No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.

- Genesis 17:5.

Among the "nations" that call Abraham their spiritual father are three of the world's great religions: Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

Through the ages since, this "father's" children have often had a rocky relationship with one another - from simple misconceptions to outright warfare.

With all the conflict on a worldwide level, the place where people can start building peace is in the local community, said Marion Muthiah of Mandan.

"Shalom, Salaam, Peace: Perspectives of Abrahamic Religions" is a daylong event Feb. 17 sponsored by the McCabe United Methodist Women of Bismarck and the North Dakota Peace Coalition, featuring keynote speaker the Rev. Allison Stokes, author of the book "Shalom, Salaam, Peace," and founding director of the Women's Interfaith Institute in Seneca Falls, N.Y.

Stokes' presentation will draw on her book, which was commissioned by the United Methodist Church, a work that took her two years, building on 25 years of ministry experience, to write, she said.

Participating in a response panel to the presentation will be Joy Wezelman of the Bismarck Hebrew Congregation, Dr. Nadim Koleilat of Bismarck, speaking from the Muslim perspective, and Colleen McKirdy of Dickinson.

Muthiah was president of the McCabe women's group when the idea for the event was initiated. Her husband, the Rev. Lionel Muthiah, a retired United Methodist pastor, attended a presentation by Stokes on this topic this past summer at the Schools of Christian Mission of the national United Methodist Church.

"It seems that we're having more and more people of various faiths and nationalities coming to our area," Marion Muthiah said. "This seemed like a good way to have people meet each other and talk together, to dispel some myths and misconceptions."

"(The event) is a great opportunity to find the commonalities between the great religions, with emphasis on the Abrahamic faiths," Koleilat said.

Koleilat said that he will emphasize how Islam looks at Abraham and his life, focusing on the the journey of the hajj, "following the footsteps of Abraham and his wife, Hagar," he said.

"Because the most important thing is to open the door of understanding," he said. "To get people to meet and talk, that's how hearts open up."

A portion of Stokes' book looks at obstacles to breaking the cycles of violence - "we have to understand the things that work against peace," she said. Another looks at the keys to achieving a world culture of peace, one of which is embracing diversity, looking at what we have to offer each other, "listing our differences as a gift," she said.

Events like this, stressing the commonalities of faith, are important, said Joy Wezelman. Offering an overview and background of of the Jewish faith, including the role of the Torah, helps make faith less "unknown" to others, she said.

"The role of peace is the underpinning of the Jewish faith," she said.

Though Stokes has presented programs on her book previously, talking to a general audience is a new opportunity, "one I'm very excited about," she said.

"More and more people are making the distinction between being religious and being spiritual," she said. People who make that distinction often reject religion as something that divides people, but still say they pray and believe in God, she said.

The challenge of today's social issues are causing some people of faith, especially of a progressive mindset, to go back and look at the scriptures with critical minds and adjust some of the things they've been taught, Stokes said.

"They raise questions and come to a more sophisticated understanding of their faith," she said. "It's a coming-of-age in many ways (from earlier days) when you didn't question authority."

Though Stokes, from many years of campus ministry, said she finds young people today, in terms of faith, moving in a more conservative direction, it's very hard to generalize.

"After 9/11, young people today have a lot of fears," she said.

She's finding, she said, "It's older people who are the most open to new experiences. Maybe it's wanting to see change in the world."

(Reach Karen Herzog at 250-8267 or karen.herzog@bismarcktribune.com.)