Stephen Salisbury on Mosques and Muslims

University Muslim Medical Assn.: Community has been the focus for this South Los Angeles health center – Los Angeles Times. The open bar offered nothing more potent than lemonade. The dinner program included a break for evening prayers. The entertainment was a Farsi rendition of a Sufi prayer by Persian singer Sussan Deyhim.  But the fundraiser for UMMA Community Clinic at Riviera Country Club this spring was no more a Muslim event than UMMA is a Muslim health center.

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…