Rabbi Howard Shapiro, Imam C.B. Hanif and Tom O'Brien at Florida Atlantic University's Lifelong Learning Society. More scenes and upcoming area events below.

What a joy — as one may glean from the additional photos at the end of this post — to share perspectives on Islam and Muslims for The Lifelong Learning Society at Florida Atlantic University’s Honors Campus in Jupiter.

Deep gratitude to Rabbi Howard Shapiro and Tom O’Brien, my hosts and co-presenters for the very rewarding Feb. 10 session, part of their World’s Religions series. A slide featured during our presentation stated: “Dialogue Requires Trust.” My kind hosts fostered both. Our high-intelligence-quotient, capacity audience also was wonderful, as was the LLS staff.

As always, there is never enough time for all the questions, or for all that could be said. But once again, new friends were made. Insha’Allah — G-d Willing — we’ll be sharing and caring again soon, as we expand the circle of Unity.

Upcoming:

Feb. 20: I serve as moderator for “Where Malcolm X was heading,” 2-4 p.m. at the United Methodist Church of the Palm Beaches, 900 Brandywine Rd, WPB 33409. A timely Black History Month opportunity to hear unique insights on a key period of Muslim American history from folks who lived it. This session continues New Africa of the Palm Beaches‘ monthly forums featuring remarkable cultural diversity and exemplary models for interaction and cooperation. More details here.

Feb. 27: “Mother of (MLK) Nation,” my tribute to Lil Cohen, longtime local champion of peace and justice, who recently died in her late 90s. Women’s Int’l League for Peace and Freedom luncheon, 2 p.m. at the Jasmine Thai Restaurant, 3897 N Haverhill Rd, WPB 33417, 561-689-5999.

Feb. 28: The Women’s Circle annual “Circle of Hope” gala fundraising dinner. Support the nonprofit organization in “Celebrating a Decade of Caring“ for needy women, with the Most Reverend Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito of the Diocese of Palm Beach, emcee Frank Cerabino of The Palm Beach Post and saxophonist Will Bridges, 6:30 p.m. at Benvenuto Restaurant, Boynton Beach. Call 561-244-7627, ext. 105.

March 17: Colleagues and I share Social Justice/Social Action perspectives from various spiritual traditions, 6:30 p.m. at the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Palm Beaches, 635 Prosperity Farms Rd, NPB 33408, 561-627-6105.

March 20: For “Constantine’s Sword,” I again am moderator as New Africa of the Palm Beaches returns to its usual DVD & Discussion format. James Carroll’s compelling documentary exposes religiously inspired violence and intolerance in his personal search for a better future, 2-4 p.m. at the United Methodist Church of the Palm Beaches.

March 21: I address “Current Trends in Islam” as part of the American Jewish Committee of Palm Beach County’s series of lectures on “Understanding Islam,” 7-9 p.m. at Temple Beth David, 4657 Hood Rd, PB Gardens 33418. Register online or call the AJC office at 561-994-7286.

With my dear friend and teacher Tom O'Brien.

Rabbi Shapiro

(Again thanking our Maker for my dear Aneesha’s loving support — including the camera work.)

— C.B. Hanif

Much appreciation to my friend and teacher Tom O’Brien (whose New Testament Bible Study Course just started up again at  Bethesda-by-the-Sea) for recommending this wonderful video of Lesley Hazelton’s 9-minute talk so aptly described at the TED site:

“Lesley Hazleton sat down one day to read the Koran. And what she found — as a non-Muslim, a self-identified ‘tourist’ in the Islamic holy book — wasn’t what she expected. With serious scholarship and warm humor, Hazleton shares the grace, flexibility and mystery she found, in this myth-debunking talk from TEDxRainier.”

I know nothing of this amazing lady beyond what I saw and heard in the video. And what I learned from following the TED-provided links. Such as her accidentaltheologist.com site, where I’d love to spend more time.

But I’ve already taken to quoting this self-described agnostic Jew. In part because, as I’ve been known to say, I love hearing my own spirituality coming back at me in different language.

Question: In the video, Ms. Hazelton describes the opening chapter of the Quran, Al Fatihah (literally, “The Opening”), as a combination of The Lord’s Prayer and … what sounds like a Hebrew title that I can’t quite hear clearly.

I can ask her, of course, but who else might help me with that? First one gets a free year’s subscription here at InterFaith21.com

ADDENDUM. Our Dear Lady, Lesley Hazelton, was first to respond:

“Greetings and many thanks for the kind words, which came bouncing back to me this morning on the ‘dashboard’ of the Accidental Theologist –

“What I was referring to is indeed Hebrew: the Shema Israel, the central declaration of faith in Judaism (“Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One”). And the way the Fatiha is used in Islam — the frequency and variety of its use, that is — does indeed give it the status of the Lord’s Prayer and the Shema combined.

“Here’s to arcing, graceful bridges — Lesley H.”

— C.B. Hanif

Appreciation to my friend Imam Enrique Rasheed of Jacksonville for alerting me to this item (“Let ‘God’ be ‘God’!”) in an online publication, The American Muslim. The site is another readily available resource that clearly states — contrary to repeated statements by those who don’t know, and others who don’t want to know — that “Muslims Denounce Terror,” and that “Terror Has No Religion.”

The publication also refers readers to “a lengthy collection of Muslim denunciations of terrorism, extremism and violence.” It includes “collections of responses to claims about Islam and Muslims, resources about Islamophobia, and general resources on many topics.”

In short, it’s another of the readily available resources that the professional haters, and too many of my colleagues in the news media, in academia and elsewhere, prefer to claim don’t exist, as they focus attention instead on the relatively few extremists, and the even fewer violent extremists among those, who act in contradiction of the Quran, which is unmistakable in stating that:

“Whoever kills a human being, it is as if he killed all mankind. And whoever saves the life of one, it is as if he saved all mankind” (5:32).

Imam Enrique’s e-mail grabbed my attention because the Malaysia subject came up last week during my excellent Bible class at the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-By-The-Sea, where Tom O’Brien currently is guiding us to better understanding of the Hebrew Scriptures.

To hear of Malaysian officials snatching people’s Bibles for using “Allah,” as Arabic-speaking Christians obviously do, and as others the world over routinely translate the Arabic for “God,” sounded patently absurd; inconsistent with reason or common sense. Not to mention a contradiction of the Quran, which prescribes:

“Let there be no compulsion (my italics) in matters of religion” (2:256).

I can’t offer enough appreciation for our Bible class, of which O’Brien says: “The art for us is to find that which is timeless and integrate it into our lives.”

Following the logic of a few misguided folks in Malaysia and elsewhere, however, a Muslim should not be allowed to benefit from such a class. To the contrary, I’m a beneficiary of the growth among many in my country who have left that kind of bigotry behind.

To offer a critique of the excellent essay by my friend Dr. Parvez Ahmed and his co-author, it seemed their piece might have communicated better had it been a bit less academic.

“Normative Islam”? I can see Muslim and non-Muslim eyes glazing over on that one. Among the article’s various descriptions for the “Ultimate Listener,” the “one Possibility,” and the references to the fact that “we worship the same God,” I looked for one clearly recognizing that same God as — The Creator. The Maker — of all we know, and the infinite we don’t know. The One Who says in the Quran, in the chapter titled The Hajj:

“Those on Whom ye call other than God can never create as much as a fly, even if they combined together to do so. And if the fly should snatch anything away from them, they would have no power to recover it” (22:73).

My hopefully constructive criticism echoes the recent outstanding Islamic education session during which a noted imam observed that Muslims often ”don’t talk real enough, we’re talking lofty.”

The words were from Imam Abdul’Haq Muhammed of Ft. Myers, a widely recognized public servant and convener of the Florida Conference of Muslim Americans. Imam Haq, as we affectionately call him, urged that in our local communities we “speak real, talk real. Because people are not up there where we think we are.”

Thus the reminder for myself and others to do more plain talking. With that, let me affirm that I long ago got out of the judging business. The quote marks around “Muslims” in the title of this post are meant to emphasize that by definition, we cannot rationally claim a label that our actions contradict.

For example, in speaking to various groups on these kinds of issues, I often point out that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the Ku Klux Klan, both claimed the Bible. Both claimed to be following the teachings of Jesus Christ, God’s great Word to humanity, upon whom observant Muslims pray Peace.

In that inconsistency is a reminder: that the One Who made us all is sufficient to judge who truly are Christians. And, similarly, who truly follow God’s revelation to humanity  in the Quran, as well as who is sincere to all the other labels we human beings claim.