A new page was written in the history of dialogue and collaboration between Christians and Muslims when Imam W. D. Mohammed, leader of the "American Mlim Mission", invited Chiara Lubich to speak in the Malcolm Shabazz Mosque in Harlem.

   New York, 18 May 1997. More than 3000 people packed the seven halls of the mosque, linked via closed-circuit TV. The crowds overflowed into the area surrounding the building, named after Malcolm X who in the 1960’s inspired great hope in the Black Muslims of North America. Loudspeakers set up on the rooftops allowed those outside to follow the meeting.

   The audience was attentive and enthusiastic at the prospect of hearing an authentic message. Thirty Imams were present from all over the United States. As soon as Chiara Lubich arrived at the mosque, she had a brief meeting with Imam W.D. Mohammed, leader of more than two million Black Muslims, who follow him because he has the courage to work for peace in the face of a culture of racial hatred. There was an air of expectancy. Posters around Harlem had been publicising this event for many days.

   The moment Chiara began to speak, all eyes were fixed on her. In her talk she stressed the fact that the sign of our times is unity, even though conflicts and wars still persist. She recounted significant moments in the history of the Focolare Movement when God’s intervention in various circumstances highlighted the universal vocation of the Movement to unity.
   The audience interacted warmly with Chiara as she recounted some experiences of living the words of the Gospel "Give and you will receive", and when she spoke of the "art of loving everyone without racial or religious discrimination" and of "taking the initiative in loving". Then Chiara briefly reviewed the history of our interreligious dialogue and traced out the future direction of dialogue between our Movement and Islam.
   The audience applauded enthusiastically when she cited the Koran and Islamic tradition which defines a person as religious "only when they are capable of desiring for others what they desire for themselves" and "the Golden Rule" which is common to many religious.
   She concluded by giving a warm "embrace" to all those present, quoting St John of the Cross: "The world belongs to those who love and give the greatest proof of their love". Her invitation to live mutual love, repeated several times, received a wholehearted assent.

   In an age in which Islam is often associated with violent fundamentalism, Imam Mohammed recalled that "Abraham is the common model for Christians, Jews and Muslims". He added that God asks us to recognise and sustain all that is good even when initiated by people of other races and religions, since we are all united in the one Creator.
   With his simplicity, sincerity and forthrightness, the Imam declared that he was not at all surprised when Chiara said that some Muslims, on coming in contact with the Focolare Movement, had rediscovered the precepts of their faith and had returned to the practice of the "five pillars of Islam". After recalling some of the steps his organisation followed in order to return to the authentic Koran, he added, "I admire and believe in what you believe. I am open to your message of love and of peace". And he concluded, "Today is a great day for us – a new page of history has been written in Harlem, right here in the Malcolm Shabazz Mosque. Diversity exists in order to give legs, wheels, motion to unity."

   Before leaving, Chiara and the Imam made a promise to one another to work unceasingly for peace and unity in the name of the One God.

   Every face, even the faces of those who had been following the event outside in the streets, expressed the joy of having lived a historic moment of mutual embrace between Christians and Muslims, between blacks and whites.