A Jew, A Muslim, and A Christian

By JANA AMIN ‘21

A Jew, a Muslim, and a Christian walk into...Straus. Really! They did. Last Thursday, Christian Fellowship (CF), the Muslim Student Association (MSA), and the Jewish Student Union (JSU) hosted Milton’s first interfaith meeting of the year. As one of the co-heads of MSA, I helped organize the event. I never expected that the meeting would revitalize my love for the Milton community and inspire me to share my own faith more deeply in the hopes of inviting others to do the same, both at our next interfaith meeting and whenever they feel comfortable. 

Since interfaith initiatives are relatively new on Milton’s campus, I myself had never partaken in one prior to this year. Indeed, as someone who grew up in Egypt, a predominantly Muslim country where the Islamic faith and Egyptian culture are virtually inextricable from each other, I was never asked to share my religion in a public setting, as most of those around me already knew more about Islam than I could ever contribute. When I moved to the US in the fifth grade, however, others began seeing me as an ambassador for Islam in the West. I had not necessarily volunteered for this position, but as tensions between the Middle East and the West accelerated, I was left with no choice but to take on this new role. Since then, I have had to ask myself challenging questions about the Islam I know and the Islam that so many of my friends see. Yet, despite frequently discussing the Islam I practice, I seldom asked questions about the religions of my peers, despite knowing very little about their faiths. 

I can legitimately say that Milton’s interfaith meeting this past week changed much of that for me. Watching the circle of attendees share their experiences practicing faith at Milton while fellow peers listened and empathized with curiosity could not have been a more awe-inspiring experience. While some in the circle shared that they had been assigned certain prejudices at Milton because of their faith, others maintained that Milton had given them a safe haven to share their religion. While some admitted that they knew very little about the similarities between the three faiths, others respectfully jumped in to educate. Across the circle, I saw connections being made between faiths that are often seen as opposing one another. I saw uplifting responses to genuinely curious questions, vulnerable stories received with empathy, and even a number of “I feel that too” expressions bouncing around the circle. In the midst of a week I am sure many of us can agree was stressful, exhausting, and at times frustrating, this meeting reminded me that we, as a Milton community, do indeed still possess the ability to facilitate healthy discussion, invite a sense of hospitality across our differences, and, perhaps most importantly, inspire each other to ask the questions that fuel growth, healing, and love. 

I could not be more thankful to those who attended that meeting. And, I hope I have maybe even inspired you to come to the next one. Faith is a topic we seldom talk about in Milton, as it is a topic labelled as more divisive than unifying. I encourage you to push back against that narrative and strive for understanding. I promise you, with the right mindset, it is possible. Knowing that the experiences of Christians, Jews, and other Muslims who walked into Straus last Thursday are both reflective of and can teach me about my own relationship with my faith and the Milton community has very much altered the way I see myself and those around me. Ultimately, I hope it can do the same for you.