| Event Model #4: Church Tour for Young Muslims |
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 Summary: Seminar participant Bachir (a native of Laayoune who studies in Fez) decided to make his event a tour of the Church of San Fransisco in his hometown. Bachir himself had never visited the church and decided to organize a visit by a group of university students and professors. The Catholic priest of the church, who originally hails from Spain, led the tour and then had a discussion with the students on interfaith relations in Laayoune. A local news station, struck by how unusual the event was, filmed the tour and broadcast a positive report on the evening news. Below are excerpts from Bachir’s report:
Challenge Addressed: There are few churches in Northwest Africa, which has a tiny Christian population, and most young Muslims have never stepped foot inside a church or spoken with a priest.
Participants: 13 Muslims attended the event as well as the Catholic priest of the church. The priest presented along with a university lecturer and Bachir. The event was marketed via Facebook and posters. Online marketing proved to be important for getting people to come to an off-line event.
Quantitative Benchmarks: (1) Get one prominent example of media coverage; (2) Involve 15 participants. Both were achieved, except for having one fewer participant that anticipated. TV news coverage of the event is online (skip to minute 10:00).
Qualitative Benchmarks: The main goal was to get the next generation in Laayoune to appreciate the importance of dialogue among faiths. The nice discussion with the friendly priest, including his brief recital on the church organ, clearly showed that we had achieved that goal. Also, the attendees are thinking of creating an association called “Friends of the Church of San Francisco in Laayoune.”
Lessons Learned: Recruit a larger number of attendees. We could definitely have had more people and still done a successful event. Also, I initially planned a different event in Fez, which did not get approval from the university. So I learned the importance of having a back-up plan. If something does not work, go directly to Plan B and do not waste time in trying to find a solution to Plan A.
Budget Report:
$110 - Travel from Fez for university lecturer, taxi fares to and from church
$50- Phone calls
$45 - Coffee break refreshments
$20 - Camera equipment rental
$20 - Miscellaneous small expenses
Is This a Model Event?
I would recommend people in other communities hold similar events. Here are the basic steps:
- Find a non-Muslim site in your community, ideally one where there is a representative from the religion who can speak well with a group of young people.
- Try to find a Muslim teacher or senior adult who can also attend the event to help facilitate conversation.
- Announce the event on Facebook and on your blog, call friends directly to invite them, and spread the word in your community.
- Set a realistic benchmark for how many people you want to come. Up to 25 would be good for your first event.
- Make the event seem cool and open. It helps to have free food. And be clear that this is not about theology but about people understanding each other’s differences.
- Have fun at the event. Be open to learning new things and encourage attendees not to be afraid to ask questions.
- Find a local reporters who will not sensationalize the story and invite them to attend.
Reviewers' Comments:
This event is successful in terms of its impact on the participants and the positive media coverage. The local news station filming the event probably exponentially expanded the event’s impact, especially considering that the event itself was modest and involved a small number of participants. Also, the participation of a non-Muslim religious leader is likely to have made a positive impression on the participants, especially as they have likely never met a non-Muslim cleric. The involvement of the university lecturer is also a plus.
The advantage of this sort of event is that it is flexible – anyone can host it or lead it, and it can be for students of any (or no) religious background. It’s also likely to be relatively inexpensive, as most holy sites will not require a rental fee. It would have been interesting to see whether the participants had any preconceptions about churches or Catholics changed as a result of the event. Future events should make sure to assess the impact on participants.
Participants must acknowledge that it is not a time to discuss theology – it’s a time to understand a new religious tradition as its own members understand it (e.g. Christianity as a Christian understands it to be, and not as it might be taught in a Muslim classroom). A nice sequel would be to see young Muslim students interact with Christian peers. A lot of learning could result for everyone.
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