By Dave Woods • Official Kid Mag
Photos by Rachel Lipe
Rukaya Alrubaye, Maren Park
and Luu Adler became fast friends
during a recent interfaith summer
camp hosted by Good Shepherd
Lutheran Church in Fayetteville. The
three kids of faith learned about each
other's religious traditions during the
weeklong session. It was a first effort
for the pastor at Good Shepherd
and other youth directors from local
churches, a synagogue and the Islamic
Center to organize
such an event.
Rukaya Alrubaye,
a 12-year-old Muslim
who attends Ramay
Junior High School
in Fayetteville, was
quick to explain the
tenants of Islam.
"I'm a Muslim,"
she said. "Right
now we are
fasting because it's
Ramadan. We have Five Pillars of
Islam. And one of them is fasting.
Another is giving. It's basically
donating. Another is Hajj. Others are
faith and prayer."
Rukaya said she enjoyed getting to
know her fellow campers.
"You get to learn what people of
different faiths do, like fasting," she
said. "You get to see what they might
do during Ramadan, and maybe it's
the same as me and maybe not."
Maren, a 12-year-old Christian,
agreed with his new Muslim friend.
"I had fun getting to know other
religions," he explained. "It's
interesting because you see these
similarities and you get to see the
differences. The idea that there is one
God is universal among the religions
here."
Luu, a 10-year-old Jew who attends
Owl Creek School, offered his take on
the multi-faith experience.
"Everybody gets to learn about
other faiths," he said. "I learned that
Muslims have a mosque
that is like our synagogue
or a church. It's different
from Christians because
Muslims and Jews have
different kinds of food
requirements."
During the camp, the
kids learned about dietary
restrictions adhered to by
many Jews and Muslims,
such as Halal and Kosher
traditions.
After discovering all of the
similarities and differences
between their religious
traditions, when asked,
was there anything that
Area Christian, Muslim and Jewish kids come together
to learn about faith, have fun
MAKING
FAITHFUL
FRIENDS
44 • Off icial Kids Mag • AUG & SEPT 2018
