FORT WORTH: Members of Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths gathered Sunday afternoon to urge fellow believers to reach across races, religions and lifestyles to develop an understanding of one another.

Called the Women In Faith Symposium, the event at Beth-El Congregation aimed to bring together diverse voices to engage in a constructive dialogue.

Saliha Malik, president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Women’s Association, told attendees the Quran dictates equal rights for men and women. The association is part of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, a sect of Islam.

“There is no denying that there are Muslim men who mistreat, oppress and abuse women,” Malik said. “But such mistreatments are a gross violation of Islamic teachings.”

In the United States, she said, a woman is sexually assaulted every 98 seconds.

“No reasonable person would blame Christianity for that,” she said.

Upon converting to Islam, Malik recalled an acquaintance who asked, “Why is an emancipated woman like you joining Islam?”

Malik replied, “I feel I have become emancipated through Islam. I was freed from society’s standards.”

Representing the Jewish faith, Cantor Sheri Allen said