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Judaism & Islam
Jewish-Muslim relations and dialogue. Comparative studies of the Jewish and Islamic faiths.
Changing the present and dreaming the future
 Tariq Ramadan, professor of Islamic Studies and senior research fellow of St Antony's College at Oxford University, asks readers to consider transforming the present to bring about a future of constructive interfaith relations and a more secure world. Admitting that peace, and indeed conversation, can be very difficult and even frightening, he challenges each individual to consider the difference between emotion, which "put us in a position where we perceive "Ëœus' versus "Ëœthem' and where we have to defend our identity", and spirituality, which is about effort, in our attempts to make "peace" and "mutual trust" more than just words. |
Interfaith Vigil to End Occupation Calls on U.S. to Impose Cease-Fire
 By Pat and Samir Twair
On July 16th, five days into Israel's blitz on Lebanon, the Interfaith Community United for Justice and Peace convened a meeting of Jews, Christians and Muslims in the Islamic Center of Southern California. Speakers were Rev. Dr. George Regas, Rabbi Leonard Beerman and Dr. Maher Hathout. "We must speak out against violence," Rev. Regas, retired rector of All Saints Episcopal Church of Pasadena, told the audience of 250 concerned citizens. While denouncing the capture of Israeli soldiers by Hamas and Hezbollah, the cleric called on Israel to cease its greatly overproportional actions in Lebanon and Gaza. |
Chief rabbi writes to Sunni cleric about pope's remarks
 by Yair Ettinger
Tel Aviv - Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar wrote to a leading Sunni cleric in Qatar to express his sadness over the comments made by Pope Benedict XVI last week that sparked a wave of fury among Muslims worldwide. In a letter in Arabic to Yusuf Kardawi, Amar wrote that "we must respect all faiths and the ways of all peoples and nations, as the Prophet [Mohammed] said: 'That each nation will go as instructed by their God. Even when there is a struggle between nations this must not be turned in a struggle of faiths.'" Kardawi, who is based in Qatar, is considered a leading figure in Sunni jurisprudence, and the message was sent to him through Sheikh Abdullah Nimer Darwish, the founder of the Islamic Movement in Israel. |
A Look at History Encourages Growing Efforts Toward Muslim-Jewish Understanding
Throughout the U.S., dialogue between American Jews and Muslims is increasing. According to The Jerusalem Report, "Both 9/11 and four years of intifada chilled relations between American Jews and Muslims, which had warmed notably during the Oslo period. Now dialogue is showing new signs of life. 'And as the situation in the Middle East improves-which I think it will do now, please God,' says Rabbi David Rosen, director of Interreligious Affairs for the American Jewish Committee, 'there will be greater willingness on the part of the Jewish community to take more risks.'"
By Allan C. Brownfeld
