Synagogue doubles as mosque during
Ramadan
Thursday, 17 September 2009
"One of the central issues of the 21st
century is that we will rise or fall on them rising or falling."
--
Eboo Patel, Interfaith Youth Core
"Kindness is a language which the deaf can
hear and the blind can see."
--
Mark Twain
In Reston,
Virginia, the partnership between the Muslim and Jewish communities goes back a
decade of holding occasional events together, including dialogues and
community service.
And both the synagogue and the mosque have a history
of sharing space with other religious groups.
See PHOTOS at:
and
http://www.cleveland.com/nation/index.ssf/2009/09/virginia_synagogue_doubles_as.html
Their
exemplary kindness and cooperation continues to this day.
These diverse Jews and Muslims of Reston are worth
emulating wherever on Earth we live.
~ ~ ~ ~
Reported by MSNBC - 17 September 2009
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32881567/ns/us_news-faith/
Synagogue doubles as mosque during
Ramadan
Here is a story that shatters the
stereotype of Jewish-Muslim conflict
RESTON, Va.
- On Friday afternoons, the people coming to pray at this building take off
their shoes, unfurl rugs to kneel on and pray in Arabic. The ones that come
Friday evenings put on yarmulkes, light candles and pray in Hebrew.
The building is a synagogue on a tree-lined street in
suburban Virginia, but for the past few weeks during the Muslim holy month of
Ramadan it has also been doubling daily as a mosque. Synagogue members
suggested their building after hearing the Muslim congregation was looking to
rent a place for overflow crowds.
"People look to the Jewish-Muslim relationship as
conflict," said All Dulles Area Muslim Society Imam Mohamed Magid, saying it's usually disputes between the two groups
in the Middle East that make news. "Here is a story that shatters the
stereotype."
Magid, who grew up in Sudan,
said he did not meet someone who was Jewish until after he had moved to the
U.S. in his 20s, and he never imagined having such a close relationship with a
rabbi. But he said the relationship with the Northern Virginia Hebrew
Congregation has affected him and his members. Beyond being tolerant, the
synagogue and its members have been welcoming.
He said one member of the mosque told him, "Next
time I see a Jewish person I will not look at them the same."
Rabbi Robert Nosanchuk, who
leads the Reform congregation of about 500 families, said the relationship
works both ways.
"You really only get to know someone when you
invite them into your home ... you learn to recognize their faces. You learn
the names of their children," Nosanchuk said.
Prayers in social hall
The actual
prayers are held in the building's social hall, which is used by the synagogue
for a range of activities from educational programs to dance classes and
receptions.
Both the synagogue and the mosque have a history of
sharing space with other religious groups. People coming to Friday night
services at the synagogue sometimes park in an adjoining church's parking lot;
on Sundays, sometimes churchgoers park behind the synagogue.
And the mosque has rented space from others since it
was founded in 1983. Members have prayed in a recreation center, a high school,
an office building and, for a long time, a church. As the mosque has grown,
however, it has needed more space. In 2002 the community opened its own
building in Sterling, Va. It holds 900 people for prayers, but the community
has satellite locations to accommodate more people: a hotel, a banquet hall and
even a second synagogue, Beth Chaverim Reform
congregation, in Ashburn, Va.
The community began renting space at the two synagogues
in 2008. They began holding daily prayers at the Ashburn synagogue and prayers
on Friday afternoons, the week's main prayer service, at the Northern Virginia
Hebrew Congregation.
This is the first year, however, they have rented
space at the synagogue for the daily prayers for Ramadan, which began at the
end of August. More than 100 people come to the daily services, which are held
from 9 p.m. to 10:45 p.m. except for Friday, when the services are in the
afternoon. The society pays the synagogue $300 a day.
The partnership isn't entirely new. The two
communities have held occasional events together going back a decade: dialogues
and community service. Still, some members of both communities were unsure of
how things would work at first.
"When they rented the place, I was surprised, but
then after that when I came here and saw how nicely everything is set up and
how well done it is ... I am very happy with it," said mosque member Ambreen Ahmed.
Now, mosque members sometimes greet the rabbi with the
Hebrew greeting "Shalom"; he'll answer back with the Arabic
equivalent, "Salaam." Nosanchuk spoke at
Friday afternoon prayers recently. The imam spoke at Friday evening Shabbat
services.
Joint trip to Middle East?
Both groups
say the relationship won't be over when Ramadan ends in North America over the
weekend. The rabbi and imam are talking about possibly even making a joint trip
to the Middle East, and Friday prayers will still be held at the synagogue.
Magid says some mosque members,
in fact, have permanently moved from the mosque to the synagogue.
"Where have you been?" he asked one man who
used to pray regularly at the mosque.
"You saw me in the synagogue," the man
replied.
"All the time?" the imam asked.
"It's cozy, it's nice. Your parking lot is
overcrowded ... and I like to be there," the man said.
The imam joked maybe the man should stay for the
Sabbath service.
Said the imam: "That shows you how comfortable
they have become."