{"id":15707,"date":"2022-10-24T21:00:10","date_gmt":"2022-10-24T21:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.interfaithamerica.org\/?p=15707"},"modified":"2022-10-24T21:00:15","modified_gmt":"2022-10-24T21:00:15","slug":"daring-to-understand-interfaith-philly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.interfaithamerica.org\/article\/daring-to-understand-interfaith-philly\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Daring to Understand One Another’: The Story of Interfaith Philadelphia"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n American Civic Life<\/span>\n

‘Daring to Understand One Another’: The Story of Interfaith Philadelphia<\/h1>\n
\n By
Asheq Fazlullah<\/address>\n <\/div>\n

October 24, 2022<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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Photo courtesy of Interfaith Philadelphia<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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In the mid-1970s, our neighbors, Rose, a teacher and homemaker and her husband Charlie, a postman, accompanied my family to the federal courthouse to acknowledge and witness that we were of good character to become citizens of the United States. I feel in part they chose to take time out to do this because they got to know us, neighbors of a different faith and background, over conversations in the backyard and the occasional sharing of baked goodies. Maybe they could see the memory of their own grandparents in a similar position.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Encounters, engagements, and conversations across identities are critical in developing and maintaining the fabric of our civil society. These are experiential moments for us to share and grow. They happen on the playground when a child hears a name they are not familiar with. Or in the workplace when needing to schedule around a client\u2019s sacred holiday. And hopefully with our neighbors over a bite on the back patio or front porch.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, when these encounters don\u2019t happen or are stunted, we lose out, both individually and collectively. The world we perceive becomes narrower, incomplete, and potentially false. This is why it is important that\u00a0 our local pickleball league, public library and community non-profits are able to hold space for these interactions.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Founded in 2004, <\/span>Interfaith Philadelphia<\/span><\/a> aims to be an intentional space for encounters across faiths in the City of Philadelphia and across the Greater Delaware Valley region. The region forms a rich quilting of neighborhoods for over 6 million individuals, including nearly every faith group, sect and interpretive nuance that can be found on Earth.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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