[IslamCity] Re: Can bridges be built between Jews and Muslims?

Sat, 23 Apr 2005 17:56:40 -0700

shame on u Mr.Karim A G  for forwarding such articles have u forget the massacring of our brother and sisters in palestine, have u forget that the person who broke muslims in firqa's was a jew(a newly converted so called muslim) after Hazrat Usman, have u forget kamal atta turq of turkey was also a jew(a newly converted so called muslim) who have converted a muslim empire to a secular state, have u forget that israel is helping anti muslim states to strenghthen there military power to use against there neighboring countries, have u forget that dajal will come from jews, have u forget that jews plan 9/11 then present muslims as terrorist, have u forget that Allah has told us that non muslims cannot be ur friends anyway history have proved that. jews are worse nation of world.
      
 


Karim A G <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

 

 http://www.ny002.urj.net/clergy/rabnathan.htm

 

 Rabbi's column

Can bridges be built between Jews and Muslims?

As Jews, there are many times when we find ourselves out of our comfort zone. And though for most of us, living here in New York, our daily lives are not predicated on this fact, most of us could share at least one incident, if not hundreds, when being Jewish made us feel different, uncomfortable, maybe unsafe…. certainly “other.”…. Yet the one place you'd assume to feel the most safe and at home, Jewishly speaking, is here in our own synagogue, our spiritual safe house, where we call the shots. Yet a few weeks ago, sitting in the Grant Conference Center, for our sixth Bridges Session, the zone was altered…and even though I was sitting at my own table, I didn't feel quite at home…

What is Bridges? It's this year's monthly adult education offering, focusing on “building bridges between our faith and others.”… Each month, we have had a different presenter, mostly clergy from our local community…. Our conversations have been enlightening, respectful, and also quite comfortable.

But sitting at the table that night, I had the opportunity to feel not quite so comfortable, and I don't think that this is such a bad thing. For when Imam Hassanain Rajabali, from the Tawheed Institute in White Plains sat down next to me and began his talk on what Islam and Judaism have in common, I found myself listening extra closely. How would this Imam, create a bridge between two religions- two cultures that, despite their similar origin, have so much misunderstanding and mistrust between them.

I always find it fascinating to try and view myself from an outsiders' perspective.…I do it here in our synagogue, when I know that non-Jews are sitting among us. Suddenly I consider melodies, language, and ritual that I take for granted and wonder how it feels to be sitting here among us? What does it sound like? Are our visitors confused or intrigued? Do they feel alienated and shut out, or welcomed and invited in? And I did it last night sitting at the table next to Mr. Rajabali because while sitting at the table were familiar white Jewish faces, sitting around us, making up an outer circle were very unfamiliar faces, dark, North African faces, young and old…children, teenagers and adults. The men were in what we'd call “western dress,' But all the women were covered-- wearing black from head to toe. Mr. Rajabali had asked me last week if he could bring some guests with him. “Of course” I said, “any one you would like to bring along is welcome!” I suppose I didn't consider what it would feel like to have 20 or so Muslims creating a circle around us, as we heard their quite articulate teacher share his vision of Islam…. and the possibility of building bridges with Judaism .

“Rabbi Sirkman asked me to speak about the differences in our communities ,” he began, “ but I prefer to talk about the many similarities we share.” And so he did… not only did Imam Rajabali refer to stories in the Koran which are very much our own, mentioning the Islamic prophets: Adam, Noah, Abraham and Joseph and the only slightly variant versions of their lives from what we read in our Torah, but he shared mutual philosophical perspectives on God, pointing to the fact that both Islam and Judaism believe in the purity of one deity as opposed to Christianity, which creates a tri-partite understanding of God's presence- the father, the son, and the holy spirit. He also shared Islamic philosophy of how we, as humans, try to categorize or define God through attributes such as mercy, justice and compassion, but that these explanations are incomplete and only necessary for us as limited human beings- very Maimonidian. But most amazingly, Rajabali spoke about the universal need for human beings to always respect the other. That most people desire happiness as well as peace and tranquility. And that dialogue is possible as long we “agree to disagree agreeably”. It was surreal, to be sitting next to an Imam (which I admit I have never done before). A clean cut, handsome man, probably in his mid 40s, sharing perspectives on Islam that sounded so very familiar and similar to our own perspectives on Judaism.

Amazing, right?….So what was missing? There was no real dialogue. Yes, some challenging questions were asked from those sitting around the table. And they were all respectfully, if not always satisfactorily, answered. But all the answers, all the insights, all the perspectives were shared by Rajabali not by the parallel would-be bridge builders sitting around us. They, our visitors, were silent, allowing their leader and teacher to speak for them. Did they agree with him? Or was he sharing the public party line? Did they look at us and think “we all come from our father the prophet Abraham? These are our brothers and sisters. We should find a way to create connections.” Or did they feel alienated and sit in judgment of our western liberal ways? Did they come so that their teacher would not be alone, a show of solidarity? Or did they join him so that they could hear the Jewish perspective and try to understand how Jewish eyes see the Muslim world.

I'm not sure. But this I do know. Two dozen observant Muslims were welcomed into our Synagogue last night. They sat with us, listened to their teacher, heard our questions and stayed after the program, to chat with our members and have some food…at our table. Before we parted, I said to the Imam, “next time we'll come to you.” He seemed open, even enthusiastic about the prospect. The thought of an ongoing interfaith dialogue with the Muslim community of White Plains feels exciting, somewhat radical, and full of possibility. Rajabali is a moderate, Shiite, Muslim of Tanzanian origin. He is not a Sunni Arab from Iraq. He is not a Palestinian. But so what? Dialogue is dialogue…and bridges…no matter how small….still open pathways to greater communication and understanding. Rajabali quoted a Islamic saying: “ To save one life…is as if to save an entire nation .” Our Talmud teaches: “ To save one soul is to save the world entire. ” If we don't start small, we don't start at all; these parallel teachings seem to be saying. One conversation can hopefully lead to another, and another, and another.

In the forward to the book: How to be a Perfect Stranger: A Guide to Etiquette in Other Peoples' Religious Ceremonies Sanford Cloud, Jr. the President and CEO of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, parallels Imam Rajabali's shared perspective…and calls us into dialogue:

For understanding to increase, our differences need not disappear. But they must be understood before we come to know that the values we share are far greater in number and importance than any real or perceived differences. Without that understanding, perception threatens to become reality. Unless we find new ways to talk to each other, we'll be left talking about each other. And we know where that can lead us….Religious belief can be particular without being intolerant,…it can be ferverently held without being divisive, it can ennoble life with a concern for the common interests of a society reflective of many different traditions.

So this is what I took away from our interaction with the Muslim Community of White Plains: We live in this world with so many peoples who are different from ourselves, yet if we closely examine what each human being wants in life it is ultimately the same: health, happiness, stability, greater meaning. Dialogue is not about convincing the other side we are right and they are wrong. It is as Imam Hassanain Rajabali believes, about “agreeing to disagree agreeably”. I wasn't comfortable sitting at the table that night, because I wasn't sure what I was going to hear, and I wasn't sure I was going to like it. It was a risk to have a Muslim leader come and speak to us, just as it was a risk for him to come and bring some of his community with him. Yet, imagine the progress we could make, if we were all willing to take these kinds of risks. Imagine what the world could be – if we could all agreed to disagree agreeably. May it some day be God's will…..AMEN.

Rabbi Mara Nathan

 

Rabbi Nathan




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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.}
(Holy Quran-16:125)

{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)

The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]

The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)  also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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***************************************************************************
{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.}
(Holy Quran-16:125)

{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)

The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]

The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)  also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise.

If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest".


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