According to Pew Research, Baptists make up 31 percent of adults in Alabama as a whole, while Muslims make up less than 1 percent. But that less than 1 percent is concentrated and growing. In fact, The Association of Religion Data Archives did not even list Islam as existent in Jefferson County in 1980 or 1990. Between 2000 and 2010, there was an 83.3 percent jump in growth, the largest one second only to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Meanwhile, there was a 5.6 percent drop in the Southern Baptist community in Jefferson County.
Four years ago, Rob Bensinger, a Southern Baptist, came to the realization that he did not know any Muslims, and the idea for 5:9 Ministries was born. The numbers are a reference to the verse in the Gospel of Matthew, which reads, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” Alongside his wife, Ginny, and Jase and Elizabeth Vann, Bensinger aims to rebuild bridges between the Christian and Muslim communities in Birmingham.
The mission statement of the organization is “to promote peace and build bridges between the Muslim and Christian communities through interfaith dialogue and interaction, for the overall good of our culture, and also to teach Christians how to engage in interfaith dialogue.”
This statement is proved true through many events throughout the year, from breaking Ramadan to basketball games to live nativity visits, and every quarter there is a Lunch and Learn event, where people of both faiths can discuss common themes in their respective scriptures, such as justice, law and sacrifice.
Attendance to these events gained more traction when Vann and Bensinger were interviewed as part of a sermon at Shades Mountain Baptist Church in the fall of 2018. John Keyton was at this sermon and is now a regular supporter of 5:9 Ministries.
“I heard Jase and Rob speak at Live Sent Sunday, and I knew them from men’s ministry events, and after that service, I said ‘Sign me up, when’s your next Lunch and Learn?’” said Keyton.
At these quarterly events, Southern Baptists and Muslims mix freely, talking about everything from sports to work to the perks of staying home for college. Shades Mountain Baptist Church and the Hoover Crescent Islamic Center alternate in hosting the events. Each group gets 20 minutes to talk about the topic in their respective scriptures. Who gets to present first?
“Home team bats first,” announced Bensinger.
Bensinger and Vann present a slideshow on the topic from a Baptist perspective, while Sameh Asal, imam from the Hoover Crescent Islamic Center, presents a similar presentation from the Islamic perspective. Afterward, people can text in questions anonymously for a Q&A session for clarification from Bensinger, Vann and Asal.
Some of the best conversations about faith, however, are not happening during the presentations or Q&A, but in between sessions or at the lunch afterward.
“People sometimes ask me what I think about ISIS, and it’s a striking question, it’s like asking a Christian what they think of the KKK,” said Ream Shoreibah, a marketing professor at Birmingham Southern College. “But I’d rather have them ask those questions to my face than behind my back. I want to be part of the conversation.”
And that is exactly what takes place at events with 5:9 Ministries- people become a part of each other’s conversations. Stereotypes are called out and narratives are exposed.
Her husband, Dr. Mohamed Shoreibah, agreed.
“When people think about Islam, they think dictatorships and other countries that claim to be ruled by Islamic Law, which are actually quite corrupt and a big part of the problem, ” he said. “But we’re in more places.” Dr. Shoreibah was born in Egypt, having moved to the United States in 1997.
Why did he fall in love with the States?
“One of the reasons I fell in love with the States was democracy and freedom. The pillars of that are freedom of the press and the rule of law. Those are missing in many countries of the world.
And I’m so proud my daughter can be a part of that here.” He beamed with pride at his daughter Nada, a senior in high school and aspiring journalist.
Despite the near hour of teaching from the Bible and the Quran, what people take away from the events are these conversations in between, the sharing of human experiences common to people of any and all religion: sickness and health, achievements and discouragements. Respectful discourse is shared, discussion on how to improve the community and how to best help those in need.
The importance of food, the substance that is essential to life, is undeniable in many different faiths, but especially to Christianity and Islam. So the sharing of a meal between different communities, two have been considered contentious in the greater narrative of history, is a beautiful image of the exchange Vann and Bensinger promote through the ministry.
In a place as diverse as Birmingham, complete unity is not feasible. But, as Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar once said, “Even if a unity of faith is not possible, a unity of love is.” That unity of love is what Vann and Bensinger hope to achieve with 5:9 Ministries. But first, there is lunch.
Kathryn Jordan is a native of Roswell, Georgia. She is currently majoring in Journalism and Mass Communication and minoring in Spanish and Latin American Studies at Samford University, where she will graduate in December of 2019.
