Well, it turns out that the world-infamous Muslim Community Center which has been proposed for Lower Manhattan is already active -- in fact, several queer Jews entered the site, discussed Torah with Muslims and Christians, and left with smiles on their faces!
I had the honor of representing CBST as a teacher at an interfaith text study organized by our partners at Religious Freedom USA . About thirty people--including lay leaders of the Muslim congregation that has prayed in the Park51 building for years--gathered in small groups studying texts from Torah and midrash, the Koran, and the ...
Over 25 members and staff from the CBST community turned out to join with 1000 Muslims, Christians, and other Jews at an interfaith rally on 9/12 -- the day after 9/11, when it seemed like all New Yorkers were united in cooperation, solidarity, and compassion.
The rally at St. Peter's Church downtown focused on supporting the proposed Park51 Muslim community center that's been so controversial. But speakers were clear that the real issue has become much greater: the fight for the future of the U.S. as a pluralistic democracy in which minorities, people of color, and even unpopular opinions are valued ...
Throughout the yamim noraim (the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) members and guests of CBST have been signing a greeting card wishing our friends at Park51, the folks behind the proposed Muslim Community Center in Lower Manhattan, a good Eid ul-Fitr. Eid is a three day holiday marking the end of Ramadan. The image of hundreds of names from our community to theirs is as moving as it is meaningful.
We wish the members of Park51 many years of peace, celebrations, freedom and acceptance.
“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” –Psalms 118:22
The most recent cover of Time magazine asks the question, “Is America Islamophobic?” I find it jarring that this is even a question. Islamophobia, particularly following 9/11 in our country, is alive and being actively overfed by hate-mongers to the point that a man recently stabbed a New York City cab driver after asking if he were Muslim, and shouted “‘Assalamu alaikum — consider this a checkpoint!’” This parody of state-sponsored violence is abominable. I wish I could rinse my hands of it and claim that Jewish ...
