On Friday, December 11, 2015 a group of us from Canterbury attended services at the Islamic Center of Albuquerque. We were joined by representatives of other groups including the Center for Peace and Justice and St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church. The purpose of our visit was to show our support for the center and its Muslim congregation after a week in which a candidate for President of the U.S. called for a ban on all Muslims attempting to enter the United States. Those from Canterbury included Deacon Pat Masterman, Don Partridge, Susan Patrick, Anne McCormick, Sally Barlow, Anne Marie Werner-Smith, and myself (if I have omitted anyone else I apologize). We were impressed by the warmth of the reception and the sheer size of the congregation (about 400 people). Imam Shafi preached a powerful sermon on Islam as a loving religion which embraces outsiders. The Imam comes from Mombasa, Kenya, where Anne Marie and I have both taught, so we had an instant connection with him. We had a reception afterward at which lunch was served and we discussed our mutual wish to keep up a dialogue with one another. The Islamic Center has had a rough couple of weeks hearing criticism of Islam on the news media and they were very pleased to have our friendly visit. Let us pray that our friendship with them continues.
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