n response to the tragic events of September 11th, some of the residents of Friends House, a Quaker retirement community in Sandy Spring, Maryland wanted very much to reach out to the nearby Muslim community. Through a Muslim acquaintance of one of the residents we were connected to the president of the Muslim Community Center, who resides in the small community of Sandy Spring. He and an imam were invited to come to dinner and begin to educate us about Muslim beliefs. At their request we provided a private location for evening prayer.

Some members of the Sandy Spring Friends Meeting, who also wanted to reach out, were invited by the Community Center's president to attend one of their monthly potluck dinners. We were asked to share Quaker beliefs and a dialogue was begun. We were given two bilingual copies of the Qur'an (Koran). A Washington Post reporter who was present published a comprehensive article about the occasion.

A resident of Friends House arranged for 35 of us to attend a prayer service at the local mosque. After an introduction, men and women separately observed the ritual of prayer, one of five required each day. Afterwards there was time for informal conversation. The next major contact involved a visit by about 20 Muslims to a Thursday evening meeting for worship, also well attended by our own members and attenders. There was a simple reception afterwards at which we were pleased to see numerous small conversational groups.

As Ramadan approached, the Muslims made it clear that we'd be welcomed to share in one or more of their nightly fast-breaking potlucks. A group of us did share a special Saturday evening one and once again observed the prayers. Contacts have continued through the First Day School and several Muslim families attended the annual ice skating party. The meeting has invited Muslim families to attend our first large Earth Day celebration. Some of the meeting women are hoping to schedule a women's tea to encourage more dialogue with Muslim women.

As we've come to know more about Islam and the Muslim community we've realized that, although our worship customs are different, we have much in common such as: serving and obeying God or Allah, human equality, freedom of conscience and charitable giving.

Working on Racism in the Relgious Society of Friends, Some Ex/samples I am writing from Staten Island Meeting (NYYM). Our very small meeting took steps to make outreach to a local mosque, and several of us have worshipped there as our schedules allow. We have also, at their expression of interest, invited them to worship with us. On a personal level, I have continued to give support and friendship to friends of mine from Pakistan. At first, they experienced some discriminatory actions and attitudes, but this has eased. - Susan Wolf, Staten Island Monthly Meeting Perhaps you would be interested in an activity that took place in our town of Montclair, NJ in response to concern about the safety of Muslims in our town after 9/11. At our Peace and Service committee meeting, we discussed the need for an educational event to get us all up to speed about Muslim beliefs. Based on that discussion, I volunteered to organize a forum called "Understanding Islam," featuring Muslim speakers. I did it under the auspices of the town of Montclair, at the town hall, for greater publicity. By choosing the town hall, which is right in the middle of Montclair, I was very conscious of communicating to everyone, our town advocates tolerance and dialogue (not just some small group of expectable do gooders). (I was doing volunteer trauma counseling, as a psychologist, for the town, and our very enlightened town manager was very supportive of the idea.) It was personally quite gratifying to me, as I tramped all over town to be able to say to the store owners, "May I post this announcement in your window, it is a forum on Islam, sponsored by the town of Montclair." I felt like a tiny little ambassador, doing that, and my happiest moment was when a young Middle Eastern woman at the counter of a little deli looked clearly anxious when I mentioned Islam. However, as she scanned the flyer, her expression turned to a beam of happiness, and she leaned across the counter and whispered, " I will have to ask my boss for permission to post it, but-thank you! I found an Islamic professor/diplomat and a local imam who were eager to help people understand Muslim beliefs and the event was well attended with lively discussion. I considered it a Peace and Service activity and felt supported by the many Friends who attended. Many African-Americans also came, which would not likely have happened had we called it a Quaker event (unfortunately). - Margaret White, Montclair Monthly Meeting

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