Recent Events Spur Interfaith Lectures (January 25, 2010)
A program that examines the different cultures represented in Macomb County and the religions that drive
them returns in February with the first section, African Americans and the Black Church.
Other sessions will follow on Jews and Judaism; Islam and Muslims; Hispanics and Roman Catholicism;
and Chaldeans and the Chaldean Catholic Church.
Prompted by changing demographics in Macomb County, the Interfaith Center for Racial Justice launched
its Listen, Learn and Live program in 2007 to highlight the diverse cultures that now make up a significant
portion of the county.
The goal is better understanding of the diversity in the county, and, initially, progress toward that goal
appeared steady, said the Rev. Michail Curro, executive director of the Interfaith Center.
But recent world events, including the attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight by a Muslim man,
have hindered progress, Curro conceded.
"It's like we've taken a great step backward," he said.
Since the program’s inception, the study of Islam and Muslims has proven the most popular, so much so
that organizers have scheduled two separate modules on Islam in April.
Imam Steve Elturk, of the Islamic Organization of North America in Warren, tapped recent headlines