ROCK ISLAND — Success can be measured in many ways—including conversations that just won’t quit. On a recent Monday night, that was one sign that the Muslim/Catholic Women’s Dialogue hosted by the Sisters of St. Benedict at St. Mary Monastery was bearing fruit.

Even after speakers Mara Adams and Dr. Talia Alvi concluded their presentation on “The Role of Women in Islamic and Catholic Faith,” the 70 participants took only the briefest of breaks to pick up refreshments before returning to their tables to continue the discussion.

While the evening’s topic provided a starting point for that discussion, those who attended found other things to talk about and that was encouraged by Sister Catherine Cleary, OSB, who served as moderator. She asked them to share recipes, gardening tips or book recommendations—anything that would foster ongoing relationships between the annual dialogues.

THE OCT. 29 session was the second of two planned for this fall.

On Oct. 22, more than 90 people gathered to discuss “Peacemaking in Muslim and Catholic Traditions.” The response was so great, that this week’s session was transmitted via closed circuit TV to those who live at the monastery so that guests could be accommodated in the dining room.

Sister Catherine told The Catholic Post that the Muslim participants have offered to host next year’s dialogue at an area mosque. She added that this mutual understanding is vital in an area where there is often confusion about and mistrust of the large Muslim population.

AS THEY discussed the role of women in Catholic and Islamic tradition, Adams and Dr. Alvi noted that the spiritual leader of each tradition—Jesus and Mohammed—recognized the inherent dignity and worth of women. Even so, there have been times in history when women have been limited due to a lack of knowledge or misunderstandings, they said.

For example, while Thomas Aquinas was a great theologian, his concept of women as “misbegotten men” was shaped by the science of the day, said Adams, a professor of theology at St. Ambrose University in Davenport.

Very little was known about fetal development at that time, she reminded them.

“HE WAS a great thinker on many, many topics but for lack of biological knowledge, in his worldview all human beings started out to be male and if something went awry you were born a female,” Adams explained.

“It’s difficult to read about and learn,” she acknowledged, “but it shouldn’t surprise us that there was oppression against women that was, in a sense, sanctioned by church and state due to a misunderstanding of the very essence or nature of what women were.”

There have been times when women were considered “susceptible to the works of the devil,” she said, or were considered instruments of temptation for men.

That doesn’t fit in with the message of the Gospel or how Jesus interacted with women, Adams said.

The Genesis account of creation talks God creating men and women to complement one another, she said, adding that there is a wholeness and integrity in this.

“That message is picked up in the Gospels, in Jesus’ dealing with women. He doesn’t buy into the cultural stereotypes. He doesn’t buy into the acts of oppression that were part of his culture,” Adams said.

A PHYSICIAN by training, although she isn’t currently practicing, Dr. Alvi lives in Bettendorf and is a member of the Muslim Community of the Quad Cities. She said that in Islamic tradition, people are not judged as good or evil by their gender but rather by what they do.

“Women have equal status. She is equally responsible for her actions before God,” she told dialogue participants.

The life of all Muslims—men and women—is for worship, Dr. Alvi explained. “There is no ordination as such, so we do whatever we can to serve God.”

Not only is the education of women encouraged, but the prophet Mohammed talked of the obligation of all people to get an education. As a result, Islamic tradition is full of examples of women who have been healers, nurses, scholars, poets, teachers, jurists and even leaders on the field of battle, Dr. Alvi said.

“Only in the last five or six centuries have we seen a narrowing of the role of women,” she said, noting that some leaders have moved away from the teachings of their faith and restricted the rights of women—and men, too.

Dr. Alvi said there has been some movement, however, and things seem to be coming full circle.

“Hopefully, soon, we will come back to what Islam planned for us,” she said.

WHEN IT comes to women and family life, Christian women have traditionally lived somewhere between two extremes, Adams said. One is the Blessed Mother, who is often portrayed as being passive, and the other is Mary Magdalene, who has been portrayed as a woman of fallen virtue, although historians are now recognizing that this person is probably an amalgamation of three different women of that time.

A proper understanding of both figures is important in providing an accurate role model for women today, Adams said.

She noted that the Blessed Mother is a model of preaching as the one who first announced the good news of Jesus to her cousin Elizabeth. In addition, she clearly illustrates God’s concern for the poor and oppressed, Adams explained.

Mary Magdalene was the first to witness the resurrection of Jesus. Considered a courageous woman, she acted as an apostle to the Apostles, Adams said.

MOHAMMED taught that “paradise lies at the feet of your mother,” Dr. Alvi said, explaining that women have the primary role in raising Muslim children.

Because they are shaping the psyche and persona of the next generation, women are asked to raise their children well, she added.

Women are free to do this because they bear no financial responsibility for maintaining the family. Dr. Alvi said that is the husband’s role and he has a certain amount of authority in the family to go along with that responsibility.

In terms of the marriage, however, husbands and wives have much more equality, according to Dr. Alvi.

“Their relationship is as partners,” she said. “They contribute as a unit to society.”

TALKING about peacemaking the previous week were Sister Joan McCorkell, OCD, a member of the Carmel of the Queen of Heaven Discalced Carmelites in Eldridge, Iowa, and Dr. Lisa Zaynab Killinger, a member of the Muslim Community of the Quad Cities.

“We both did war and peace in our respective traditions,” Sister Joan told The Catholic Post.

“What lingers for me is that in both of our traditions there is a desire for peace,” she said. “There is a sense that we’re really not so different.”