Whitehorse United Church minister Keltie van Binsbergen didn't know Khalid Malik very well.

His death in last Monday's Dempster Highway traffic accident, however, has left her and the other staff members at the church recalling the discussions they had with him and other members of his prayer group on Friday afternoons at the church.

'It's been hard. Neither of us knew him well, but we really enjoyed the interaction,' she said in an interview Thursday.

Van Binsbergen first encountered Malik when he called the church about finding a permanent home for the Friday afternoon Muslim prayer group he was part of.

Malik had been instrumental in bringing the group of about a half-dozen together. He wanted to find a more permanent location than the boardrooms they had been gathering in for weekly prayer sessions.

The group ended up meeting in the church's upper room every Friday.

'They were such a faithful group,' van Binsbergen said, recalling Malik's willingness to share his faith with others.

It was just after the Islamic celebration of Ramadan last year, when Muslims feast after a time of fasting during daylight hours, that the prayer group shared some of their 'feast' with church members.

'They brought us some Timbits,' said van Binsbergen.

She took the snacks to a retreat and shared them with members of her church.

Though it never happened, van Binsbergen and Malik had discussed having him speak to her congregation about his faith, something he was very open to doing, she said.

Malik and the others in the group seemed to seek an understanding of other faiths as well, van Binsbergen recalled.

In December last year, as they were leaving the church after prayers, the group asked van Binsbergen about Christmas. They noted that while the holiday is supposed to be about the birth of Christ, there never seems to be anything said about it.

Ramadan, meanwhile, is more focused on the Islamic faith while Christmas has become very secular.

'It was interesting to hear from another religion's point of view,' said van Binsbergen, adding there was no way to really respond to their observations of the Christmas season except to say that they were right.

Last year, editorial cartoons appearing in a Danish newspaper sparked controversy and riots in the Muslim community.

It was during a discussion about that when Malik told van Binsbergen the controversy was upsetting for him because everyone worships the same God.