Thanksgiving
is what we're feeling.
There are increasing stories of unprecedented acts of
Arabs and Jews -- Muslims, Christians and Jews -- crossing old lines toward one
another.
Who are they? Mostly those in
their teens and 20s. But all ages, really.
Do you wonder what the future will look like?
Who the new heroes will be?
Here are six stories with answers.
The
Thanksgiving Coffee Company (you read that correctly) -- http://www.thanksgivingcoffee.com/
-- announced its Mirembe Kawomera
("delicious peace") Coffee grown in Uganda, Africa, by a collective
of Jewish, Muslim, and Christian farmers. They define themselves as
people of faith working together for peace, tolerance, and economic
justice. "Not just a cup, but a just cup," they say.
More than ever before, Muslims in cities coast to
coast invited Jews to break their Ramadan fast together.
In the Holy Land, DJs from Tel Aviv to Ramallah have answered a call to make a new kind of music
-- together.
The Center for Muslim-Christian-Jewish Understanding
-- http://www.cjcmu.org/ --
created a two-week tribute to shared culture and cooperation through history.
Muslim, Jewish and Baha'i
youth made 2,000 sandwiches to feed people in need in
One final
story somehow moved us the most.
The faces of these young
women of excellence.
The words from their lips.
And hearts and fine minds.
The determination, refusing to be
"enemies" or strangers.
Insisting on showing the world ". . .we are doing it."
Consider innovating where you live.
Feel the joy of these people already inventing their
future -- our future.
Celebrate Thanksgiving.
Published in The Montclair Times -- Montclair, New Jersey --
Wednesday, 16 November 2005
On the Web at http://www.montclairtimes.com/page.php?page=10799
When worlds dont
collide:
Jewish and Muslim teens help American homeless family
By CHRIS SAGONA
of The Montclair Times
Aviva Bannerman, a
17-year-old Conservative Jew, has an unusual interest: hanging out with
Muslims.
Bannerman, along with nine of her Jewish friends and
their 10 new Muslim friends, are out to prove the world wrong about
Jewish/Muslim relations.
Their focus?
Helping an American family thats homeless.
The 20 teens found one another through Matt Kamin, executive director of PERC, a
After telephone calls to two religious high schools, Kamin and Abdallah received
referrals for 20 teens who were anxious to meet one
another.
Bannerman, a
When I walked into the first meeting, all the girls
were all sitting in a semi-circle, said Bannerman. Seeing the Jews and Muslims
side by side I immediately noticed all the visual differences. The Jews had
their hair messily thrown in a loose ponytail or bun, while the Muslims were
wearing hijabs, head coveringssome
were brown or blue or white and silkysome with
rhinestone sparkly looking things. It really makes them look classy.
She wasnt expecting that
some would have accents, she said.
And I didnt realize how
religious the Muslim girls would be, Bannerman said. But then it occurred to me
that if we were Orthodox Jews, we would be all covered, too.
The girls have learned to be sensitive to one another.
When meeting during Ramadan, the Jewish girls decided to forgo lunch. To
observe kosher tradition, the Muslim girls serve vegetables.
Theres only one rule: no
talking about politics. It doesnt matter, they say,
the girls all want to talk about teenager things such as music, movies and shopping
as well as their cultural traditions.
Bannerman said she remembers having an awakening
moment in the middle of a conversation.
One of the girls was talking about a trip, she said.
She said she went to
Aseel Najib
of
Its the same piece of land,
said Najib. We just refer to it in different ways.
She noted that differences did not prevent the girls
from forming deep friendships.
There are all these preconceived notions and conflicts
that dont affect us directly, said Najib. But this has given us an opportunity to put those
aside and to see for ourselves. I had never had Jewish friends before. Of
course, they are perfectly normal. They dont have
extra arms or extra legs or anything. But, of course, when we first met we
would sneak glances, pretending we werent looking.
But after the first word, you couldnt stop us.
The Muslim teens were curious about many things,
including religion, and they wanted to know how the Jewish girls prayed.
At first the question seemed strangebut
then I realized they didnt know we pray out loud
together and sing the prayers, said Bannerman, noting the Jewish girls pray
three times each day. So then I asked how they pray, and they told us that they
pray five times a day and its solitary. We pray out loud and they kind of do it
in their heads.
Whats the best part? Bannerman said although she and the teens
consider it all fun, theyre getting the most
satisfaction out of getting to know one another while also helping a family.
This is proof positive that Jews and Muslims can work
together. Period, said Kamin.
The 20 teens, participating in Project Provide a Home,
are renovating a home and raising funds to provide furniture, carpeting and
food for a family that is currently homeless. We can look beyond. I learned
this the day I realized that the word charity in both Arabic and Hebrew is the
same: Sedacah.
As far as Im concerned, it
means the religions are cousins and that we should all work together.
Kamin is proud of Bannerman,
Najib, and all of the girls, saying he hopes the
effort to bring young Muslims and Jews together spreads across the nation.
He also hopes one of the many lessons learned is that
preconceived notions also encompass poverty. The numbers are staggering, he
said. There are 1.4 million homeless children in
The girls are hoping for a large turnout at an
interfaith fundraising dinner they are hosting on Sunday, Dec. 18, from 5:30 to
8:30 p.m. at the Fair Lawn Athletic Club in
Bannerman said shes grateful
for new friendships, new opportunities and for being able to help. When it
strikes her that her friends are Muslim, she says to herself, Yes, they are Muslim. So what?
Some people were afraid wed
end up killing each other, but its amazing what can happen when teenagers get
together to talk about teenage things, said Bannerman. Im
excited and I want to show the country and the entire world.
And the thing is, we are
doing this by taking the focus off ourselves and helping others. I want to say,
Guess what, world? Jews and Muslims can get along. Because you know what? We are people and we are doing it.
The girls are hosting an interfaith fundraising dinner on behalf of the
homeless family from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Fair Lawn Athletic Club in