Fr. William Watters, SJ, pastor at St. Ignatius Church for six years now, is also president of St. Ignatius Loyola Academy, a middle school for boys in Baltimore.

Imam Bashar Arafat, director of the An'nur Institute for Islamic Studies and Arabic Languages in Baltimore, is one of those who will give the call to prayer at this year's interfaith prayer service at St. Ignatius Church in Baltimore.

MANY PEOPLE have come together for New Year's Eve interfaith prayer services at 740 North Calvert Street in Baltimore, the address of the Jesuits' St. Ignatius Church. Participants representing many faith traditions have heard the prayers of clergy from a synagogue and Lutheran, Methodist, and Unitarian churches, among others.

Pastor Fr. William Watters, SJ, and a committee of parishioners advance ecumenical and interfaith dialogue within and beyond the parish by hosting these spiritual celebrations, sponsoring lectures, and establishing discussion groups.

It was in this spirit that Imam Bashar Arafat, a Muslim religious leader and the homilist at one interfaith service, met with Fr. Watters on a Thursday in November at An'nur, the imam's mosque on Marford Road in Baltimore, for a time of shared prayer. Afterwards, the two walked upstairs to the imam's office for a wide-ranging discussion of faith, which Company presents to its readers.

WW: You've been marvelous in welcoming me to your mosque today, and I enjoyed praying with you. Now let's talk about interreligious dialogue. In terms of your tradition, how does that work?

BA: Interreligious dialogue has existed in Islam from the beginning. It started with the Prophet Muhammad himself, peace be upon him. [Whenever Muslims say the name of Muhammad, they always say "Peace Be Upon Him."] He received a Christian delegation in the ninth year of the Hijra. [The Hijra is the migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622, the start of the Muslim calendar.] They came to inquire about Islam, and Muhammad welcomed them into the mosque. He did this because the Qur'an says clearly: "O Muhammad, the people of the book [Muslims, Christians, and Jews] come into a common world to worship none but God and take no other deity besides Him." When the Christians were at the mosque, Muhammad asked them to say their prayers there, despite the protests of some Muslims. The prophet told them that they needed to make the Christians feel as comfortable as possible.

That's what is often missing today in the Muslim community: a spirit of welcoming others. In the past, the relationship between us and others was often one of tension and even war. But we have one God, we pray to one God, we are created by one God, and we are part of one family, the descendants of Adam and Eve. This realization should bring people toward cooperation and understanding.

Muslims are asked to invite others to the path of God, share with them our beliefs, and listen to them. Our ultimate goal is to please God. We both think this way, you and I. We should work together on issues that are of concern to both of us.

Dialogue is very important because it takes away the misunderstandings and lack of respect that prevent us from working together. Without this, I think we are going to suffer more wars and tragedies. Our responsibility as people of religion-as Muslims, Christians, and Jews-is to turn the coming century into one of peace through understanding and dialogue.

Sincere dialogue-the kind of dialogue praised by God-should produce more love and cooperation. But dialogue with hidden agendas makes us uneasy. Some in our community don't feel comfortable with dialogue because they don't see it going anywhere. But it is very much needed because it makes us friends rather than enemies. There must be sincere people on both sides, however, for it to work.

WW: Jesuits list four types of interreligious dialogue in the documents of the Society's 34th general congregation-you've mentioned all four of them already. The first is a dialogue of life, which has to do with neighborliness and graciousness; this is rooted in our relatedness as people of the same God. You showed me this today when you welcomed me to your mosque and we prayed together. The second is a dialogue of action, where people of different traditions work together to help the oppressed, the poor, the indigent. The third is a dialogue of religious or spiritual experience. And the fourth is a dialogue of theological reflection-it's really mostly scholars at that level-trying to understand the Qur'an, the Bible, etc., on a deeper level. Pope John Paul II invited people from all traditions to Assisi in 1987 to pray together. What we're trying to do at my parish is replicate that by inviting the various traditions to come together to pray.

Let me move the question to evangelization, when you try to bring the message of the Qur'an to others . . . I believe the term is da'wah? How can you do dialogue while still trying to present the teachings of the prophet and the Qur'an?

BA: Da'wah is the obligation of every Muslim to convey the message of God, revealed almost 600 years after Jesus, to people who do not know about it. God will ask me someday if I did this. Now how da'wah is interpreted is the difficult part. Some think they need to spread the message with a sword. This is their own interpretation; it says very clearly in the Qur'an that "there is no compulsion in religion." To fulfill my obligation, all I have to do is let people know this message. I can never use force to make people accept Islam.

Da'wah is not only about talking, it is also about doing. If people turn their faces from you after you share the message of Islam, this does not mean that you should do the same; as a believer in Islam you are asked to remain humble and respectful. Da'wah is only the first step, but after that there are many steps on the path of love and appreciation. Yes, da'wah is a responsibility of all Muslims, but after that, Muslims should respect the views of Christians, and vice versa.

WW: In my own experience, I've had several Catholics enter into interfaith marriages, and I've actually celebrated interfaith weddings with rabbis. I've never done that with someone from the Islamic tradition.

BA: I've done that with a representative from the office of Cardinal Keeler [archbishop of Baltimore]. A Muslim man and a Roman Catholic woman wanted an interfaith celebration. I did the Muslim ceremony first, and then the priest did the Catholic ceremony. It was nice. It demonstrates more-tolerant attitudes today, attitudes that were not present 100 years ago.

WW: Our parish hosts a Bible study group made up of Jews, Protestants, and Catholics. We're talking about the book of Genesis right now. Would Muslims be willing to do the same, to discuss spiritual experiences, the Qur'an, the Bible?

BA: I was part of a dialogue with the Baltimore Jewish council last month that was also discussing Genesis. When you compare the book of Genesis with some verses in the Qur'an, you will see a lot of similarities as well as differences.

In terms of differences, people should realize that with the Qur'an we are talking about a revelation that has remained unchanged for 1,400 years. It is still in Arabic, the language in which it was recited to Muhammad by the Archangel Gabriel. Muhammad shared the Qur'an with his disciples, who memorized it and eventually wrote it down. It was then orally transmitted from generation to generation through a chain of teachers. So never did the Qur'an go through any era where someone tampered with it. It is pure revelation from God.

We attribute the differences between the Bible and the Qur'an to whatever has been added to or subtracted from God's message, as written in the Qur'an, throughout history. But basically when you read the Qur'an you feel the spirit of the Bible, the spirit of the Torah, and the spirit of all the holy books revealed before the Qur'an. Even God says in the Qur'an to the Prophet Muhammad that he has talked about only 25 prophets but that there are a lot of prophets he didn't mention. God didn't tell us about the prophets in the East, for example. But there must be other prophets because God is always fair; he is the lord of justice. Each nation therefore had a prophet. And each prophet instructed his people to worship God. When we are in dialogue with our brothers of other faiths we see many similarities in the messages of these prophets.

WW: Let me change the direction of the questions. We Christians talk about pastoral ministry, that is, the way in which we try to reach out to our people when they are sick, or dying, or marrying, or having children. There are many ways to minister to people out of a Roman Catholic parish. Maybe you could share about your work at the mosque-what ministry means in your tradition-the different ways you provide for your people.

BA: Of course we have all the same ministries you just talked about. However, because the Muslim community is relatively new in this country, most prefer to go back home. They may live here for years, they may die here, but they are always thinking of going home. This is a problem because they don't think of living here at all. This is changing slowly, though, because now there are people who are born here and want to stay.

Most of my work is with marriages; I also do funerals, visit hospitals, and do some counseling. I'm also trying to establish a training program for people to become imams here in America. Much of my work is with local Muslim communities, for example, with African Americans, providing teaching and help for converts to Islam. I'm also working to smooth relations with different groups. For example, with the Nation of Islam, we're trying to lessen the tension, make bridges. Hopefully these people will go back to mainstream Islam.

WW: You mentioned training men to become imams; could you talk about your own background: your upbringing in Syria, your studies, what brought you to the States?

BA: I joined the religious institute in tenth grade in Syria and stayed there after I finished my degree at Islamic University. All the time I was there I was under the teaching of the Grand Mufti of Syria, a man of great efforts in the whole world in terms of ecumenical and interfaith work. He was the one who encouraged me to become an imam, and I have great respect for him as my teacher.

Before I was invited to come here in 1989 by a Muslim community I was an imam in Damascus, Syria, for nine years. Damascus at that time was experiencing a resurgence of Islam, with many young people becoming imams. This was a change from the beginning of the twentieth century, when most people were away from religion. It was the inspiration of people such as the Grand Mufti who made youth want to come back to their religion. I was fortunate to be one of those under the guidance of a teacher who understood religion as a way of peace and understanding, a way of bringing people of different faiths together, and not a way of terrorism or using religion for different political agendas.

I think the future holds a lot for the people of religion-for those Muslims, Christians, and Jews who intend to do peaceful work. They have great opportunities today because the world is becoming a small village thanks to communications. Yet people must learn what they hold in common rather than focusing on differences. Many problems are religiously motivated. Sometimes we see that the Crusades are still continuing in the twentieth century. And they will continue into the twenty-first as long as people seek to control others, economically or otherwise. Religious people, the true followers of Muhammad and the true followers of Jesus, should inspire people to get rid of this desire for control, a desire that forces Third World countries to remain poor so that we can stay where we are economically.

True and sincere interfaith work, I believe, should motivate politicians toward divine justice, which demands that you speak the truth. It seems like today everyone is trying to have relations with the United States because they are a superpower. If only America would turn into a divine superpower, trying to base foreign policy on divine principles. The people of the United States have a great responsibility since they are a superpower; they must remember the lessons forgotten by previously great nations that lost their status because they forgot the teachings of heaven. We have seen the Soviet Union cease to be, but America still has the chance to apply the divine teachings to everyone.

You see there is an irony; on U.S. money it says "In God We Trust," and our foreign policy is totally different. Nations today hate America not because America is bad but because they see its foreign policy as bad. But they love the American people, they love to come to America. There are a lot of things that need to be done to preserve the gifts that God gave this country.

I hope these views become a part of American society today so that as we export technology we will also export this ecumenism all over the world and teach people tolerance by practicing it. I think so many things in the Middle East and in other parts of the world will testify to what I'm saying. This is the core of the message of religion, which is meant to bring well-being and the good life; if it doesn't bring this, then there is something wrong with that religion.

God says in the Qur'an: "O people"-not "O Muslims" but "O people"-"we created you from a single pair of male and female and we made you into nations and tribes that you may know each other, not despise and fight each other. Verily the most honorable of you in the sight of God is the most righteous and God is well acquainted with what you do." So be you white or black or African or Japanese or American, the most honorable in the sight of God is the most righteous. This is the thing that religion in the twenty-first century should help people strive for.

Clergy from many religious congregations have taken part in the interfaith prayer services hosted by St. Ignatius Church in Baltimore.

WW: It's true that governments have the responsibility to provide for their people morally and spiritually. But it's so easy to get caught up in secularism, to become mesmerized by power and control, and the American government in its foreign policy is very often caught up in that. As you say, on the dollar it says "In God We Trust," but when the dollar begins to subvert the motto and take over, the goal then becomes finding where the most money can be made, and peoples and nations are used and misused. Your analysis is a very telling one, indeed.

As you talked you reminded me of a document from the Second Vatican Council, The Church in the Modern World, a call for the Church to be very conscious of the struggle of the poor and oppressed. Years later, the bishops spoke of having an option for the poor wherever they are-Asia or Africa or Latin America or even right here in our midst. We're a nation that has great poverty, although we try very hard to camouflage it. And yet our religious traditions call us to be concerned about the less fortunate among us. Sadly, I think once you get to the level of the government, it's easy to get separated from those religious traditions that originally had a lot of influence in founding the government of this country. And, as you say, we have a great opportunity and a great responsibility as a people to elect a government that will act with these principles in mind . . . we must keep working at it.

BA: Together . . .

WW: That's right, together, to keep calling everyone to be responsible, especially our government officials.

Let me ask you the final question. Is there anything from your experience in the United States that you think would improve dialogue and cooperation?

BA: There is more opportunity in the United States than in Europe for interfaith dialogue; the climate here is more accepting of that. There just need to be more efforts made, more involvement in this kind of work. Muslims are very, very slow at this, but most Christian communities are very open.

Definitely there is much work to be done on the social level. I think interfaith dialogue can offer unique solutions to the problem of abuse of alcohol, sex, and drugs in this country. The United States could benefit in these areas from the perspective of Muslims, who view these things from a faith perspective. Perhaps there would be good results if we were able to bring these issues to the public in a religious forum in order to shed different lights on the subject.

After all, the religions should complete each other; if you don't have something, you can learn it from me, and if I don't have something, I can learn it from you. We complete each other and we complement each other. Interfaith work can definitely help by promoting values that will help solve common social problems. Muslims can contribute a lot in that regard because of the teachings they have. But only with help from their Christian brothers and sisters can they begin to solve the problems facing all people today-those who attend mosques and churches and synagogues and those who do not.