Beyond Belief
A Force for Refugees
It was during daily walks from her lecture hall to hospital rotations that Sophia Khan first experienced poverty. Born to a wealthy family in Karachi, Pakistan, Khan was a second-year medical student in her homeland when she discovered that the unsheltered groups waiting outside the hospital were poor people wanting to be near their loved…
Picnic for Area Refugees Helps Newcomers Assimilate
When Ahmad al-Abboud brought his wife and five children to the United States from war-torn Syria, he carried with him a vision of this country — of scantily clad people kissing in the streets — he feared would clash with his conservative Muslim culture. But what he found upon settling in Kansas City in April…
My, How the Garden Grows
Located among strip malls, office buildings and rows of uniform houses, The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah in Overland Park is in the heart of suburbia. But park your car behind the temple, which sits on Nall Avenue a little south of 119th Street, wander up a winding dirt path, and you will find that you’ve…
Commentary |Faith in KC’s Southeast High School
The last time I had seen Ke’Montay Smith was last spring at the final graduation of the soon-to-be-closed Southwest High, where she was a student. She was wearing her snappy ROTC uniform and was part of the color guard. But now here she was at Southeast High School’s orientation night in August. This lively, bright…
Sept. 11 Marked Turning Point For Muslims In Increasingly Diverse America
Muslim Americans are more engaged in public life, and interfaith outreach efforts expanded notably after Sept. 11. But terrorism concerns continue to drive anti-Islam and anti-foreigner sentiment.
Commentary | Finding Teachable Moments in Unexpected Places
The night before Jacob P. Goldman, a 2016 graduate of Blue Valley North High School, headed off to a college career at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, he attended the 20th annual Crescent Peace Society dinner in Overland Park in mid-August. Jake was there to get one of two Syed Farrukh Shabbir Memorial Scholarships….
Church Without the Dogma
Fewer people believe in God these days, and now there is a local church for it. Just don’t call it church. Members of Kansas City Oasis, which serves atheists, agnostics, and “everything in betweens,” gather every Sunday at the Tony Aguirre Community Center on Kansas City’s West Side. The group has about 200 participants, and…
Beyond Belief Web Extra | Kansas City Residents Talk Religion
Kansas City is home to a myriad of people, cultures and beliefs. Beyond Belief, KCPT’s exploration of faith and religion in the metro, has been asking residents about their personal stories and deeply held beliefs for the past eight months. Four community producers working on the project — Ayah Abdul-Rauf, Josh Atkinson, Hope Austin and Cleveland Neal — took…
Jehovah’s Witness Gatherings Highlight Faith’s Beliefs
Antonio Rosas is nearly blind from glaucoma, and his daughter, Gina, uses a wheelchair due to a rare neuroimmune disorder. So it’s hard for them to get out and worship with their fellow Jehovah’s Witnesses in their hometown of Wichita, Kansas. Yet their deep faith is pulling them through a weekslong summer trek to regional…
Commentary |Creating A Hub For Religious Fluency
Imagine a day when: Any Christian fifth-grader in Kansas City who meets a Muslim fifth-grader immediately says to the Islamic child, “salaam alaikum,” the traditional Muslim greeting that means “peace to you.” Any Buddhist adult here who encounters a Jew after sundown on Friday routinely greets the Jew with these words, “Shabbat Shalom,” meaning a…