On Friday February 2nd students, faculty and staff at Unification Theological Seminary (UTS) welcomed seven Muslim guests from Massachusetts and New Jersey to the Barrytown campus for a day of interfaith dialogue, common spiritual practice, and discussion on steps to develop UTS as a premier institution for inter-religious peace-building.

Participants from Massachusetts included Imam Rasul Seifullah, spiritual leader of the Al-Baqui Mosque in Springfield, Massachusetts, and his wife Medina; as well as Khalilah Karim Rushdan, Chaplain and Muslim Advisor at Smith College, and her husband Imam Dawud. Participants from New Jersey included Imam Dawud Assad, President Emeritus, Council of Mosques, USA; as well as Imam Ameer Salahudeen, Islamic Center of Passaic/Patterson and Co-Chair of the New Jersey Council of Imams, and his wife Zakiyyah. All of the Muslim participants are also Ambassadors for Peace (AP) with the Universal Peace Federation.

The day began with an address by Imam Seifullah and a subsequent discussion on "Engaging Muslims in Inter-religious Peace-building: Towards Cooperation without Compromise." The dialogue was an honest and authentic discussion and covered such issues as carnality and claims that "God is a Parent", and God has a "lineage;" and the claim that Reverend Moon has been "anointed by God" and whether such a claim conflicts with the teaching in the Qur’an that Mohammed, peace be upon him, is the "Seal of the Prophets." Also a proposal was made that the Arabic equivalent of the Korean phrase Aju might be Mash’allah, meaning "whatever God wills has been done."

Following the breakfast, Gillian Corcoran, the Mother of the Labyrinth Ministry at UTS, lead the group through a labyrinth walk in the UTS chapel. Then the group met with five UTS professors for the first Advisory Council Meeting for the development of UTS as an inter-religious peace seminary.

To conclude the day, the Muslim guests traveled with UTS faculty and staff to the Friday prayer, (Jumu’ah) at a local mosque, the Masjid Alnoor in Wappingers Falls. After Jumu’ah, the APs and UTS faculty and staff met members of the Masjid Alnoor, including the resident Imam, the General Secretary and the President of the Executive Committee, to discuss the ways in which UTS can serve the needs of the local Muslim community.

The program was held to commemorate Four Chaplains Day, which is honored on February 3rd across America in order to preserve the legacy of "interfaith in action" as demonstrated in the heroic sacrifice of four military chaplains of different faiths who gave their lives on that day in 1943.

When their ship was struck by a torpedo, the four Chaplains were among the first on deck, calming the men and handing out life jackets. When they ran out, they took off their own and placed them on waiting soldiers without regard to faith or race. Approximately 18 minutes from the explosion, the ship went down. They were the last to be seen by witnesses; they were standing arm-in-arm on the hull of the ship, each praying in his own way for the care of the men.

To read more go to: www.wwiivets.com/FourChaplains.htm

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