We have Thanksgiving, Muslims have Eid al-Adha
Well, not really - but they are pretty close together date-wise. November 16th was Eid al-Adha, or "Festival of Sacrifice" This is a commemoration of when God provided an animal sacrifice to take the place of Abraham's son. According to the Muslim version of the story, God sent the angel Gabriel to deliver a ram so that Abraham wouldn't have to sacrifice his son Ishmael.
It is Crescent Project's mission to teach Christians about the Muslim faith, to decrease our fear and misunderstanding so that we can be better equipped to reach out in love to our Muslim neighbors. It's nice that we have Thanksgiving to remind us how much we have to be thankful for; I am thankful to be given this opportunity to be part of the Bridge between the Muslim and Christian faiths.
The Mitchells
My parents will be visiting my brother, Kerry in NYC over thanksgiving (I'll be flying out there the weekend of December 4th myself to talk to some new and old friends about the Crescent Project). It just struck me that he might not be too supportive of the "live animal sacrifice" part of Eid al-Adha, given his recent participation in Farm Sanctuary's NYC Walk for Farm Animals, in which (according to supervegan.com) activists "come together to celebrate our love and compassion for farm animals."
As for the rest of my family, we will killing as many turkeys as necessary at our Church's thanksgiving dinner for the poor (technically, it's for anyone, but the main idea is to provide a home-cooked, full turkey dinner with sides and dessert for less than it costs to get two booklets and a DVD shipped to your home ;-)). Then we'll be hanging out at the Mitchell compound (ie, Ohmer Ave.), where no fewer than four of the eleven houses on the block are in our (extended) family.
Now, as they would say on NPR's "Car Talk", on to the shameless commerce division...
Free Stuff (a $15 value)!
What you get:
Life of the Messiah DVD (Jesus Film in 16 languages).
Is the Injeel Corrupted? (Injeel is the Arabic name for the New Testament)
Adha in the Injeel (Adha is the Muslim commemoration of when God provided an animal sacrifice in lieu of Abraham's son).
Click here to get your free packet (the two booklets are written by the Crescent Project and would be a great way to see for yourself the kind of work we do). This also makes a great gift for your Muslim friend or neighbor who is interested in learning more about Christianity and its relationship to Islam. Oh, did I mention you do have to pay $2.98 for shipping and handling? Still, that's a good deal.
If you will be near Bloomington, Indiana on Wednesday, December 1st, please join me for lunch to hear more details on the vision of the Crescent Project from it's founder and president, Fouad Masri (he is a dynamic and knowledgeable speaker, and definitely worth your time). Click here to sign up.
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1 comment:
Fun to learn about the Eid Al-Adha, and maybe more reactions to the Injeel....?
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