The annual Interfaith Discussion is scheduled to be held in the Student Commons on Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 3:30 p.m.

Every year, the Quran Study club holds an Interfaith Discussion in order to have a Q & A session with educated speakers that represent different religions, such as Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, and more. This year’s discussion is dedicated to English teacher Mr. Paul Wack who recently passed away.

“It’s an event where different religions gather to share stories with each other. The idea is to have a dialogue. We treat certain things like we can’t talk about it, but I think it’s healthy to talk about it and find similarities between religions,” says Quran Study sponsor and math teacher Tayyaba Ahmad.

The idea behind this year’s theme, “2 Sides of a Story,” is to break stereotypes and to question why these stereotypes exist and how to face them.

“To me, Interfaith is an opportunity for people to be able to learn about other beliefs, but more importantly express their own beliefs. I believe that we are so fortunate to have something like this because not everyone in the world has the opportunity to express what they believe in,” says senior and  h2O leader Kevin Shin.

The discussions helps inform students and adults about the various religions.

“Even though there are differing viewpoints on who God is and what plans/purposes He has for our life, it is a great experience where students and adults gain knowledge about the various faiths/religions in our diverse community at Niles West,” says H2O Club sponsor and math teacher Ryan Geu.

In the past, the discussion has been a healthy and eye-opening experience.

“Students who have come in the past have come up with excellent questions and are very engaged. The interactions [between students] always put a smile on my face. In the past, we’ve always had a good turn-out because the kids are so respectful,” Ahmad said.