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4 4.4•43••••••• 4

Meejan Hussain; 12,
and Mark Prenai,
13, both of
Hamtramck, get
acquainted.

New program reminds teens of different faiths
that they have more similarities than differences:

SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN

Staff Writer

A

group of 16 young Christians,
Jews and Muslims who met to
find out how alike they might
be, began a May 11 get-together by
enjoying a universal food: pizza.
And it was kosher pizza at that
because the site of the meeting was
Congregation Beth Shalom in Oak
Park. And every piece was consumed.
The preteens came together as for the
newly created Children of Abraham
Project Ambassadors Program, estab7
lished as a way to form dialogue and
understanding between diverse groups.
To the background echoes of a bar
mitzvah lesson that was taking place in
the Oak Park synagogue's sanctuary,
interfaith activist Brenda Naomi
Rosenberg of Bloomfield Hills led the
group. She spoke with the youngsters
and their teachers, Beth Shalom
Educational Director Danny Kochavi,
Executive Director Steven Weiss and
Rabbi David Nelson. Also present was
Victor Begg of Bloomfield Hills, chair
of the National Conference for
Community and Justice Interfaith
Partners, who helped shape the project.
"The Ambassadors program is an
integral part of the Children of
Abraham project," Rosenberg said of
the play she conceived along with Imam

was similar."
And that's the point of the Children
of Abraham Project, whose creation was
spearheaded by Rosenberg and imple-
mented with collaborators Sheri Schiff
n-
F of Birmingham and Tali Ben Josef of
Huntington Woods, along with the
NCCJ Interfaith Partners and the
University of Michigan Arts of
Citizenship Program.
The program was brought to Beth
Shalom by Gail Katz, Diversity Club
sponsor at Norup Middle School in
Oak Park, who also attended the discus-
sion.
The kids may have started with the
basics -- like realizing that most of
them liked computers, video games and
sports — but in a list they compiled
together, they learned some things they
all want, no matter their background or
religion. The kids said what they want

I

United We Stand

Abdullah El-Amin, executive director of
the Council of Islamic Organizations of
Michigan, that explores the lives, fears
and connections of Jewish, Christian
and Muslim teens.

••••••• • ••••••••••••

•••••••• • •

4.4 as*

/ It e fetie

e ff e e e et:

•••••••• ■ ••••••4 t B •

most is to not be judged or criticized,
but to be respected, trusted, under-
stood; to feel safe and equal with one
another; and to have the right to live in
peace and harmony.
The Fetzer Institute in Kalamazoo
now is working with Rosenberg's group
to create the Children of Abraham
Project Tool Kit for Peace, to help train
20 individuals to implement the pro-
gram across the country.
"We made history on May 11,"
Rosenberg said. "Christian, Muslim and
Jewish youth and their leaders came
together as strangers to meet "the other"
and left wanting to meet again.
Everyone left with a desire to continue
to meet, with a desire to learn more
about each other, to share their homes
of worship, traditions and life experi-
ences. Everyone was amazed at how
much we have in common." ❑

Left: Brenda Rosenberg
watches as Sadik
Mohamed, 14, of
Hamtramck videotapes
the reading of a script
she prepared.

Meeting New Friends

Seated in a circle — wearing everything
from kippot to Muslim headgear to
University of Michigan sweatshirts —
the group offered insight into what they
hoped to learn from the discussion.
"I have taught about different reli-
gions, but I came to this program to
learn about them from real life," said
the Rev. Bogdan Milosz of the Catholic,
Our Lady Queen of Apostles in
Hamtramck.
Other participants came from
Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church,
the Islamic Association of Michigan and
Al-Islah Islamic Center, all in
Hamtramck.
"I came to the program to make new
friends," Rabbi Nelson told the group.
"We are all descendants of Abraham.
We have to live by the line, "Love thy
neighbor as thyself" and try to under-
stand one another."
Kochavi sees the program as a parallel
to one he participated in as a youth.
"When I was the age of these kids, I
was involved in People to People, a pro-
gram that brought together_black kids
and white kids to see what we had that

Beth Shalom student Ashley Bronstein, 11, of Farmington Hills, Victor
Begg of Bloomfield Hills and the Rev. Bogdan Milosz of the Catholic
church Our Lady Queen of postles in Hamtramck listen.

On May 23, Brenda Naomi Rosenberg received the Vanguard Award from
the Association for Women in Communications of Detroit for the
Children of Abraham project. Last November, creators of the play received
the NCCJ Community Service Award. In April, the project was featured as
a CBS "Religion in America" special, titled: 'Abraham's Children:
Reuniting an Old Family."
For more information about the Children of Abraham project, access the
Web site at: www.thechildrenofabrahamproject.org .

J.

6/ 2
2005

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