Archbishop Meets with Muslim Leaders at Dearborn Mosque

posted on: Mar 30, 2009

Imam Sayid Hassan al-Qazwini, the head of the Islamic Center of America, welcomed Archbishop Allen Vigneron to the largest mosque in the country today, as the new leader of 1.4 million Catholics in Metro Detroit continues to make good on his vow to foster interfaith relations.

“So many of us here today are bound by the word of God, and we look to Abraham as one of our fathers in faith,” Vigneron said. “I am almost overwhelmed by your words of welcome and warmth.”

Vigneron’s trip to the landmark mosque on Ford Road is at least the third by an Archbishop of Detroit, including Adam Cardinal Maida’s visit in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. His visit is still recalled with fondness by many Muslims in Metro Detroit.

“We welcome you to Dearborn, the Muslim capital of the West, as I call it,” Qazwini said. “God says in the Quran, ‘You will certainly find the nearest in friendship to those who say they are Christian.’ Jesus and Mohammad are none other than but two channels to God. Let us open our houses of worship to each other.”

Vigneron’s early months of service in Metro Detroit have included saying Mass at several parishes throughout the sprawling Archdiocese and outreach to non-Catholics, including Jewish leaders in Metro Detroit who privately expressed concerns about the recent actions of Pope Benedict XVI in reinstating to the church a bishop who has denied the holocaust.

The Catholic prelate’s visit to one of the most prominent Islamic institutions in Metro Detroit occurs amid initiatives by Muslims, the Vatican and Roman Catholic bishops in America to further ecumenical dialogue. In 2007, Catholic and Muslim leaders met in the Islamic Center of American for a series of conversations aimed and formalizing a statement of common beliefs and understandings between the faiths.

Such a statement is expected to take years to achieve. But leaders of both faiths counsel that such a timeframe is not inordinately long, given the lengthy deliberations over such matters even among Christian denominations.

Gregg Krupa
The Detroit News