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Rabbis, imams vow to bring Jews, Muslims together

By Eric Fingerhut · July 23, 2009

More than two dozen imams and rabbis from nine European countries visited the White House Thursday to pledge their participation in efforts to combat anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.

On their four-day trip to Washington and New York sponsored by the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, the group also visited the State Department, Congress, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the United Nations and a Yankees-Orioles baseball game.

Some of the principles from the declaration they presented at the White House were:

*Dialogue and cooperative projects between Muslims and Jews in Europe, North America and elsewhere in the world are necessary to achieve communication and reconciliation between our communities. We are convinced that sustained and ongoing contact is vitally important for both the Muslim and Jewish communities in the societies in which we live, and for the health of those societies as a whole.

* Such dialogue and cooperative projects should be based on mutual understanding and respect for each other’s religions and for the open expression of those beliefs.

* We should explore together the commonalities in our faiths and traditions. We affirm here that we respect the sanctity of each other’s houses of worship and will stand together in case of an assault on either a mosque or a synagogue. We also stand in solidarity with each other in affirming that both Islamophobia and anti-Semitism are wrong and unacceptable, and we will fight against them together. Bigotry against any Jew or any Muslim is an attack on all Muslims and all Jews. In addition we are united in support of human rights for all peoples.   

* We denounce all forms of violence in the name of any religion or ideology and will do everything we can to prevent the spread of extremism in the name of any faith—including our own.

The full declaration, a list of the clergy participating and some more details on the mission are after the jump:

American-led Initiative to Combat Islamophobia, Anti-Semitism Expanding to Europe

Senior Imams, Rabbis from Nine European Nations Deliver Pledge to White House

WASHINGTON – A delegation of over two dozen European imams and rabbis in a meeting today at the White House pledged participation in American-led efforts to combat Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.

The declaration signed by leading clerics from nine European nations comes at the conclusion of a four-day interreligious mission to the United States that brought the group to the White House, State Department, Congress, United Nations, Ground Zero, U.S. Memorial Holocaust Museum and even Yankee Stadium. The mission was hosted by The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding (FFEU) in conjunction with the World Jewish Congress United States and the Islamic Society of North America. 

As part of the declaration, the rabbis and imams endeavored to take part in the upcoming Weekend of Twinning of Mosques and Synagogues in North America and Europe, which will take place November 13-15, 2009. During the “Twinning,” local mosques and synagogues will join together on a one-on-one basis to hold programs to promote unity and mutual understanding.

The Twinning programs will focus on a range of issues including fighting Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, combating poverty, ensuring fair treatment of immigrants and refugees, saving the environment and ways to bring together Muslim and Jewish youth.

The declaration additionally urges ongoing dialogue and cooperative projects between Muslims and Jews, and encourages members of both faiths to find commonalities in their religions, support human rights for all people and fight bigotry and assaults on houses of worship.

“Bringing together Muslims and Jews is among the greatest challenges facing our communities today,” said Rabbi Marc Schneier, president and founder of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding. “By expanding to Europe what has already been a successful and groundbreaking twinning initiative in the United States, we together will combat Islamophobia and anti-Semitism to promote mutual understanding and productive cooperation through dialogue.”

Throughout the mission, the delegates were introduced to successful American-style interfaith initiatives that could also be implemented in their own countries to facilitate and encourage a dialogue with colleagues, and work to improve America’s standing with Muslims abroad. The imams and rabbis come from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

The delegation visited the United Nations, Ellis Island and Ground Zero during their two days in New York.  While in Washington, the rabbis and imams met with Muslim and Jewish members of Congress — U.S. Representatives Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and Andre Carson (D-Ind.). Along with today’s White House visit, they also visited the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and State Department.

The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding is no stranger to Muslim-Jewish interreligious activities.  In its 20th year, The Foundation has led efforts in North America to strengthen the bond between the Muslim and Jewish communities by bringing together rabbis, imams and other community leaders and by encouraging real dialogue.  Last year, these efforts culminated with the first ever twinning of 50 mosques and 50 synagogues in North America.

“This mission is the first step toward better relations and open and honest dialogue. We began to answer some of the toughest questions through meaningful discussions,” added Rabbi Schneier.

Following is the complete declaration delivered today to the White House:

With the help of God, the delegation of European imams and rabbis who visited New York and Washington at the invitation of The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding (FFEU) have agreed on the following principles:

* Dialogue and cooperative projects between Muslims and Jews in Europe, North America and elsewhere in the world are necessary to achieve communication and reconciliation between our communities. We are convinced that sustained and ongoing contact is vitally important for both the Muslim and Jewish communities in the societies in which we live, and for the health of those societies as a whole.

* Such dialogue and cooperative projects should be based on mutual understanding and respect for each other’s religions and for the open expression of those beliefs.

* We should explore together the commonalities in our faiths and traditions. We affirm here that we respect the sanctity of each other’s houses of worship and will stand together in case of an assault on either a mosque or a synagogue. We also stand in solidarity with each other in affirming that both Islamophobia and anti-Semitism are wrong and unacceptable, and we will fight against them together. Bigotry against any Jew or any Muslim is an attack on all Muslims and all Jews. In addition we are united in support of human rights for all peoples.   

* We denounce all forms of violence in the name of any religion or ideology and will do everything we can to prevent the spread of extremism in the name of any faith—including our own.

* We wish to strengthen our relations by holding regular meetings in communities and in national and international conclaves like the mission of European imams and rabbis to the United States in which we are presently engaged. In that light we shall endeavor to take part in the upcoming Weekend of Twinning of Mosques and Synagogues in North America and Europe, which will take place on the weekend of November 13-15, 2009. During that weekend, mosques and synagogues on the two continents will join together with each other on a one-on-one basis to hold programs on the theme of “Building a Common Agenda.” FFEU and its partners, Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the Fiqh Council of North America and the World Jewish Congress (WJC), will work with participating European mosques and synagogues to help facilitate successful encounters.

* During the Weekend of Twinning and in subsequent meetings between our mosques and synagogues, we will seek to identify areas in which our communities can work together and create cooperative projects. Potential areas of cooperation include fighting Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, combating poverty, ensuring fair treatment of immigrants and refugees, saving the environment, bringing together Muslim and Jewish youth for joint programming and other issues. Local synagogues and mosques may develop their own individual cooperative projects based on conditions in their countries and cities.  

* We feel sorrow and pain over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the great suffering it has brought to both peoples involved in that conflict. We pray for a non-violent resolution of that conflict that will allow both Palestinians and Israelis to live with dignity in peace and security.  We have resolved to work together to strengthen Muslim-Jewish ties in our own countries and around the world. We will not allow future eruptions of violence in the Middle East to derail our efforts to strengthen Jewish-Muslim ties in Europe and North America because we understand that good Muslim-Jewish relations are necessary for the health of our own communities and our societies.

* We aspire to successfully role-model good Muslim-Jewish relations in our countries and communities, and thereby show our two peoples and the world that Muslims and Jews can work together fruitfully for the betterment of all and can build ties of friendship and trust. We are convinced that this is the most important contribution we can make to bring closer the day when there will be peace in the world.   

Delegation Members:
 
FRANCE
Rabbi Moshe Lewin, Rabbi Michel Serfaty, Rabbi Joseph Abittan, Imam Abdelkader Arbi, Imam Abdelali Mamoun   

UNITED KINGDOM

Rabbi Jackie Tabick, Sheikh Dr. Muhammad Al-Hussaini, Rabbi Reuben Livingstone, Imam Shahid Hussain   

BELGIUM
Chief Rabbi Albert Guigui, Imam Mohamed Kajjaj 

NETHERLANDS
Rabbi Raphael Evers, Imam Marzouk Aulad Abdellah  

GERMANY
Rabbi Jonah Sievers, Rabbi Avichai Appel, Imam Mehmet Kilinc, Imam Fatih Sahan, Philippsburger, Imam Suayip Seven, M.A.  

ITALY
Chief Rabbi Dr. Joseph Levi, Imam Nicola Benassi                    

SWITZERLAND
Rabbi Izhak Dayan, Hafid Ouardiri  

NORWAY
Chief Rabbi Yoav Melchior, Imam Senaid Kobilica  

RUSSIA
Chief Rabbi of Moscow Pinchas Goldschmidt,Imam Khatib Ildar Alyautdinov