Worshipers pray at Toronto’s Jami Mosque. Opened in 1968, it is the city’s oldest.
(photo: Ryan Carter) Featured in ONE Magazine, May 2007
As Ramadan enters its final week, the Vatican has released a message commemorating the approaching holiday of Eid ul-Fitr (or Id al-Fitr), which concludes the Muslim holy month of fasting. Here follows an excerpt from the Vatican news site:
This year, we have thought to give priority to the theme of the spiritual dimension of the human person. This concerns a reality that Christians and Muslims consider to be of prime importance, faced as we are with the challenges of materialism and secularization. The relationship that every human person has with the transcendent is not a moment in history, but is part of human nature. We do not believe in fate; we are convinced – moreover it is our experience – that God guides us on our path!
Christians and Muslims, beyond their differences, recognize the dignity of the human person endowed with both rights and duties. They think that intelligence and freedom are indeed gifts which must impel believers to recognize these values which are shared because they rest on the same human nature.
This is why the transmission of such human and moral values to the younger generations constitutes a common concern. It is our duty to help them discover that there is both good and evil, that conscience is a sanctuary to be respected, and that cultivating the spiritual dimension makes us more responsible, more supportive, more available for the common good.