Visitors on Sunday

We have visitors to our church each Sunday, but this week, we're delighted to welcome some guests from the Middle East to our worship service. Here's a description of the Department of State program which brings these guests to Tenth this week:

The Islam: Scholarship and Practice in the United States program is a two-year, multi-phased project, comprised of two three-week U.S.-based programs for Muslim clerics and scholars from the Middle East, and one reciprocal exchange program to the region for American clerics and scholars. The program will culminate in May 2007 with American clerics and scholars traveling to Egypt, Syria and finally to Jordan where they will participate in a two-day seminar focused on the theme of “Islamic Scholarship and Practice in the 21st Century.”

In February, eight Muslim scholars and clerics from Egypt, Jordan, and Syria and their escort, Fr. Nabil Haddad of the Jordan Interfaith Coexistence Research Center, will travel to Washington, D.C.; Boston, Massachusetts; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In each city, AMIDEAST and its partners will arrange meetings, discussions, tours, and events to achieve the following program goals:

--Convey an understanding of the place of religion—particularly Islam—in American life;
--Broaden awareness of and appreciation for serious religious study in the U.S., especially the study of Islam; and
--Examine/discuss the compatibility of religious practice and democratic social/political structures, the benefits of mutually respectful coexistence, and Islamic practice in multicultural and multiethnic context

The International Visitors Council in Philadelphia is the group's host in Philadelphia.