Who Is My Neighbor?

For the past ten years, during the holy month of Ramadan, Muslim communities in the Chicago area have opened their Iftar meals to non-Muslim guests to promote the spirit of interreligious dialogue. Large numbers of Catholics have openly responded annually to these invitations. Francis Cardinal George, OMI, has been an annual guest at these meals. Apart from these efforts, ongoing interreligious initiatives in our Archdiocese include:

  • monthly women's Muslim-Catholic Dialogue between St. Fabian Parish and The Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview;
  • bi-monthly dialogues between the Office for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs (EIA) and the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago;
  • meetings with members of the WD Mohammed movement.

Notwithstanding the foregoing undertakings, we are still concerned that many of us remain less informed, or misinformed, about our Muslim neighbors. With this limited knowledge we understand that we sometimes fall short in our ability to openly and charitably relate with Muslims.

As a pastoral service to parishes, the Office for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs (EIA) has initiated a Muslim-Catholic "literary-catechetical" program. This initiative seeks to offer parishioners an introductory knowledge about Muslims by inserting a small section in your Sunday Bulletin titled, "Who Is My Neighbor?" We hope that parishioners will gradually grow in their knowledge and understanding about Islam, and more importantly, nurture the desire to promote healthy conversation and friendly collaboration with their Muslim neighbors.

Bulletin Series

  1. Series 1: English | Polish | Spanish
    1. Salaam or Peace
    2. Islamophobia
    3. Ignorance and Misinformation
    4. Interreligious Dialogue

  2. Series 2: English, Polish and Spanish
    1. Muslim/Catholic Dialogue Day, February 24

  3. Series 3: English | Polish | Spanish
    1. Nostra Aetate
    2. As-Salaam Alaykum
    3. Essential Similarities
    4. Children of Abraham

  4. Series 4: English | Polish | Spanish
    1. Allah/God
    2. The Prophet Muhammad
    3. The Qur'an
    4. The Five Pillars

  5. Series 5: English | Polish | Spanish
    1. The First Pillar of Islam: Witness to Faith
    2. The Second Pillar of Islam: Prayer
    3. The Third Pillar of Islam: Giving Alms
    4. The Fourth Pillar of Islam: Fasting

  6. Series 6: English | Polish | Spanish
    1. The Fifth Pillar of Islam: THe Pilgrimmage
    2. Mary and Islam
    3. The Mosque and the Imam
    4. Who is my neighbor?