We talk about three religious traditions as Abrahamic, or “People of the Book.” These are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. We are somewhat familiar with the primary religious text for Judaism, which we call the Old Testament (or Hebrew Bible.) But most of us aren’t very familiar with the Qur’an. Nor do we know how much the Qur’an and the Bible have in common.

 

Let’s learn something new together! ME&O will be offering four classes in January and February focusing on the origins of the Qur’an and its intersections with the Bible.  The first three classes will be taught by Sheikh Hassan Mostafa Aly, a noted Muslim scholar -- and a longtime friend of CPC. The fourth class will be a discussion between Sheik Aly and Reverend Doctor Robert Cathey. Dr. Cathey is a retired professor of theology from McCormick Seminary. All of these classes will be offered hybrid during our regular Adult Education hour.

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Our first class, on January 19, introduced us to Imam Hassan Aly – and to the history of the creation of the Qur’an, Islam’s holy text. His co-leader for the fourth session, Rev. Dr. Robert Cathey, joined the class remotely.

 

This coming Sunday, Imam Aly will lead us in the first of two classes that discuss the stories and people that are part of both the Qur’an and the Bible. Based on the first class, Imam Aly will teach us well!

 

There was some interest in learning more about the language of the Qur’an. Imam Aly recommended that we bring up a recording of the text and just listen and enjoy it. Rev. Dr. Robert Cathey is also looking into texts that would be useful.

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Zoom link available in the Adult Ed email, bulletin or from the office.

Past session video recordings are available on the Adult Ed page