I World Reaching Out California groups try to bridge the Muslim-Jewish divide. Tom Tugend Jewish Telegraphic Agency Los Angeles T here was nothing unusual about some 20 devout Muslims from the King Fahad Mosque bowing and prostrating themselves as they recited the Isha, or night prayer. Only the site was Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills, and the worshipers were outnumbered by about 80 Jews watching the unfamiliar ritual. At the same time, in another room of the Reform temple, Jewish congregants were participating in the Ma'ariv evening prayer, watched respectfully by a group of Muslims. The separate but interwoven prayer sessions this month represented the beginning of a "twinning" movement that will bring together 50 synagogues and 50 mosques across the United States and Canada. The twinning weekend, under the theme "Confronting Islamophobia and Anti-Semitism Together:' is one indicator of earnest attempts by American Jews and Muslims to reach beyond the Middle East conflict to join hands in battling prejudic- es within and against their communities. There are other signs as well. In Los Angeles, a major university, a Jewish insti- tution and an Islamic foundation jointly established a Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement. And at the University of California-Irvine, usually pictured as a hotbed of Muslim-Jewish antagonism, student leaders of both faiths recently returned from a two-week trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories. Although past attempts at Jewish- Muslim dialogues generally have been short-lived in the face of Mideast flare- ups, Temple Emanuel Rabbi Laura Geller was optimistic that the twinning project would succeed because "for the first time, mosques and synagogues are giving their full backing." On Nov. 21, Temple Kol Ami in West Bloomfield hosted a special Shabbat ser- vice as part of the Weekend of Twinning. Rabbi Norman Roman and Imam Mohammad Mardini of the American Muslim Center of Dearborn addressed prejudices and misconceptions. The national twinning project was launched a year ago when the New York- A34 December 18 • 2008 based Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, led by Orthodox Rabbi Marc Schneier and hip- hop mogul Russell Simmons, invited 13 Jewish and 13 Muslim spiritual leaders to a meeting. "Our goal was to enlist 25 syna- gogues and 25 mosques, but we ended up with double the num- ber," said Schneier, whose foun- dation has largely concentrated on Jewish-black relations. "Both American Jews and Muslims are children of Abraham and citizens of the same country, and we share a common faith and destiny," he said. "Of course, we cannot ignore the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — it's the elephant in the room — but I see the emergence of moderate, centrist Muslim voices, particularly - Reuven Firestone, right, co-director of the Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement, shows the Torah to visiting scholars of Islam." in the United States, and we must do everything possible to encourage such voices." those with whom they disagree." attitudes in the Jewish world, but there is Urging Jews to reclaim some of the There appeared to be no such caveats no inherent conflict between Judaism and passion they invested in the civil rights needed for the Temple Emanuel audi- Islam," Firestone said. "We have much in struggles of the 1950s and 1960s, Schneier ence. At a post-meeting reception, Adam common in our goals and aspirations." said that a similar outreach to Muslims Motiwala, 24, an information technology Firestone and Dafer Dakhil, the direc- "can serve as a paradigm for Europe and consultant whose parents emigrated from tor of the Al Khattab Foundation, are the perhaps even for the Middle East. Pakistan, called the evening "awesome." co-directors of the new center, with Hebah During the weekend program, twinning At another table, Bobbe Salkowitz Farrag, a recent graduate of the American sessions between mosques and syna- commented, "I think there is a feeling in University in Cairo, as associate director. gogues were held across the country. this country that we can't push problems under the rug anymore. We have to be Religious Database Obama Factor honest, but reach out to each other at the The center's first major project will be to At Temple Emanuel in California, the pres- same time." compile a massive database on key Jewish idential election of Barack Obama was an As the concept of the twinning project and Muslim religious texts for the general implicit factor in the hopeful attitudes of evolved, Schneier turned for expert advice public. For instance, someone searching several speakers. After saying, "Together, to the newly formed Center for Muslim- for an authoritative definition of "kosher" Jews and Muslims can send a message to Jewish Engagement. The center is the first also would be referred to the Islamic the purveyors of hate and bigotry:' Usman of its kind and was established through equivalent, "halal." On a more popular Madha, the director of the King Fahad an agreement signed by the University of level, the center is planning a film series Mosque, led 300 attendees in a rousing, Southern California's Center for Religion on Jewish and Muslim topics, Farrag said. "Yes, we can; yes, we can" — the Obama and Civic Culture, Hebrew Union College- Steven Spielberg's Righteous Persons campaign's mantra. Jewish Institute of Religion and the Foundation has provided a $50,000 start- Worried that the weekend meetings, education-oriented Omar Ibn Al Khattab up grant to the center, but Firestone wor- which are being publicized nationally Foundation. ries about future financing. Noting that through public service announcements The three partners, all in the same Los previous cooperative ventures between the on CNN and a full-page ad in the New Angeles neighborhood, had been working two faiths have foundered on political and York Times, may become overly emotional, together for some time and decided to nationalistic differences, Firestone said, organizers issued a set of guidelines for formalize their collaboration, said Reuven "We're aware of these hurdles, but what discussion leaders. The guidelines encour- Firestone, a professor of medieval Jewish would kill us is not trouble in the Middle age "all participants to listen to one anoth- and Islamic studies at HUC. East but lack of funding. There are not a er in a courteous and respectful fashion, "There are some anti-Jewish attitudes in lot of Jews or Muslims who want to invest without interrupting or shouting down the Muslim world and some anti-Muslim in what we are doing."