My friend Eboo writes a piece for NPR on how to reach out to Jews during this most recent Eid al-Adha. I appreciate the sentiment, my daughter and his son are about the same age, and I think it is an important way to bridge the gap. Where I disagree is that this is an opportunity for inter-faith dialogue. In so far as religions share certain basic principles we can reach out, but the loss and horror of Mumbai is far more primal. His story highlights the more basic, human losses we share and support we need. It’s not about Muslim and Jew. It’s about right and wrong. It’s about love and hate. These things transcend religion.
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Rabbi Helps Muslim Drug Addicts
We really need more people like this guy. Almost gets blown up and still has the ability to think of others, and avoid hating a whole group of people. Note that Jewish-Muslim commonalities also exist in our difficulties and how we choose to ignore them.
Stephen Shashoua: Artists of the World, Unite
Stephen Shashoua: Artists of the World, Unite. We need to demonstrate – in word and deed – how much social capital we can unlock when everyone contributes and communal boundaries are no longer an issue. I believe that to do this we need to create a culture that encourages collaboration and participation in the civic space, where all communities are encouraged to bring their own talents and perspectives to the table.
The Cordoba Initiative
I would like to direct your attention to the Cordoba Initiative. Although their tagline “Improving Muslim-West Relations” would have you think that they are unaware of the last generation of civilizational debates and identity politics, they actually show a lot of potential. There are some good people working there and their contacts are deep. Poke around, have fun, and tell them to change their tagline. The best part is that they promise to be a media portal. If they would only supply donuts, I would be truly happy.