Nebraska Muslims and Omaha’s Tri-Faith Initiative

For those not familiar with it, there is currently underway an experiment in interfaith dialogue and coexistence: the Tri-Faith Initiative in Omaha, Nebraska. The Tri-Faith Initiative wants to have a synagogue, a mosque, and a church located on a common piece of land, each with its own separate building. The religious partners are Temple Israel, the American Muslim Institute, and Countryside Community Church.

The goal of the Tri-Faith “is to build bridges of respect, trust and acceptance” between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. But Islamic doctrine prohibits Muslims from respecting, trusting, or accepting Jews and Christians, so how can Muslims support it?

With this question in mind, I tried to find out how much support there is for the Tri-Faith Initiative and its goal among the Muslims in Nebraska.

Nebraska Muslims

I located e-mail addresses for the following nine Muslim organizations/mosques in Nebraska:

Al Hadi Islamic Center (Omaha)
Grand Island Masjid
Islamic Center of Omaha
Islamic Center of Siouxland
Islamic Foundation of Lincoln
Masjid Al-Huda (Omaha)
Masjid al-Wadood (Norfolk)
Millard Islamic Center (Omaha)
Nebraska Islamic Foundation (Lincoln)

I sent the following e-mail to each of them, twice:

The Omaha Tri-Faith Initiative is an experiment in interfaith dialogue and coexistence.  The goal of the Tri-Faith Initiative is to have a synagogue, a mosque, and a church located on a common piece of land, each with its own separate building.  The religious partners are Temple Israel, the American Muslim Institute, and Countryside Community Church.

The goal of the Tri-Faith “is to build bridges of respect, trust and acceptance” between Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.  But Islamic doctrine prohibits Muslims from respecting, trusting, or accepting Jews and Christians; for example:

According to the Koran: Muslims are prohibited from being friends with Jews and Christians (5:51); Muslims are commanded to fight Jews and Christians until the Jews and Christians pay the jizyah with willing submission and feeling themselves subdued (9:29); Jews are among the worst enemies of Islam (5:82); Allah curses the Jews and the Christians (9:30); and Jews and Christians are among the worst of creatures and “will abide in the fire of Hell” (98:6).

Muhammad said such things as:

[1] Jews and Christians are each worth only half of a Muslim (Sunan Ibn Majah, No. 2644);

[2] Do not greet the Jews and the Christians before they greet you and when you meet any one of them on the roads force him to go to the narrowest part of it (Sahih Muslim, No. 2167);

[3] The Hour will not be established until you fight against the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say, ‘O Muslim!  There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him’ (Sahih Al-Bukhari, No. 2926);

[4] Jews and Christians will take the place of Muslims in Hell (Sahih Muslim, No. 2767R1).

Consequently, I am interested in your response to the following questions:

[1] Does your mosque/organization officially and publicly support the Tri-Faith Initiative and its goal?  If so, what have you done to show that support, including any financial contributions and the amounts?

[2] If your mosque/organization officially and publicly supports the Tri-Faith Initiative and its goal, how do you address the above verses of the Koran and teachings of Muhammad?

[3] If your mosque/organization does not officially and publicly support the Tri-Faith Initiative and its goal, is it because Islamic doctrine prohibits such a venture on the part of Muslims?

[4] Do you know of any Muslim organizations or individual Muslims who have provided financial support to the Tri-Faith Initiative, including for purchase of land, construction of the synagogue, or construction of the proposed mosque and/or church?  If you know of any such organizations or individuals, what was the total amount of their respective contributions?

None of the nine have responded to my questions.

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