October 9, 2004

Program works to bring different faiths together

by Patricia Grames Pollock
Maryville Daily Times Correspondent

South Africans Fagrie Nasiep (left) and Elizabeth Petersen pose for a photograph outside the Center for Campus Ministries at Maryville College. The two are part of an interfaith team that is traveling the U.S. discussing ways to bring together the Muslim and Christian faiths. Photo by Wes Hope/ The Daily Times.

Elizabeth Petersen and Fagrie Nasiep are proof that two very different paths can lead to the same place — and that listening is an essential life component.

Petersen, a Christian, and Fagrie, a Muslim, are members of the Interfaith Listening Program sponsored by the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA). They made a stop in Blount County as part of a team from several countries designed to represent a working partnership of mutual respect between members of these two faiths.

Both Petersen and Fagrie live and work in Cape Town, South Africa. They met through the Interfaith Initiative that started there four years ago.

Petersen, a social worker, is the director of St. Anne's Homes, a shelter for domestic violence victims in Cape Town. She comes from a family of nine children, was raised in the Pentecostal tradition, and is now an Anglican.

Fagrie is a Muslim fashion designer in Cape Town. He comes from a long line of tailors and dressmakers.

How did people from such diverse religious and cultural backgrounds become a team?

"Fagrie and his sisters inspired me,'' said Petersen. "They were all young, devout Muslims, passionate about their lives and their calling.''

Their callings are also diverse.

Petersen, 34, earned her bachelor's degree in social work from the University of Western Cape and is currently working toward her master's, studying religious and cultural beliefs and gender-based violence.

Does she consider such violence worse in her homeland than in the U.S.?

"I think the whole issue of domestic violence against women and children is universal,'' she said. "It doesn't matter what race, region, culture or education, one out of three women worldwide will find themselves in abusive relationships during their lifetimes.''

She cited sexual, physical, verbal, psychological, economic and emotional abuse as common types prevalent virtually everywhere.

"My concern is the patriarchal society and nature of our mainline religions, and how that contributes or impacts on violence among women,'' she said.

HIV infection among the women she works with is another concern.

"Back home in South Africa, the stats say that one in every pregnant woman in abusive relationships is infected with HIV,'' she said.

She pointed out that in such relationships, negotiating the practice of safe sex is difficult to do.

Another troubling fact to her is that a number of women she has counseled tell her their religious leaders encourage them to try harder in the relationship.

Petersen is encouraged that the Anglican Church in South Africa recently adopted a gender-sensitizing program among the clergy. She would like to see them work with the perpetrator (abuser) rather than the victim which, she said, seems to have been the practice for a long time.

Fagrie became a student activist at age 15 prior to the introduction of democracy which happened in 1994.

"I was never interested in politics, but because of the struggles (of apartheid) and the situations that we found ourselves in, I felt it necessary to help educate and inform our community,'' he explained. "This included all religions and race groups we well.''

His activism precluded completion of his studies, but he did earn a degree in fashion design.

"All my designs are for anyone who prefers modest dress,'' he said.

He uses a variety of materials in his designs, and displays various ways of wearing the traditional veil or head scarf used by many Muslim women.

Both he and Petersen speak Afrikaans and English.

"We (Muslims) pray and do reading in Arabic,'' he said. "We speak and think in Afrikaans, and we read English. It's a joke that we don't understand any of the languages properly.''

He talked about how he blends Islam with his profession and lifestyle.

"In Islam we have a term called Ibadah. Translated loosely, that means prayer. That would include a whole way of life. Our smiles, the food that we eat, the charity that we give, and the way we impress people that are different from us is all seen as prayer. My job as a fashion designer has never been anything but part of my Islamic lifestyle.''

He holds children's workshops where, he said, they explore diversity and use scriptures not only from the Koran, but the Bible as well.

His company supports a Muslim community called Masakane. They are black, and he considers them discriminated against three ways.

"They are black, so they are naturally discriminated against, they are black within the Muslim community, so they are discriminated against by the Muslims, and they're Muslims within the black community, so they're discriminated against by (other) Muslims as well," he explained.

His company teaches them sewing skills, and also trains teachers to pass those skills on to others.

"This has been so rewarding for us because it made us spiritually more aware of ourselves than to those to whom we reach out to,'' he said.

Fagrie is married and the father of two sons and two daughters.

Petersen has one son who will soon be 6. Her husband Patrick will join her soon in America for a visit.

In June 2004, Petersen was selected to carry the Olympic torch when it passed through South Africa. She said her husband trained her for the run.

She spoke of some of the commonalties she feels she shares with Fagrie and other Muslims.

"I recognize the same kind of intensity in my devotions. I see my life as an act of worship, an expression of God's image, and that's how they live as Muslims. It's very similar to how I see my life.''

"As faith believers, we know that God is so all encompassing of all nations and tribes, and that essentially we all are God-fearing, and that to forgive is ultimately what will heal us,'' said Fagrie.