# Interfaith Movement Gains New Strength April 05, 2010 Author: Julia Duin Source: The Washington Times When FaithHouse Manhattan has its twice-monthly interfaith gatherings, the guest list is a carnival of religious belief and creed. An Islamic Sufi dervish greets you at the door, but the program director, an Episcopalian, makes the announcements. A rabbi, a female Muslim and a Seventh-day Adventist share leadership of the meeting. The night's program at FaithHouse, in a posh office just off Fifth Avenue, was the Jewish holiday of Purim. Oranges, nuts, apricots and hamentaschen, a Jewish holiday pastry, were offered as snacks. Participants put on costumes to act out the biblical story of Esther. "People who have a hunger for religious experience can have a taste of it here," said Samir Selmanovic, the Adventist co-leader. Born in Croatia to a Muslim father and a Catholic mother, he helped found FaithHouse 18 months ago. Then he wrote a book, "It's All About God: Reflections of a Muslim Atheist Jewish Christian," on the plethora of religions that Americans are increasingly sampling. See also:- [ Advocacy/Government ](/news-stories/advocacygovernment) - [ Natural Disasters ](/news-stories/natural-disasters) - [ September 11 ](/news-stories/september-11) - [ Statistics ](/news-stories/statistics) - [ White House Faith Based Advisory Council ](/news-stories/white-house-faith-based-advisory-council) - [ Experience/Lifecycle Events/Expressions ](/news-stories/experiencelifecycle-eventsexpressions) - [ Campus ](/news-stories/campus) - [ Interfaith ](/religions/interfaith) - [ Civic ](/tags/civic) - [ International ](/tags/international) Share on:- [ Facebook ](#) - [ Twitter ](#) - [ Linkedin ](#)