INDYSTAR

By Robert King
Posted: August 22, 2009

In two years' time, Bilal Eksili has earned a reputation in Indianapolis' interfaith community for his hospitality -- inviting people into his home for meals, buying lunches at a local Turkish restaurant and hosting large groups of Hoosiers on tours of his native Turkey.

But it occurred to some local faith leaders that because of Eksili's penchant for hosting events -- all in the name of helping the Turkish community build friendships and reducing misunderstandings about Muslims -- they never really had a chance to return the kindness.

So when Rabbi Jon Adland and two local ministers approached Eksili with an invitation to let them host a Ramadan feast for him and other local Muslims, they weren't surprised when he hesitated.

"He was so reluctant to say yes," Adland said. "Not because it wasn't the right invitation, but because he has a hard time accepting."

But Eksili did say yes. On Sunday, he and about 60 other Muslims will be the guests at a Ramadan fast-breaking feast at Adland's Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation. It will be co-hosted by St. Luke's United Methodist and Second Presbyterian churches.

Muslims have staged iftars, as the Ramadan feasts are known, in the Statehouse and the governor's residence. And they have welcomed people of other faiths to their events. But this iftar, hosted by non-Muslims and staged in a synagogue, is believed to be a first for Indianapolis.

"Nobody was expecting this," said Eksili, 33, the executive director of the Holy Dove Foundation, a Turkish-American organization that tries to build bridges in the city.
The daylight fasts of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, begin today. And for observant Muslims, they are serious business.

Fasting is expected of all Muslims, with only a few exceptions for children, the sick, the aged and pregnant women. And Muslims are said to reap spiritual blessings when they host others for the nightly meals.

The Ramadan theme of fasting, hunger and food has a special resonance for this event. The three host congregations -- along with members of the Muslim community -- have been involved for the past year in the Interfaith Hunger Initiative, a collaborative aimed at combating hunger in Indianapolis and Kenya. During the iftar, clergy from the different faiths will share their views on fasting.

For Rev. Kent Millard, of St. Luke's United Methodist, the ritual of fasting and concern for the hungry are shared traits.

But the idea that clergy of different faiths could celebrate the holy days of the others was made real to him in Turkey, on one of the Holy Dove Foundation's trips. Travelers pay their own airfare, and the Turkish community covers food, lodging and tours.

While he was there, Millard said, a rabbi mentioned how he went to church at Christmas and the Muslim imams and Catholic priests would come to his synagogue for Rosh Hashanah.

"The rabbi said 'Don't you do that in the states?' " Millard recalled. "And I said, 'No, we don't. Maybe we should.' "

The Rev. Lewis Galloway, of Second Presbyterian, took the trip to Turkey with about 35 members of his congregation, and friendship bloomed with Eksili and other Turkish Muslims.

"It has helped us see that the vast majority of Muslim people are just like us in their love for God, their desire to raise their families and to live a peaceable life and to serve in their community," Galloway said.

Eksili, who holds American-Turkish dual citizenship, is convinced that the friendships forged over trips and shared meals are key to defusing the inevitable clash of civilizations that scholars and pundits predict between Muslims and the rest of the world.