KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — On July 22, 76 people died in a bombing in Oslo and an attack on a Labor Party summer camp on the island of Utoya in Norway. The Guardian labeled the event “one of the worst atrocities in recent European history.” The Norwegian Anders Behring Breivik stands accused of both attacks, and yes, he admitted committing both crimes while also labeling them “atrocious” and “necessary.” Though media speculation suggested early on that the bombing in Oslo was an act of Muslim terrorism,
by LEWIS GROPP, Common Ground News Service — 19 July 2011
COLOGNE, Germany — Out of Córdoba is a documentary film about the greatest but least known chapter in European history: Muslim Spain. For almost 800 years, vast swathes of the Iberian Peninsula were under Muslim control. Al-Andalus, as Moorish Spain was known, is to this day viewed as an era marked by tolerance, with Jews, Christians and Muslims living for the most part peacefully together under the banner of convivencia (coexistence). Córdoba was the capital in a region that represented a leading cultural and economic centre – of both the Mediterranean and the Muslim world as a
PARIS — At a glance, the Muslim-Jewish picnic at the peace fountain in Yitzhak Rabin Garden, in this city's Bercy Park, looks like a reunion of old friends. Middle-aged men and women sit on blankets and laugh together, snacking on carrots and Middle Eastern pastries. A circle of women dances wildly to the tunes of a guitarist and tambourine player. But many of the 100 or so people there have never met -- at least not face to face. They are part of a groundbreaking group that is trying to
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Moad Arqoub, a Palestinian graduate student, was bouncing around the Internet the other day and came across a site that surprised and attracted him. It was a Facebook page where Israelis and Palestinians and other Arabs were talking about everything at once: the prospects of peace, of course, but also soccer, photography and music. “I joined immediately because right now, without
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Baptists must continue to dialogue with Muslims around the world in hopes of promoting “peaceful living together,” a Baptist World Alliance commission concluded July 6. Developing a process by which Christians and Muslims can address and resolve issues of conflict is essential, said members of the BWA’s
JERUSALEM — Jews and Methodists sat down to enjoy matzah, bitter herbs and four cups of wine at a model Seder Monday night, as part of the Methodist Conference currently being held in the seaside town of Southport in the UK. The Board of Deputies of British Jews, the Methodist Church in Britain and the Council of Christians and Jews co-organized the event, which focused on the common origins of the Jewish and Christian faiths, in order to improve inter-communal
JERUSALEM — The second annual Muslim-Jewish Conference kicked off in Kiev, Ukraine, on Sunday, with 70 students and young professionals coming from around the world to promote mutual understanding between global Jewish and Muslim communities. The event is sponsored by the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding based in New York and the Ukrainian Jewish Committee, among others, with
If you ask Najla Al Awadhi, the youngest parliament member ever of the United Arab Emirates, where she got her passion for public service, she can point to many influences. Part of this passion was fueled by her parents’ upbringing which taught her that women’s rights, reason, social justice, and freedom are fundamental in the Islamic faith and that a righteous Muslim would stand up for these causes. The other part was
by MICHAEL KATZ, The State Journal-Register — 25 June 2011
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A truly beautiful photo exhibit is currently hanging at Temple B’rith Sholom and I hope that some of The State Journal-Register readership will make an effort to see it before it leaves town at the end of August. Many times over the years, I have submitted columns to this space, frequently in defense of Israel or seeking to explain some aspect of Middle East politics. Unwritten or unsaid — I admit this only reluctantly — was my own anxiety or despair that things could ever come right in that region of the world. This photo exhibit gives me reason to hope that things might yet be otherwise; that Israel and her neighbors might one day co-exist in peace. The exhibit is titled “Albanian Muslim Rescuers During the Holocaust: Photographs by Norman Gershman.” A little over a year ago, while on a family visit to Houston, I took some time to visit the
by AZIZ ABU SARAH, Middle East Online — 22 June 2011
WEST BANK — Six months ago, nineteen Jews broke the usual partisan norms when it comes to visiting the “Holy Land” by choosing to hear not only the Israeli Zionist narrative—with which most of them are already familiar—but also pushing themselves to learn and experience the Palestinian narrative on their synagogue’s trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories. They chose to shatter the classical stereotype of tourists who come to Israel to experience the luxurious hotels and
PARIS — At a glance, the Muslim-Jewish picnic at the peace fountain in Yitzhak Rabin Garden, in this city's Bercy Park, looks like a reunion of old friends. Middle-aged men and women sit on blankets and laugh together, snacking on carrots and Middle Eastern pastries. A circle of women dances wildly to the tunes of a guitarist and tambourine player. But many of the 100 or so people there have never met -- at least not face to face. They are part of a groundbreaking group that is trying to
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Moad Arqoub, a Palestinian graduate student, was bouncing around the Internet the other day and came across a site that surprised and attracted him. It was a Facebook page where Israelis and Palestinians and other Arabs were talking about everything at once: the prospects of peace, of course, but also soccer, photography and music. “I joined immediately because right now, without
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Baptists must continue to dialogue with Muslims around the world in hopes of promoting “peaceful living together,” a Baptist World Alliance commission concluded July 6. Developing a process by which Christians and Muslims can address and resolve issues of conflict is essential, said members of the BWA’s 
If you ask Najla Al Awadhi, the youngest parliament member ever of the United Arab Emirates, where she got her passion for public service, she can point to many influences. Part of this passion was fueled by her parents’ upbringing which taught her that women’s rights, reason, social justice, and freedom are fundamental in the Islamic faith and that a righteous Muslim would stand up for these causes. The other part was 
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