terrorism, humanity and repentance during the discussion.

"We are experiencing the worst time in our history period with this terrorism going on," Fofana said. "Every tradition has experienced something like this within their tradition. ... We do not understand how our religion has been hijacked by extremists."

Though limited by time, Fofana said he was able to bring up most of the major facts he'd planned to talk about. Mostly, though, he said he was pleasantly surprised by the turnout.

"It's wonderful people coming (out) and supporting and showing love. That means a lot," Fofana said. "My 7-year-old daughter came to me and said, 'Is Donald Trump going to kick all the Muslims (out) from America?' I'm like, 'You're supposed to be playing with your toy. Don't worry about that.'"

Betty Jean took notes during the discussion. After the event ended, she said, "If you really listened, I think there's love in all three (religions)."

To contact writer Laura Corley, call 744-4334 or follow her on Twitter @Lauraecor.

This story was originally published January 21, 2016 at 8:39 PM with the headline "'Muslims in America' event draws more than 200 attendees ."