Letters July 30, 2001 Issue

YOUR LETTERS

with contributions from G. L. Shoup, Dorothy D. Maurane, Henry Holt

I just read "Beyond face, race, nationality—God" by Suzanne Becker [May 14]. There is an error on page 8, where it states that "our research group visited a newly constructed Jain temple north of Detroit. Young men came to give prayers and prostrate themselves in reverence to Allah."

In visiting many holy places in India—and talking in some depth with members of various religious communities there (and among Indian friends back here in the States)— I never heard of a connection between Jains and Allah. I just checked with one of the active members of the large Jain community in Southern California, and he said he knew of no Jain community that would worship Allah. He pointed out that Allah is usually associated (perhaps exclusively) with the Muslim communities around the world. He said that the object of Jain reverence would probably be called Mahavir.

Because "cultural bridges" are best built upon accurate information about the other communities, I thought you might wish to correct this.

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