Whitehouse Makes New Friends

Great Britain is becoming a place of tremendous ethnic and religious diversity. The same cannot be said of Northern Ireland. A huge majority would identify as Christian. And even many who are not affiliated with any faith community might identify as Protestant or Catholic. The binary of Catholic/Protestant has defined the social structure of Northern Ireland for a long time; but the binary is slowly breaking down. It is possible now to encounter a Sikh, Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist in Belfast; though it is not likely where I live in North Belfast. Northern Ireland faces the challenge of including these newcomers in a society that has been dominated by two identities for hundreds of years.

Some folks from Whitehouse Presbyterian decided this summer to learn a bit more about their non-Christian neighbors. We arranged a visit to the Belfast Islamic Centre and the Jewish Synagogue. I was eager to join my friends at Whitehouse in an exploration of such vast and important religious traditions, but I was also curious to hear about the experience of being a religious minority in Northern Ireland.

A couple weeks after our visits to the Islamic Centre and Synagogue, we gathered at the church to debrief; I was asked to facilitate the conversation. I happily accepted, and found the subsequent discussion to be very thoughtful and enjoyable. It was so enjoyable that I would like to share some of the questions and conclusions that emerged during our discussion, for the benefit of my U.S. readers and any friends at Whitehouse who didn’t have a chance to attend.

Thoughts on our visit to the Belfast Islamic Centre:

Our host spoke of Islam as a way of life, and had a surprisingly inclusive view of Christians. He recognized that we share many narratives and beliefs about God. He seemed pleased to have the opportunity to connect with Christian communities in Belfast and called us brothers and sisters.

The greatest point of divergence between Islam and Christianity is around the character of Jesus. Muslims do not recognize Jesus as the Son of God or the Messiah, and the majority of Muslims do not believe that Jesus died before his spirit ascended. Islam recognizes Jesus as a prophet but not an agent of salvation.

Islam demands tremendous discipline, particularly in the area of prayer (salat). The idea is that by adhering to the prescriptions of the Koran, a person can learn to focus on God and God’s will for their lives. In this way Islam is not so different from Christian monasticism.

Some of us left the Islamic Centre with questions about how the faith of our speaker is related to the radical Islam that appears so prominently in the news. Our host made mention of some verses that seem to give license to the violence, but he also alluded to Koranic verses which articulate clearly that there should be no compulsion in religion. But we recognized that it may be unfair to ask our Muslim host to give account of actions committed by those whose faith has very little to do with his own. After all, in a society that endured decades of violence between Catholic and Protestant communities, how often is the average church-goer asked to give account of the actions of paramilitary soldiers?

As Ramadan comes to a close, we have to appreciate that Muslims who live this far north might be fasting for up to 17 hours during the day. That is a long, long time.

 

Thoughts on our visit to the Jewish Synagogue

The Belfast Synagogue is affiliated with Orthodox Judaism, and while the Muslim community is very new in Northern Ireland, the Jewish community is old and dwindling. We were surprised to learn that the Synagogue may be too small to survive within the span of 8 or 9 years.

Members of Whitehouse Presbyterian learned about Judaism and the Jewish community in Belfast from our host, Neville.
Photo Credit: Liz Hughes

 

Our speaker had a lot to say about the history of the Jewish community in Belfast. Many of the folks from Whitehouse were able to recall their Jewish classmates and business colleagues. It seems that many of those families have moved elsewhere, or are no longer active at the synagogue.

The Belfast Synagogue is affiliated with Orthodox Judaism, and our host recognized that women rabbis are not recognized in that tradition. It seemed to make him a bit uncomfortable to talk about it, but he also explained that the seating is segregated by gender to avoid distractions for the men. This attitude different from our own, but is not so different from other perspectives within Christianity.

Our host let us examine the prayer books and the Torah scrolls, which are large and impressively ornate. Orthodox Judaism has a great emphasis on liturgy and also a focus on the letter of the law; by following the law rigidly you can have a stronger relationship with God. Although our speaker recognized that essentially Judaism is about being a good person.

 

In conclusion, I found our visits to be very illuminating, and I hope that Whitehouse can continue to cultivate relationships with other faith communities. Thanks for reading!