Recently the wife of a dear friend died unexpectedly. She was a Baptist, and the church she attended was too small to accommodate the expected large funeral. The family elected to have it in the much bigger Presbyterian church.

Before her Baptist minister conducted the service, the pastor of the host church, noting the many faces from different faiths and denominations in the crowd, greeted all of us thus, "This is a House of God! It is open to and welcomes all of God's children!" And after a short ecumenical prayer, he handed over the service to the Baptist minister.

Those with even the most superficial knowledge of Christianity are aware of the vast theological gulf separating the Baptists from the Presbyterians. This was no ordinary occasion.

As a Muslim I was deeply moved by the welcoming remarks. I felt the same serenity and piety as if I were in my own mosque. Indeed the pastor's phrase reminded me of similar words my Imam had used in opening our new mosque a few years earlier.

Like the Baptists, the Muslim community in my area is very small. Unlike the Baptists however, our congregation is extremely diverse. We have members from literally all corners of the globe. This diversity is not limited only to culture and ethnicity rather to the very manner we practice our faith.

While we all subscribe to the basic tenets of Islam, we differ in how we conduct our communal prayers and other major rituals.

Nowhere are these differences more dramatically demonstrated than in the recent confusion on when to celebrate the end of Ramadhan.

And when we built the mosque, disagreements immediately arose as to the direction Muslims should face when praying (kiblat). Kiblat is of course towards Mecca, but even the most geographically-challenged is aware that as the world is a globe, at a certain longitude kiblat could be in opposite directions.

A mosque in the Midwest built in the days before Global Positioning System is today embroiled in a major controversy over this very issue. It turned out that in one half of the mosque Mecca is geographically to the northeast and the other half, the northwest!

Consumed with inanities

This similar controversy reached high into heavenly space during the time when an Arab cosmonaut was orbiting in an American spaceship. Muslims worldwide were consumed in the puerile debate of where he should face when praying! It was a good thing too that his mission was not during Ramadan as that would have undoubtedly precipitated another round of non-productive theological discourses on when he should break his fast. Literally, it would be every few minutes!

Occasionally our mosque gets self-righteous visitors who insist that the rest of us are doomed to eternal damnation because we are praying in the wrong direction! We politely inform them that our community has indeed studied the issue and came to the present decision and that they are welcome to join in the prayers, or they could wait to pray on their own in whatever direction they so choose. We cannot have half the congregation facing one way, the other half in the opposite.

A tradition has it that prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was on his way to perform his Taraweekh prayers (a particularly pious ritual during Ramadan) when he encountered some Muslims quarrelling outside the mosque. He inquired why, and they replied that it was on the correct manner of performing Taraweekh. Whereupon the prophet responded that if they were so consumed with such inanities, they might as well not attend mosque!

The Muslim ummah, like the American community, is incredibly diverse. While Americans have learned to tolerate nay, celebrate diversity, Muslims have yet to appreciate this simple wisdom.

The differences between Sunni and Shiite Muslims originated more with personnel than principles. Yet that does not stop them from proclaiming that their version of the faith is the only true one.

In Malaysia those preaching a version of the faith not officially sanctioned are destined for damnation, not just in the hereafter but also right here on earth. Increasingly the Internal Security Act has been used to incarcerate "deviationists" preachers.

And Malays are consumed every so often in trifling kafir-mengafir debates, labeling those who disagree with them in the interpretation the faith as infidels.

Since the 9-11 terrorist attacks, communities all over America are genuinely making efforts to bridge the gaps in understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims. At one community meeting, a minister graciously asked a Muslim attendee to open the gathering with a prayer.

The Muslim generously replied by asking the minister to kindly lead with the Lord's Prayer. After enthusiastic echoes of "Amen!" from all, the Muslim leader then added that this too was the prayer of Muslims!

Easy to destroy

The media are also doing their part by highlighting such gatherings as well as in disseminating information on Islam. The public broadcasting system PBS recently ran a series on Islam, including a highly acclaimed two-hour programme on the prophet, produced by Michael Wolfe, an American Muslim.

To me, Wolfe's personal jihad to advance the cause of Islam has more lasting and positive impact than those dramatic activities of the bearded, radicalised, and Kalashnikov-armed followers of our faith that are now capturing global headlines.

It is easy to destroy, more difficult to build or create. An idiot with a match could burn down a city; the genius is to build one. Sadly this elementary insight escapes the millions of misguided Muslims worldwide who hero-worship the likes of Osama bin Laden.

I happen to work in a Catholic hospital. The day opens with a prayer over the public address system, and I try to pay reverence to such moments. Our meetings too begin with a prayer. Once at a meeting I was chairing, a nun inquired whether I was uncomfortable with such Christian prayers.

I replied not at all, on the contrary I share the sentiments expressed by those eloquent prayers. I added that if references to the divinity of Jesus were removed, many Christian prayers could easily have been recited in a mosque.

A hadith of the prophet has it that the whole universe is a masjid, a house of Allah. This vast and wonderful house is open to and welcomes all the children of Adam.