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CNN Live Today
Interfaith Listening
Aired September 23, 2002 - 13:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Those three Muslim medical students caught in a Florida terrorist scare may still train at the Miami hospital that turned them away. Larkin Hospital says no agreement has been reached yet, but a spokesperson says the hospital is waiting for the media hype to calm down, along with threatening e-mails.
Because of the Florida incident, many people are calling for a need to better understand different religions and cultures.
CNN's Mark Potter takes us to a Florida church, where people of different faiths came together to listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARK POTTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Moorings Presbyterian Church in Naples, Florida is just a few miles away from where the medical students were detained on Interstate 75.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: May peace be upon you all. This is the Islamic greeting.
POTTER: Inside the church a week later, a diverse group of worshipers came together for what they called "interfaith listening." It had been scheduled before the highway incident.
There were Christians, including a Greek Orthodox priest from Beirut, Lebanon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we are to remedy the situation of the world...
POTTER: ... a Muslim imam and a rabbi.
RABBI JIM PERMAN, TEMPLE SHALOM: I believe in the community of faith.
POTTER: They had much to discuss and learn in these troubled times.
MOHAMED AL-DARSANI, MUSLIM IMAN: 9/11, as a Muslim, I denounce that, and anybody who did that in the name of Islam, I don't consider him a true Muslim.
POTTER: There was agreement on many topics, but certainly not all.
AL-DARSANI: What you see in Israel -- or Palestine, I should say -- I personally don't consider that terrorism. No ma'am -- let me clarify. This is a people under occupation.
PERMAN: There are some things we are not going to agree on. I personally cannot tell the difference between 9/11 and the bus bombing this morning. I don't know what the difference is.
POTTER: Between the groups, there were serious questions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wish that you would explain some terms that we keep hearing in this difficulty that we are going through. Terms like jihad. What does it really mean?
FATHER BOULOS WEHBE, GREEK ORTHODOX PRIEST: I was waiting for the question.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I thought maybe you would.
WEHBE: In Islam, jihad is a concept which has been dropped from history more than eight centuries ago. Now, it has been revived by a few lunatics, who will make you believe that this is something that all of Islam adheres to (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
POTTER: For nearly two hours, the questions and answers flowed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does the Koran preach a gospel of love?
WEHBE: The equivalent of love in the Koran is mercy.
POTTER: By the end, of course, they hadn't changed the world, but in their small corner, they came together in respect and made progress.
Mark Potter, CNN, Naples, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired September 23, 2002 - 13:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Those three Muslim medical students caught in a Florida terrorist scare may still train at the Miami hospital that turned them away. Larkin Hospital says no agreement has been reached yet, but a spokesperson says the hospital is waiting for the media hype to calm down, along with threatening e-mails.
Because of the Florida incident, many people are calling for a need to better understand different religions and cultures.
CNN's Mark Potter takes us to a Florida church, where people of different faiths came together to listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARK POTTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Moorings Presbyterian Church in Naples, Florida is just a few miles away from where the medical students were detained on Interstate 75.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: May peace be upon you all. This is the Islamic greeting.
POTTER: Inside the church a week later, a diverse group of worshipers came together for what they called "interfaith listening." It had been scheduled before the highway incident.
There were Christians, including a Greek Orthodox priest from Beirut, Lebanon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we are to remedy the situation of the world...
POTTER: ... a Muslim imam and a rabbi.
RABBI JIM PERMAN, TEMPLE SHALOM: I believe in the community of faith.
POTTER: They had much to discuss and learn in these troubled times.
MOHAMED AL-DARSANI, MUSLIM IMAN: 9/11, as a Muslim, I denounce that, and anybody who did that in the name of Islam, I don't consider him a true Muslim.
POTTER: There was agreement on many topics, but certainly not all.
AL-DARSANI: What you see in Israel -- or Palestine, I should say -- I personally don't consider that terrorism. No ma'am -- let me clarify. This is a people under occupation.
PERMAN: There are some things we are not going to agree on. I personally cannot tell the difference between 9/11 and the bus bombing this morning. I don't know what the difference is.
POTTER: Between the groups, there were serious questions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wish that you would explain some terms that we keep hearing in this difficulty that we are going through. Terms like jihad. What does it really mean?
FATHER BOULOS WEHBE, GREEK ORTHODOX PRIEST: I was waiting for the question.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I thought maybe you would.
WEHBE: In Islam, jihad is a concept which has been dropped from history more than eight centuries ago. Now, it has been revived by a few lunatics, who will make you believe that this is something that all of Islam adheres to (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
POTTER: For nearly two hours, the questions and answers flowed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does the Koran preach a gospel of love?
WEHBE: The equivalent of love in the Koran is mercy.
POTTER: By the end, of course, they hadn't changed the world, but in their small corner, they came together in respect and made progress.
Mark Potter, CNN, Naples, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
