Catholics and Muslims Hold Joint Prayer Service in Austin, TX

August 10, 2003

Source: News 8 (Austin, TX)

http://www.news8austin.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=80312

On August 10, 2003 News 8 (Austin, TX) reported that "members of the Catholic and Muslim faith, two of the world's largest religions, combined Sunday services in Austin. This was the second time since Sept. 11 that Catholics and Muslims have held a joint prayer service. Inside St. Mary's Cathedral in Downtown Austin, two religions shared the same pew, the same church, the same God. 'Though they are very different, the two religions are very different, there is much more in common than any of us first realized,' Bishop Gregory Aymond of the Austin Diocese said. Dressed in their respective sacred robes, Catholic and Muslim priests recited verses from the Bible and the Koran in different languages, but the message was universal: love thy neighbor. 'Don't let what is here (points to head) go inside our heart. Let our heart be open to each other and let our theological differences be inside ...let the difference just be inside here,' Imam Safdar Razi of the Islamic Ahlul Bayt Association Mosque said."