Interfaith efforts move from mere tolerance to deeper partnerships
A coalition of Muslim students highlighting the Jewish roots in Moroccan culture, and an evangelical pastor and imam creating a nationwide grassroots network are among those partnering against extremism.
(The Christian Science Monitor) Standing in front of a mostly Jewish audience in New York’s Museum of Jewish Heritage, Laziza Dalil, who leads a Moroccan Muslim student group, posed the question she often hears: “Why would a group of Muslims be interested in working on Jewish history?”
Answering her own question, Dalil said the young people in Association Mimouna, who have taken on the task of highlighting the Jewish roots in Moroccan culture, “identify with a pluralistic, inclusive identity that is proud of its Jewish component . . . the most important thing that gathers us as a group are the values we share.”
The event in late April was a conference of major American Jewish organizations gathered to honor Muslims who protected Jews during the Holocaust, along with activists like Dalil. The keynote speaker was a major Sunni theologian, Mohammed Al-Issa, the secretary general of the Muslim World League in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. He came to publicly condemn Muslims who deny the Holocaust or use Islam to justify acts of violence and terror.
