Friends further understanding of Islam
Diversity day hosted
Newcastle Meeting recently hosted a visit from four representatives of the Islamic Diversity Centre (IDC) North East.
The visit was organised by Newcastle Friend Faith Goodfellow, who reported that fifty people took part, among them Quakers from across Northumbria Area Meeting.
Friends heard from IDC’s Abu-Tayeb Khairdeen, who explained the basic faith and values of Islam, and Mariam Khan, who spoke about women in Islam. The session also covered the differences between Islam as a religion and the various cultures of Muslims. The gathering began and ended with silence.
Faith said the event was ‘more popular than I expected. People asked plenty of questions and we were encouraged by IDC to ask anything and not to worry that a question was too silly.’
Faith told the Friend that, prior to the visit, she met with Abu-Tayeb and Miriam at the IDC office, where they spent more than an hour discussing Quakerism. Abu-Tayeb later borrowed a copy of Quaker faith & practice.
IDC is a charity whose goal is to bring to the wider society authentic information, advice and guidance in the areas of Islamic awareness, diversity and consultancy through education and awareness.
