Presentation on Islam to Students of Roman Catholic Perspectives of Other Religions

On May 23, 2009 I was invited by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary to talk about Islam to adult students learning more about their faith. This particular session explored the Roman Catholic Church's (RCC) view of other religions. The objective of the class was to review what the RCC understands as the role of non-Christian religions in what Christians might call God's plan of salvation. The discussion led to the recognition of the gifts of the various religions and the necessity to learn about and share these gifts; hence, the necessity of dialogue.

Their instructor for the day, Anna Tremblay, felt they could best learn about other religions from practitioners of the religion and offered them the opportunity to learn about Islam from a Muslim.

As we were discussing the commonality between Christianity and Islam, the following verse of the Quran came to mind:

“God has laid down for you the same way of life and belief that He had set out to Noah, and that We have enjoined for you, and that We have bequeathed to Abraham, Moses, and Jesus so that you will establish the faith, and not divide amongst yourself.” (42:13)