Imam Sharif Sahibzada (left) and Father John Geaney; CSP; director of the Catholic Information Center in Grand Rapids; Mich.; lead a moment of prayer during an interfaith event held at the center to combat anti-Muslim sentiment.

Amy Buckinghan and Debra S. Mageed participate at a round table discussion during the Fear and Trembling event at the Cathoic Information Center in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Bob Christie admits he was “very bigoted against Muslims,” and therefore reluctant to attend a dialogue dealing with anti-Muslim sentiment. Encouraged by his wife, Denise, Mr. Christie “decided to go and open my mind.”

“That is exactly what happened,” said Mr. Christie, a parishioner of St. Pius X Catholic Church in Grandville, Mich. “[Imam Sharif Sahibzada] was at my table, and although I didn’t agree with everything he said, I understood where he was coming from. I came away with different thoughts and feelings about Muslims.”

The change of heart Mr. Christie experienced by was precisely the goal of “Fear and Trembling: An Interfaith Dialogue,” held Oct. 6 at the Paulist-run Catholic Information Center in Grand Rapids, Mich. About 160 people attended the dialogue at the center, a longtime leader in ecumenical and interfaith relations in western Michigan. Dialogue sponsors also included the Bosnian Cultural Center, Cathedral of St. Andrew, Grand Rapids Area Center for Ecumenism (GRACE), ICC Behar, Interfaith Dialogue Association (IDA), Islamic Center and Mosque of Grand Rapids and the Islamic Mosque and Religious Institute.

The event allowed participants to see the “other” in a new way by viewing excerpts of the PBS documentary “Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet” and engaging in roundtable discussions. Those discussions focused on questions people had about Islam, what people of Islam wish others knew about their faith, and what can be done to make the community at large more welcoming.

Tom Sibley and Dr. Cahulam M. Malix participate in the dialogue at the Fear and Trembling event held to bring about a better understanding of Islam among Christians.

“One of the things that was most amazing to me and very humbling was how grateful and overwhelmed the Muslim participants were at the welcome they received from the Christian community,” said Father John Geaney, CSP, director of the Catholic Information and rector of the Cathedral of St. Andrew. “It really opened the gateway to conversation, and that is what I was interested in. That so many people came to one event tells me there is a need for this kind of dialogue.”

That need is experienced by Fred Stella on a daily basis in his role as president of the Interfaith Dialogue Association in Grand Rapids. Mr. Stella, a Hindu for most of his life and planner of Fear and Trembling, receives many calls for keynote speakers of different faiths, but especially on the topic of Islam.

“People want to find out for themselves what Islam is,” Mr. Stella. “It says something about the intelligence and kindness of the Christian community in Grand Rapids that they are willing to suspect what they are hearing about Islam in the media is somewhat spurious at best. They are doing their level best to find out what Islam is without the filters.”