When We Truly Know One Another

Imam Abdul-Malik Ryan is a  founding member and past president of the Inner-City Muslim Action Network. He holds a bachelor’s in African-American Studies from DePaul University and is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center. Imam Ryan has been working as an attorney for children in Chicago’s  foster care system for more than 10 years, and serves as Muslim chaplain at DePaul University. He has also been actively involved in Iftar in the Synagogue, an annual event of JCUA’s Jewish-Muslim Community Building Initiative.

Imam Abdul-Malik Ryan

By Imam Abdul-Malik Ryan

Are human beings basically all the same? Are we different? Are our differences merely superficial and unimportant or are they real and significant? If they are significant, what do they mean? What is their origin and what are we supposed to do when faced with difference, should we ignore it? Should we celebrate it? Should we fight about it?

The Qur’an’s answer to this question is pretty clear. In the 49th Surah (chapter) of the Qur’an, God says “O Humanity!  We have created you from a male and female and made you into peoples and tribes so that you may know one another.” The ayah (verse) starts by telling us that all humans do indeed share the same origin and are literally part of the same human family.

Healing the Rift

Reflecting on 10 Years of Jewish-Muslim Community Building
By Samuel Fleischacker

Samuel Fleischacker

Sam Fleischacker is a professor of philosophy and the director of Jewish studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is also the director of UIC’s Jewish-Muslim Initiative and serves on the advisory committee of the Jewish-Muslim Community Building Initiative at the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs.

The rift between Jews and Muslims is among the most fraught of all religious divides today, yet the Jewish Council of Urban Affairs (JCUA) is still one of the few organizations to address it.

JCUA established its Jewish-Muslim Community Building Initiative (JMCBI) immediately after 9/11. In a low-key, admirably pragmatic way, it has worked ever since then to help Jews and Muslims reach across the divide between their communities. Its premise is that Jews and Muslims in America share a similar history and have similar needs and interests.

They are both minority religions trying to ensure their integrity in a Christian country; they both consist of fairly recent immigrants, and know the difficulties of all immigrants; and they share many general human values. These similarities make it possible and useful for them to work together on local policy issues, regardless of their differences elsewhere, and that joint work can in turn help members of both communities recognize their similarities more fully.

Jews and Muslims Remember 9/11 Victims, Reaffirm Shared Commitment to a Diverse and Prosperous American Democracy

The Jewish Council on Urban Affairs (JCUA) commemorates and mourns the victims of the horrific attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and the profound loss experienced by their friends and families, and throughout America’s diverse communities. We remember and honor the courage and heroism of the first responders who risked their lives in effort to rescue and recover.

Unfortunately, the justified fear and anger brought about by the attacks was in many cases misdirected. We witnessed the marginalization and demonizing of Muslim Americans, including hateful speech and violent actions. As we collectively mourn and remember the victims of 9/11, we must vigilantly ensure that this shared tragedy does not become an opportunity for scapegoating.

Through the establishment of the Jewish-Muslim Community Building Initiative (JMCBI) in the aftermath of 9/11, JCUA has fostered strong relationships between the Jewish and Muslim communities, who have been working together for a decade toward a more inclusive, diverse, and just society. As Martin Luther King Jr. wrote from his cell in a Birmingham jail, “an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” The threat of injustice, of discrimination, and of baseless hatred must be confronted through collaborative action for the common good.

JCUA Executive Director Jane Ramsey said that “collaboration must be founded on dialogue, trust, and mutual respect. These are only achieved through direct interaction, whether while studying a sacred text together or while working side by side to combat the foreclosure crisis that is tearing apart our communities.” Rabbi Asher Lopatin, co-chair of the JMCBI advisory committee and JCUA board member, added that “empowering each other by mutually respecting our differences is the spirit on which this country was founded. It is this torch that we must carry forward as we commemorate our darkest times.”