jbg Posted January 21, 2012 Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 The article, linked and excerpted below, demonstrates how I believe that Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities should come together. The effort detailed below does not involved any government forced or funded "multicultural" exercise. It came from a felt desire within the community to find common ground, on a human basis. It is these kinds of efforts that create unity within communities Ultimately, it could become the template for Middle East peace; start at the human level, build confidence, and then the exact location of borders does not matter. If words on a piece of paper are the only basis for peace, peace will not occur. Muslims and Jews; neither are inherently better or worse than each other. But until a way is found to do what's being done below, on a world basis, there will never be justice, or peace. Pleasantville synagogue, Thornwood mosque members will break bread in fundraiser (link, excerpts below) PLEASANTVILLE — If the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, then how could a homemade dinner featuring chicken haleem with biryani and kasha varnishkas and gefilte fish keep the Jewish and Muslim communities apart? “I am most looking forward to some Muslim cooking,” joked Rabbi Mark Sameth, of the Pleasantville Community Synagogue, talking about an interfaith dinner organized by Under One Roof, a charity founded by members of the synagogue and the Upper Westchester Muslim Society Mosque in Thornwood. The dinner, to be held on Sunday, is devoted exclusively to the two communities and is not open to the public. Close to 80 members of the mosque and synagogue are expected to attend the event, a fundraiser for two international nonprofits. The proceeds will go to the Israel-based Birthday Angels, which provides birthday parties for orphans — both Arab and Israeli, and to support the work of Dr. Hawa Abdi in Somalia, who created a refugee camp for battered women and children. ***************** “There is a common perception that the two communities do not see eye-to-eye,” said Dr. Mahjabeen Hassan, a plastic surgeon who moved to the United States in 1977 from Pakistan. “Many people feel there is so much baggage there that things can never change. But that’s a very negative way of thinking.” Hassan, a Pleasantville resident for more than 25 years, said that “writing books” and “being on TV” cannot achieve as much as sitting down for a meal together can. The Thornwood mosque draws people from many countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Turkey, she said. ************* “To me, if we are living in a multicultural society, then we should not be staying w ithin our culture or religion,” said Mumtaz, whose husband, Aamir Mumtaz, is the president of the board of the Upper Westchester Muslim Society Mosque. “We should be mingling with others, and getting to know each other.” Rabbi Sameth said the group was formed because the community felt the need for it from within. “It’s not a top-down relationship,” said Sameth, meaning it wasn’t initiated by the clergy or others in positions of power. “It bubbled up from within the two communities. Friendships are growing, relationships are growing and we are helping others.” Rabbi Mark Sameth of the Pleasantville Community Synagogue and Dr. Hassan of the Upper Westchester Muslim Society in Thornwood pose Jan. 19, 2012 at the Community Synagogue in Pleasantville with a cookbook that will be sold at an interfaith dinner. The dinner will benefit Birthday Angels, which provides birthday parties for orphans in Israel, and to support the work of Dr. Hawa Abdi in Somalia, who created a refugee camp for battered women and children. / Joe Larese/The Journal News (image in article) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charter.rights Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 The article, linked and excerpted below, demonstrates how I believe that Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities should come together. The effort detailed below does not involved any government forced or funded "multicultural" exercise. It came from a felt desire within the community to find common ground, on a human basis. It is these kinds of efforts that create unity within communities Ultimately, it could become the template for Middle East peace; start at the human level, build confidence, and then the exact location of borders does not matter. If words on a piece of paper are the only basis for peace, peace will not occur. Muslims and Jews; neither are inherently better or worse than each other. But until a way is found to do what's being done below, on a world basis, there will never be justice, or peace. Pleasantville synagogue, Thornwood mosque members will break bread in fundraiser (link, excerpts below) PLEASANTVILLE — If the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, then how could a homemade dinner featuring chicken haleem with biryani and kasha varnishkas and gefilte fish keep the Jewish and Muslim communities apart? “I am most looking forward to some Muslim cooking,” joked Rabbi Mark Sameth, of the Pleasantville Community Synagogue, talking about an interfaith dinner organized by Under One Roof, a charity founded by members of the synagogue and the Upper Westchester Muslim Society Mosque in Thornwood. The dinner, to be held on Sunday, is devoted exclusively to the two communities and is not open to the public. Close to 80 members of the mosque and synagogue are expected to attend the event, a fundraiser for two international nonprofits. The proceeds will go to the Israel-based Birthday Angels, which provides birthday parties for orphans — both Arab and Israeli, and to support the work of Dr. Hawa Abdi in Somalia, who created a refugee camp for battered women and children. ***************** “There is a common perception that the two communities do not see eye-to-eye,” said Dr. Mahjabeen Hassan, a plastic surgeon who moved to the United States in 1977 from Pakistan. “Many people feel there is so much baggage there that things can never change. But that’s a very negative way of thinking.” Hassan, a Pleasantville resident for more than 25 years, said that “writing books” and “being on TV” cannot achieve as much as sitting down for a meal together can. The Thornwood mosque draws people from many countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Turkey, she said. ************* “To me, if we are living in a multicultural society, then we should not be staying w ithin our culture or religion,” said Mumtaz, whose husband, Aamir Mumtaz, is the president of the board of the Upper Westchester Muslim Society Mosque. “We should be mingling with others, and getting to know each other.” Rabbi Sameth said the group was formed because the community felt the need for it from within. “It’s not a top-down relationship,” said Sameth, meaning it wasn’t initiated by the clergy or others in positions of power. “It bubbled up from within the two communities. Friendships are growing, relationships are growing and we are helping others.” Rabbi Mark Sameth of the Pleasantville Community Synagogue and Dr. Hassan of the Upper Westchester Muslim Society in Thornwood pose Jan. 19, 2012 at the Community Synagogue in Pleasantville with a cookbook that will be sold at an interfaith dinner. The dinner will benefit Birthday Angels, which provides birthday parties for orphans in Israel, and to support the work of Dr. Hawa Abdi in Somalia, who created a refugee camp for battered women and children. / Joe Larese/The Journal News (image in article) It will never work. The Israelis have a hate hard on for anything not Jewish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbg Posted January 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 It will never work. The Israelis have a hate hard on for anything not Jewish. Are you saying it's not worth a try? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charter.rights Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 Are you saying it's not worth a try? Peace requires equal participation. The Israelis have been faking interest for 60 years. What makes you think they are interested in making any compromises, especially since their complaints are race based. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbg Posted January 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 Peace requires equal participation. The Israelis have been faking interest for 60 years. What makes you think they are interested in making any compromises, especially since their complaints are race based. The alternative to peace through human contact is peace through conquest. Which is better? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charter.rights Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 The alternative to peace through human contact is peace through conquest. Which is better? Depends. But to a nation that instigates discord and injustice, and continuous undermines any peace effort, conquest would be a more effective route. Drawing from the Haudenosaunee Law whose society is built on the concepts of Peace, Power and Righteousness (if I got this right they are inseparable) their laws provide: 88. When the proposition to establish the Great Peace is made to a foreign nation it shall be done in mutual council. The foreign nation is to be persuaded by reason and urged to come into the Great Peace. If the Five Nations fail to obtain the consent of the nation at the first council a second council shall be held and upon a second failure a third council shall be held and this third council shall end the peaceful methods of persuasion. At the third council the War Chief of the Five nations shall address the Chief of the foreign nation and request him three times to accept the Great Peace. If refusal steadfastly follows the War Chief shall let the bunch of white lake shells drop from his outstretched hand to the ground and shall bound quickly forward and club the offending chief to death. War shall thereby be declared and the War Chief shall have his warriors at his back to meet any emergency. War must continue until the contest is won by the Five Nations. The Constitution of the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) Nations They certainly don't play around with offending nations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakeyhands Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 What a nice story... Baby steps will get us headed towards a peaceful future. Hope this sort of thing spreads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbg Posted January 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 (edited) What a nice story... Baby steps will get us headed towards a peaceful future. Hope this sort of thing spreads. I hope so too. The dinner didn't happen; hopefully just because of snow. I went and found no one there. Will keep you posted. (Edit, looks like it was moved and held elsewhere). Edited January 23, 2012 by jbg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkman Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Peace requires equal participation. The Israelis have been faking interest for 60 years. What makes you think they are interested in making any compromises, especially since their complaints are race based. That's like saying that the natives in Canada have been faking interest in their own success for 100 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guyser Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Are you saying it's not worth a try? It is......but once the gefilte fish comes out and they try it .....all bets are off. Gefilte fish? Really? Its like the Muslims serving tongue There is good matzoh soup for heaven sake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonlight Graham Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 jbg, i think this is fantastic. Every community should have this. What's wrong with everyone doing this once every month or 2? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbg Posted January 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 jbg, i think this is fantastic. Every community should have this. What's wrong with everyone doing this once every month or 2? Agreed.And frankly this is the way to create Israeli-Arab peace. A lot like the way U.S.-Canadian peace was created despite the extreme cultural differences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peeves Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 Peace requires equal participation. The Israelis have been faking interest for 60 years. What makes you think they are interested in making any compromises, especially since their complaints are race based. That's one obviously unbiased opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peeves Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 All over the Islamic world we see murderous sectarian conflict. There have been fatwas and murders for centuries between Islamic sects. There are Muslims that will kill for honor if a member of one sect marries or cohabits or even dates one from another sect. Islam's base is conquer or convert. I believe the Koran so stipulates. I maintain as things now stand Islam is incompatible with Western political,cultural, religious, secular or our judicial laws that may be interpreted (by SOME Muslim) as in conflict with their political religion. For a clearly Political religion it most certainly is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hardner Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 All over the Islamic world we see murderous sectarian conflict. There have been fatwas and murders for centuries between Islamic sects. There are Muslims that will kill for honor if a member of one sect marries or cohabits or even dates one from another sect. Islam's base is conquer or convert. I believe the Koran so stipulates. I maintain as things now stand Islam is incompatible with Western political,cultural, religious, secular or our judicial laws that may be interpreted (by SOME Muslim) as in conflict with their political religion. For a clearly Political religion it most certainly is! All of these points have been discussed here in the past. It's kind of frustrating for us to start at point zero with these discussions over and over again. You have an opinion on this, and we're unlikely to change that. Maybe we can jump ahead to this question: What do you want the rest of us to do with your opinion ? What would you like to do ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Squid Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 I believe the Koran so stipulates. Does the harsh language in the Koran explain Islamic violence? Don't answer till you've taken a look inside the Bible But in terms of ordering violence and bloodshed, any simplistic claim about the superiority of the Bible to the Koran would be wildly wrong. In fact, the Bible overflows with "texts of terror," to borrow a phrase coined by the American theologian Phyllis Trible. The Bible contains far more verses praising or urging bloodshed than does the Koran, and biblical violence is often far more extreme, and marked by more indiscriminate savagery. -------------------- Commands to kill, to commit ethnic cleansing, to institutionalize segregation, to hate and fear other races and religions . . . all are in the Bible, and occur with a far greater frequency than in the Koran. At every stage, we can argue what the passages in question mean, and certainly whether they should have any relevance for later ages. But the fact remains that the words are there, and their inclusion in the scripture means that they are, literally, canonized, no less than in the Muslim scripture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbg Posted February 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Does the harsh language in the Koran explain Islamic violence? Don't answer till you've taken a look inside the Bible(part of interior quote: "Commands to kill, to commit ethnic cleansing, to institutionalize segregation, to hate and fear other races and religions . . . all are in the Bible, and occur with a far greater frequency than in the Koran. At every stage, we can argue what the passages in question mean, and certainly whether they should have any relevance for later ages. But the fact remains that the words are there, and their inclusion in the scripture means that they are, literally, canonized, no less than in the Muslim scripture." The difference is that the followers of the Bible have been allowed to interpret away much of the harshness of these doctrines. Such a course of interpretation among Muslims could lead to a beheading or being tossed off a cliff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC_chick Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 The difference is that the followers of the Bible have been allowed to interpret away much of the harshness of these doctrines. Such a course of interpretation among Muslims could lead to a beheading or being tossed off a cliff. Christianity also had plenty of bloodshed throughout its evolution, no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peeves Posted February 6, 2012 Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 All of these points have been discussed here in the past. It's kind of frustrating for us to start at point zero with these discussions over and over again. You have an opinion on this, and we're unlikely to change that. Maybe we can jump ahead to this question: What do you want the rest of us to do with your opinion ? What would you like to do ? Just simply agree or disagree. Islam is simply not just another religion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peeves Posted February 6, 2012 Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 Christianity also had plenty of bloodshed throughout its evolution, no? ....and you think Islam is or will evolve? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbg Posted February 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 Christianity also had plenty of bloodshed throughout its evolution, no? ....and you think Islam is or will evolve? The problem is more the trend. It's grossly in the wrong direction for Islam and quite favorably in the right direction for Christianity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dre Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 The problem is more the trend. It's grossly in the wrong direction for Islam and quite favorably in the right direction for Christianity. Grossly in the wrong direction? How so? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dre Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 The difference is that the followers of the Bible have been allowed to interpret away much of the harshness of these doctrines. Such a course of interpretation among Muslims could lead to a beheading or being tossed off a cliff. Well.. the real difference is a lot of christians live in secular nations of law. They behave because well chuck their asses in jail if they dont. Muslims in secular countries behave better as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogOnPorch Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 Grossly in the wrong direction? How so? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decapitation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peeves Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 The problem is more the trend. It's grossly in the wrong direction for Islam and quite favorably in the right direction for Christianity. Well I read of many Christian churches and church goers being murdered by Muslims, but not of Muslims being killed by Christians just because they are Muslims! Christians aren't burning mosques! Christians or so called Christians just need to burn a Koran and it's world news. Muslims kill Christians and it's usually only mentioned in the Christian media. Oh I know someone will now say nya nya! the USA -NATO forces kill Muslims all the time...yada yada. Not the same at all! Sure a radical terrorist Islamist, enemy group or individual is targeted and there are sometimes collateral civilian Muslims killed but they aren't purposely targeted simply because they aren't Christian ,or because they are Muslims. But that's not the same as the murdered Christians in Egypt, Nigeria http://www.christianpost.com/news/more-than-100-christians-killed-in-nigerias-plateau-state-56473/ etc. ..who are having churches burned just because they are Christians and because they are not Muslims. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.thumb.jpg.9a49e1b2f22a6d34a345152c50044aa9.jpg)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.