I will never forget the moment that this photo was taken. One Muslim family and one Christian family. One family from Western Sydney and the other family from the NSW Central Coast. As we huddled together for the photo we felt like long-lost friends reuniting. Passers-by would never have guessed that our families had just met. 
How it happened.
I met Mohamed in April this year. We were both participants in a four-day interfaith trek through the Tasmanian wilderness. All twelve participants were under the age of 25 and we represented six different religions. The interfaith dialogue that took place in Tasmania. was organic. We weren’t allocated fixed hours to talk about religion. When you are climbing mountains and kayaking through rivers and there is no phone reception to distract you, dialogue happens naturally.
Like most group trips, promises were made to keep in touch at the end of the four days. A part of me expected that busy schedules would get in the way and that catch-ups would be endlessly postponed. But deep down, I hoped that our dialogue would not end upon arrival in Sydney.
Thankfully, it didn’t.
Over the last five months:
- I have been introduced to Western Sydney’s greatest Lebanese restaurants.
- I have been immersed in the Islamic arts through films about Islamic calligraphy and monthly poetry nights in Bankstown.
- I have hosted a dinner party for Muslims, Jews, Christians and Buddhists and I have learnt where to buy some of the best Halal and Kosher foods in Sydney.
- I have experienced a world that, growing up in a Caucasian region of the NSW Central Coast, was entirely new for me.
Naturally, when you’ve discovered something new and exciting, you want to share that experience with the people you love. For months, I had been raving to my family about the amazing cultural and culinary experiences I was having. Finally, on Sunday 18th August I managed to bring three generations of my family along to the Multicultural Eid Festival and Fair (MEFF) at Fairfield Showground.
My grandparents almost didn’t make it due to lack of parking, but eventually they found a car spot and our MEFF experience began. Not surprisingly, as five Catholics at a Muslim Eid Festival, my family was conscious of standing out. We didn’t know what to expect and it was a new experience for us all.
Then we ran into fellow Tasmanian trekker, Mohamed Taha.
Mohamed was there with his father, grandmother and two younger brothers. As I greeted his grandmother with a kiss, our parents started chatting. Mohamed’s father told my parents about their upcoming family holiday to the Central Coast which, coincidentally, happens to be ten minutes away from my parents’ house. Within minutes, a dinner catch up was arranged before Mum had time to process the fact that she would need to cook a Halal meal. We decided that a vegetarian meal would be adequate!
One year ago, if someone was to ask me, “What is interreligious dialogue?” I would have imagined a panel of high-profile religious representatives answering questions in an auditorium.
Today, if someone asked me the same question, I would show them this photograph.
Sometimes, interreligious dialogue has no agenda and you cannot enforce a timeframe. It can happen on a kayak in the middle of the Tasmanian wilderness or it can happen in a crowd of 30,000.
I have learnt that dialogue simply requires two people, a spirit of openness and a desire to welcome another person into your life.
Ashleigh Green is a staff member of the Columban Mission Institute's Centre for Christian-Muslim Relations.
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