SUNBURY — The daughter of a Catholic mother and Jewish father said that 12 years ago she discovered Islam to be the perfect balance between both religions, and for the past year, she has devoted her time to interfaith activities that aim to bring all Valley religions together on common ground.

While learning to love Jesus in Catholicism, and finding that such a concept was far from accepted by Jews, Safiyyah Jihad Levine, of Sunbury, said she had many unanswered questions until she found Islam, which, she said, "puts both of them together in such a perfect kind of way."

Levine had married a Muslim, read all his books, and a year later, "That's when I decided Islam was for me," she said.

"I didn't convert because of him," she said. "I did it because of me."

Father 'not happy'

But the transition into a new religion was far from easy.

When she converted in 1998, her mother was deceased, but her father, she said, "was not happy."

"It almost really fractured our relationship," Levine said. "He all but disowned me. It was a hard transition in that aspect. But I knew that Islam was for me."

Her father passed away just one month before Sept. 11, 2001, which she is sure would have upset him all the more.

She has been slighted by much of the rest of her family and friends as well.

Has found acceptance

But she is overjoyed to have received a loving acceptance from the Valley's communities.

She wears her hijab, or head covering, everywhere she goes, yet, she said, "I never had any trouble."

"(Others) are not afraid of us," she said of herself and her fellow Muslims in the region.

That, she said, "says a lot about the Christian values around here."

Christianity, after all, she said, teaches to love all.

Previously of Harrisburg, Levine now serves as the Muslim chaplain at the state Correctional Institution at Muncy, and she has been connected with the Sunbury Islamic Center, 63 N. Fourth St., for three years.

Three kinds of people

The president of the center, Sobhi Ammar, of Danville, said there are three kinds of people: those who say everyone is different from them, and they are the only ones who are right; those who believe everyone is the same; and those who are cautious at first, but come to accept a group of people once they really know them.

He has seen all three since he arrived in the Valley in 1989.

After Sept. 11, he said his wife and children experienced some hardships from people reacting to the tragic events, and it's understandable, he said.

"People were frightened," Levine said simply.

That fear continues to this day.

"I don't think it's going to go away," Ammar said.

After all, it is constantly in the media.

Questions welcomed

Levine is happy, however, that people in the community have come to them to ask questions about who they are and what they believe.

"I think it's nice they feel safe enough to ask us," she said.

Ammar came to New York City from the West Bank (occupied Palestine) to earn a degree in chemical engineering, and he arrived in the Valley in 1989 to work as a consultant for a local pharmaceutical company. He was raised as a Muslim, but he was one "just by name," he said.

Until the age of 26, he said, "I don't remember ever praying."

"Once I finished college, I realized my life was empty," he said.

So he began reading scripture and was especially intrigued by the scientific information that is explained in the Quran, the Muslim holy book.

Mosque president

Now a leader in the faith, he serves as president of the Sunbury mosque, which was founded in the late 1980s by four area Muslim doctors.

"They wanted a location to come and pray," Ammar said.

The other nearest mosques are in Williamsport, Wilkes-Barre, Harrisburg and Allentown.

All but one of those doctors have left the area.

A group of staff and residency physicians at Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, also meet in the multifaith chapel for special Friday afternoon services, called "Jumuah" for the Arabic word for Friday, which also means "congregation."

Another service is held at the same time at the Sunbury mosque.

Lesson included

Though Muslims pray five times a day, called the "salah," the Jumuah noontime service is a communal obligation that includes a 15- to 20-minute lesson.

Think of Friday as the Christian's Sunday and the Jew's Saturday, Ammar said.

Approximately 30 to 40 families in the area are connected to the Sunbury mosque, or "masjid."

"But I know the community is probably double the size," Ammar said of Muslims in the area.

There is no membership.

Also, he said, "There's no test to make sure if they're a Muslim or not."

If one says he or she is a Muslim, he or she is openly accepted into the mosque to participate in prayer.

"The community has increased in the last five years," Ammar said.

A monthly family get-together brings in anywhere from 50 to 100 people. About 35 children, ages 6 to 12, participate in Sunday school, or Islamic school, on Sundays.

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