An Anglican church in Western Australia has opened its doors to serve as venue for Muslims to pray once a week.
The St. Paul's Anglican Church in Beaconsfield in the port city of Fremantle hosts Muslims for prayers every Friday at its community hall, the Australian television network SBS reported.
The unusual joining of the two religious groups began when Faizel Chothia, a Muslim religious leader or "imam," decided to knock on the door of the church while looking for a place where it will be convenient for Muslim workers in the area to pray.
"I thought to myself that it would be wonderful to pray in this beautiful church," Chothia told SBS. "It certainly has the aura of the sanctity associated with prayer. It certainly is a symbol of the divine and it's the most appropriate place."
The Muslim faith leader said he was not sure how his request would be received and was surprised by the warm welcome given by Rev. Peter Humphris, who heads the St. Paul's Anglican Church.
Humphris shared that he was very eager to welcome more members of the community in the church.
"My sense, and the sense of the parish here, is that we continue to seek both the fullness of humanity and the fullness that's revealed in the divine," Humphris told SBS.
"We haven't got it, we continue to seek it and anyone, and everyone, who wants to join in that search can only help," he added.
The Christian faith leader further expressed hopes that this sharing of a place of worship will lead to a full recognition of diversity of religion.
"The prayer is that we will honour each other and discover that it's in that diversity that we've got life," Humphris said.
Chothia, for his part, said this is an opportunity for both Christians and Muslims to learn more about each other's religion, especially their similarities.
"There's a shared empathy and a common experience," he said. "I think this is where we have the opportunity of benefiting from the wisdom of the other."
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