Muslim speaker scheduled

    HOULTON — Dr. Mohammad Tabbah of Bangor, will be the speaker at the second Symposium on Peace being hosted by Monument Lodge of Masons on Tuesday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m. Dr. Tabbah is chairman of the Orono Islamic Center located in Orono.  He is also a doctor at the Eastern Maine Medical Center specializing in pediatric gastroenterology.
    Men and women of the Southern Aroostook area are invited to attend and share in light refreshments following the presentation.  There is no charge.  
    Dr. Tabbah will speak about Islam and the concept of peace as referenced in the Quran.  
    The first symposium featured Rev. Father Clement Thibodeau of Caribou who appeared on behalf of Bishop Richard Malone of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Maine.  He spoke on behalf of Christianity to an audience of about fifty people.
    The third symposium will feature Rabbi Darah Lerner of Congregation Beth El in Bangor who will speak on behalf of Judaism in late November.
    Dr. Tabbah was born in Aleppo, Syria. He graduated from the Aleppo University Medical School in 1990.  He did his residency in pediatrics at the Harley Medical Center at Michigan State University. He also did a fellowship at Emery University.
    Dr. Tabbah is married and has four children. The family has lived in Bangor since May when they moved from Rujadh, Saudi Arabia where they had lived for seven years.
    These Symposiums on Peace are being presented by Monument Lodge of Masons as part of its continuing Community Betterment Program. While Freemasonry is not a religion, it seeks to bring men of all monotheistic faiths together in peace. As the world grows smaller and provincial walls crumble away, men need to learn and understand the faiths of others and be able to live peaceably with one another.
    Freemasonry holds freedom of religion to be an inalienable human right and tolerance an indispensable trait of the human character.
    Believing that education and the rational use of the mind are keys to facing the problems of humanity, the Masons seek to dialogue on these issues with the goal of making good men better and promoting understanding and peace.