Father Nabil Haddad lives his life as a missionary of more than the Catholic church, identifying himself a missionary of peace.

Haddad, a Melkite Catholic priest and member of the Jordanian Royal Commission for Human Rights, spoke to a crowd of more than 80 people at Thursday night’s lecture “Catholic-Muslim Relations; A View from Jordan” in the Gallery of the Memorial Union.

“There’s no way you can love your neighbor unless you understand them,” Haddad said.

Haddad works as executive director of the Jordanian Interfaith Coexistence Research Center (JICRC), a nongovernmental establishment of intercultural understanding.

“In order for all of us to co-exist, the Muslim has to be a good Muslim, the Jew has to be a good Jew, the Christian has to be a good Christian,” Haddad said.

Haddad discussed his identity as one of 15 million Arab Christians in Jordan, 7 percent of the nation’s population.

“Can we build peace?” Haddad said. “Yes we can; we can do it when we talk to our Jewish brothers and sisters, our Muslim brothers and sisters, when we come together.”

Haddad is a strong supporter of the unique role Arab Christians play as a bridge between Western culture and the world of Islam. He advocates moderate religion as the key to peace.

“I think what we need is the wisdom of building an alliance of the moderates,” Haddad said.

Lecture attendees were encouraged to read through a pamphlet titled “Coexistence; Amman Message In Action,” which detailed moderate Islamic beliefs. The pamphlet is created and distributed by JICRC.

“It’s our destiny to live together – Americans and Muslims, Christians and Jews,” Haddad said.

Haddad also addressed Sept. 11 as a not only a terrorist attack on America, but as a hijacking of Islam; a deliberate and diabolical warping of religion.

By promoting moderate Islam, Haddad suggests violent extremists will be out of place.

Students attending the lecture discussed the possibility of peace in the Middle East.

“[Peace between Muslims and Christians] is possible, but there is no simple solution,” said Joseph Hobbins, junior in pre-advertising.

Hobbins attends St. Thomas Aquinas Church, which co-sponsored the event, but heard of the lecture through ISU Lectures.

“There’s been tension lately between Christians and Muslims and it is interesting to hear another perspective on the issue,” said Becky Royce, junior in health and human performance.

Haddad closed with a call for peace in the Middle East.

“[The movement toward peace is] a call which is Christian, a call which is Jewish, a call which is Muslim and above all, a call which is very human,” Haddad said.