Speaker Youssef Soussi hoped to dispel the “barbaric image of Islam” with his “Common Threads” presentation Monday.

Soussi invited the St. Thomas community to the Owens Science Hall auditorium for a discussion on the intertwining commonalities between Islam, Judaism and Christianity.

“We only have this barbaric image of Islam, and very seldom do we get the true opportunity to see how these people actually live,” Soussi said.

The lecture went in depth to explain the intertwining ideas between the three faiths. As a Muslim, Soussi explained the similarities from an Islamic perspective.

“Islam comes to modify what has come before, not to nullify,” Soussi said.

Topics ranged from monotheism to diets and clothing. Soussi used scripture from the Old Testament, New Testament and the Quran to tie each topic he spoke about together.

Senior Brendon Forrest said the lecture gave him a new perspective on religions.

“I thought it was really eye opening,” Forrest said. “Growing up as a Christian in America, you don’t really know about the Jewish and Islamic faiths. It was really interesting to see how common we all are.”

Soussi pressed to clear up misconceptions about concealing clothing and the treatment of women in the Muslim faith, comparing the modest clothing to Catholic nuns’ habits.

“Muslim women today wear the nice, long dress and hijab,” Soussi said. “It is out of submission to God, not her husband.”

Senior Muhdi Sharif attended the talk, and he said it was informative.

“As a Muslim, I thought the talk was very beneficial, and I learned some things I didn’t know,” Sharif said. “I’m not well-versed on the Bible or the Torah, but after today’s talk, I got exposed to some very important similarities. I can see how close these religions are.”

Soussi ended the lecture by saying, “We’re not here to convince anybody. We’re here to convey the message.”

Sharif said no matter what faith a person follows, everyone has something in common.

“The fact that we are here tonight is just another step of bringing Christianity, Judaism and Islam closer together,” Sharif said. “Because at the end of the day, we’re all Tommies with Tommie pride.”

Alex Goering can be reached at goer8777@stthomas.edu.