Hawzah News Agency - Over the course of about seven years, Berks County Christians from Immanuel United Church of Christ, Shillington, and Muslims from the city's Islamic Center, 18 Noble St., have grown together in fellowship, understanding and shared purpose.

"I honestly can't think of another faith community that we are closer to than the Islamic Center," said the Rev. Dale Davis, pastor at the 800-member Immanuel UCC, who serves there along with the Rev. Megan Huesgen.

For years, the two congregations have worked together in collecting food and clothing for the needy and have extended open invitations to visit each others' houses of worship.

Davis and Huesgen were joined recently by Karima Archie, principal of the Sunday school at the 300-member Islamic Center, and Tahara Akmal, manager of chaplaincy education programs at Reading Hospital.

The foursome will join forces for an upcoming five-week educational Lenten program at Immanuel dubbed "The Jesus Fatwah: Love Your Muslim Neighbor as Yourself."

The program, scheduled for 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays Feb. 17 and 24 and March 2, 9 and 16, will be held at the Immanuel Fellowship Hall, 99 S. Waverly St., Shillington. Soup, salad, bread and beverages will be provided."

We are working together to understand our similarities more than our differences," Huesgen said. "And the one God, whom we all worship, has created us differently to make us curious to learn and get to know each other and not push each other way," said Akmal, who was raised a Muslim in California, and comes from mixed Muslim and Christian religious heritage.

Archie, who has been a Muslim for 38 years, was raised in a Baptist family, she said.

"We have to get back to the business of being human beings by sharing a better understanding of our faiths and building relationships," Archie said.

To that end, Immanuel and the Islamic Center have taken on the mission of cutting through what they deem as weeds of disinformation about Islam often rooted in stereotypes and watered by fear.

The fact that extremists and terrorists have wrapped themselves in a distorted mantle of Islam, one of the world's main religions, also has served as an incentive to build bridges among different faiths.

Archie said Muslims often talk about the importance of character building and what it means to be true to their faith, adding that the first workshop will tackle an explanation of the Pillars of Islam. "The second session will address misconceptions about Islam, particularly the rights and role of woman in the faith," she said.

At the third session, there will be a closer look at Muslims as a people and where they come from. The last two sessions will be devoted to a conversation on faith issues from distinctly Christian and Muslim points of view, particularly as it relates to language and culture.