A Muslim scholar at a Catholic university is set to offer his take on how the two faiths can build "bridges for dialogue."

St. Jerome’s University will welcome Dr. Amir Hussain for the latest installment of its Lectures in Catholic Experience series Jan. 9. Hussain will discuss his journey as an educator as well as the various  shared experiences between Catholics and Muslims. 

Taking place in the Notre Dame Chapel at the Catholic university at the University of Waterloo, Hussain will present a lecture titled "A Muslim Theologian Teaching at a Catholic University," which will delve into his experiences in religious studies as a professor of Theological Studies at the Jesuit University of Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles.

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Hussain spent the majority of his life in Toronto after his arrival in Canada from Pakistan as a child. He's a graduate of the University of Toronto with multiple degrees in the study of religion, including a BSc, MA and PhD. 

Hussain holds the unique perspective of being the first non-Christian scholar to be tenured in his department’s nearly century-long existence at Loyola Marymount. What may seem on the surface to be a conflicting relationship between scholar and institution, Hussain uses his involvement with the Catholic university as an example of the benefits of strong, continued interfaith dialogue between Catholicism and Islam. 

“ I think to be able to say ‘Wait a minute, how are we actually living together? What are some stories and what does that look like?’ is very important.  People who know about the Church think about Nostra Aetate and interfaith dialogue as only being for 60 years, but it’s something that has been prevalent for much longer than that,” he said. 

Hussain cites the Franciscans and the orders' long-standing relationship with Islam, with 2019 marking the 800th anniversary of the first meeting between St. Francis and the Muslim Sultan. The reality of the Catholic Church having right relations with the Islamic faith for hundreds of years is something he intends to shed light on, hoping to create what he describes as “bridges for dialogue.”  

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Certain commonalities run deep between the two religions, whether it be similarities in fasting as seen through Ramadan and Lent, goals about feeding the hungry and needy and even figures of each faith referenced in Holy texts. 

“One of the things I'll talk about is this great Franciscan icon writer who I met named Br. Robert Lentz. He crafted an icon known as Our Lady of the Qur'an which talks about Mary,” Hussain said. “Mary is the only woman mentioned more by name in the Qur'an’ than she is in the Bible, which shows this interesting bridge and connection that most people don't think about. It’s a sort of encounter between Christians and Muslims that comes right from the beginning.” 

Hussain will also address misunderstandings and prejudice shared between the two religions. He spoke to the history of anti-Catholicism in North America and its similarities to modern-day Islamophobia, citing that education on their likeness continues to be vitally important for a mutual understanding of one another.  

“ If there is one group that should understand the experience of North American Muslims, especially post-9/11, it’s North American Catholics,” he said. “ This is Catholic history. They had to struggle and fight for institutions like  Catholic schools and hospitals, partly because they wanted to have their own places to live their faith, but also because they were excluded from other places.” 

He added that Catholic tradition is something to be used as a role model for Muslims looking at how they can best establish similarly great institutions that are faithful and welcoming. 

Hussain’s talk ultimately boils down to the lesson of better understanding our brothers and sisters, regardless of religious affiliation. To him, this lesson is best taught through personal encounters and lived education rather than through the mainstream media, which often have their own agendas to push. 

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“If all you know about Catholic priests is what you see in the papers about sex abuse scandals, you would think they are awful, but if you actually get to know a Catholic priest, you'd know that it’s a horrible thing within the Church, but that it is a tiny fraction and that the Church is doing what it can to deal with it. If all you know about Muslims is a guy who tried to stab or kill someone, and that's what you see on TV, you think these people are horrible,” he said. 

“Go talk to your next-door neighbour, your kid's doctor or teacher who is a Muslim, you’ll see it is the same thing that Catholics often deal with in the media. The lecture is about how we can dispel those kinds of stereotypes because if all you know is what you see in the media, it gives you a skewed image of the billion and a half Muslims or Catholics in the world.”