'Beauty of Religion' discussed by people of faith

Choosing flattery over debate, three community faith leaders addressed what they perceived as "beautiful" about their respective religions Monday night in the Student Union Theater.

Rabbi Gurary, who represented the Jewish faith, began his dialogue with a story from the Talmud, a "sourcebook of (Jewish) oral law," customs and legends that expands on the Torah.

Gurary told the story of a man who approached a Rabbi about converting to Judaism. There was one condition, though - that he be taught everything standing on one foot. The Rabbi told him: "What is hateful for you, don't do to others."

"That is the Torah, the rest is commentary," Gurary said.

Gurary also focused his 20-minute segment on Tzedakah, or the Jewish law regarding charity. He said that unlike the word "charity," the word "Tzedakah" implied that kind and righteous acts were not only "something nice to do," rather an obligation, to help people in need.

There are many levels and forms of charity, such as giving money to the poor, visiting the sick or giving spiritual support to people. Gurary explained that giving kind words to someone in need of support is also Tzedakah.

"Every person and every act matters," he said.

There is beauty in Judaism because charity is a major focus, he said, whereas in secular law, the duty and obligation to help another person is absent.

According to Gurary, every kind act "hastens a better world," and all of these deeds have a positive ripple effect.

Reverend David Larson represented the Christian faith, and concentrated his time on the pillar of Christianity - Jesus Christ.

Larson found Christ beautiful because he was unique. In birth, it is said that Christ was born of a virgin. Also beautiful, Larson said, were Christ's miracles - most importantly, Christ's power over disease and death.

"He allowed the blind to see," Larson said, "and healed the deaf, the mute, and lepers."

Larson discussed Christ's power over nature, as well as his ability to raise the dead. He said that an important aspect of Christ was his sinless life.

The "glory of the resurrection" was another aspect Larson found beautiful about Christianity.

"Other prophets died and stayed dead," he said.

Jesus' commandment to "love one another," was another topic Larson focused on.

Larson ended his discussion with how he found beauty in the societal impact of Christianity. There are schools, hospitals, orphanages, and other sorts of institutions that Christians are "motivated through the love of Christ" to build.

Professor Othman Shibly followed, to discuss what he found beautiful about Islam.

He opened with an Islamic greeting of love and peace. Shibly explained that he was not prepared for the night, and originally was not going to come, but realized that he didn't need to be prepared to talk about the beauty of Islam.

"When you are in love with a girl, you think she is beautiful," Shibly said. "You do not need to be prepared to speak about her beauty."

Shibly explained that if his words touched the audience, and described the beauty of Islam well, it was because of his love for Islam.

"If that does not happen, then it is because I am not prepared," he joked.

Shibly centered his talk on the unity of mankind, and religion that he found within his faith. He said that in Islam, there is one religion, which is Islam.

"There are different laws at different times, they are for particular times and particular places," he said.

The beauty of Islam, according to Shibly, is its focus on humans. There are two kinds of sin, he said, one against God, and another against humans. A transgression against God is forgivable - much more easily forgivable than one against another person. This is because of God's unlimited ability to forgive.

"The honor of human beings does not come from religion. It comes from humanity," he said. "All mankind are equal, chosen are the people and actions of mankind."

Shibly stressed the importance of sharing common ideals.

"To make this world a better place to live," Shibly said, "we need to share our common values."

Paul Paily, a medical student in his second year of residency at UB, said that being a born-again Christian, he knew the Christian faith, and came to learn more about both Islam and Judaism.

"The one thing was more a question of Islam that was answered," Paily said. "An assurance that you'd go to Heaven, in Christianity is based on faith. In Islam, it's based on deeds."

Kal AlFozaie, a freshman electrical engineering major, said that he liked the discussion as well as other religious programs held at UB.

"I like the stuff they hold around here about religion," AlFozaie said, "because I'm not very in touch with my faith."

Amin Benjazia, a graduate student at Boston University, came to the event because he is a member of the Muslim Student Association at UB. He said that he found the Jewish spirit of charity to be especially interesting, and that the event changed some prejudices he used to hold against Judaism.

"I also liked the speaker for Islam. He was intellectual, thinking, but he emphasized religion," Benjazia said. "It's not a traditional way to view Islam."

Neil Lehane, a member of the Buffalo community, came to the discussion because he was interested in religion.

"I was worried at first. These kinds of discussions can sometimes turn into the sort of thing where one guy is trying to say why his religion is better," Lehane said.

He also described how he enjoyed how all three speakers were able to present their positions uninterrupted.

"They all discussed loving one another, sort of having love for your fellow man. That's more important than all of the other rules, to them," Lehane said. "It clears up a lot about the world, today, what's going on. It's not about this rule or that rule, it's about having respect and love for your fellow humans."

Discussion moderator Dalene Aylward, also a co-chair of the Religion Subdivision of the UB Diversity Committee, said that although more people were expected at the discussion, she found that a lot of good came from it.

"It's beautiful for people who completely disagree with each other to be able to come together on a common ground to discuss the differences and the commonalities of our faiths," she said.

Viqar Hussein, president of the Muslim SA, said that the series aimed to help people to better understand Islam, despite common misconceptions.

"The main objective of the series is so that we could build the religious relations of the three Abrahamic religions," he said. "The objective is to highlight the 99 percent of commonality between them."

Hussein said that a great deal of focus in the media is placed on the one percent difference, and that is a serious problem in today's society.

The lectures were a part of the 'Series of Meetings for Better Understanding,' sponsored by several campus groups, including the Muslim SA, Campus Ministries Association, Chabad House, International Students, Inc. and the UB Diversity Committee's Religion Subdivision.