Interfaith council event takes a detour

Just because the pastor doesn’t show up, the catering is 20 minutes late and the guest speaker is out of town doesn’t mean that all hope for an event should be abandoned. At least, that was the opinion of the attendees of the Newport-Mesa-Irvine Interfaith Council meeting on Wednesday at Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church in Costa Mesa.

The Newport-Mesa-Irvine Interfaith Council had intended for their luncheon to feature an discussion of Iraq by Imam Moustafa al-Qazwini, a prominent Shiite leader and imam of the Islamic Educational Center of Orange County.

Al-Qazwini was unable to attend the luncheon because he flew to Iraq to be with his father, Ayatollah Sayed Mortada al-Qazwini, after a failed assassination attempt was made on the ayatollah on Friday.

Attendees at the luncheon included both members and nonmembers of the interfaith council, representatives of different congregations and community members. Many attendees said they had come to hear the opinions of the imam because they feel it is time to expand their faith horizons and learn more about Islam.

Catholic attendee Jean Hunter said that she is interested in learning more about “our faith relationships around the world” and that she thinks “it’s important to understand faiths outside of the Judeo-Christian religious tradition.”

Greg Kelly, vice president of the council, recounted the day’s mishaps and announced the change of plans: group discussions of such topics as poverty, peace, justice and immigration from the point of view of different faiths.

Kelly later said that he felt that overall, “it’s good to have these discussions,” explaining that “the goal of interfaith council is to build on things that bring us together, not focus on what drives us apart. It’s like bringing a family to the table.”