The attacks on the Muslims in the New Zealand Mosque shooting and the Jews with Pittsburgh Tree of Life synagogue shooting brought these two communities together in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Tennesean reports how last night, the the Islamic Center of Nashville joined the West End Synagogue for an interfaith Iftar. Rabbi Joshua Kullock invited the Muslim community to break their fast and enjoy a meal along side each other.
He says, “Part of the challenge that we face is related to our ability to be proactive in building the bridges and building relationships that will allow us to share the bread, to break the bread, to be together to create these friendships that will be beneficial as we continue to create a better society, the Nashville that we are all very proud of,”
The rabbi and imam shared heartfelt laughter as they talked about their accents and their journeys immigrating to this country; Kullock came from Argentina, and the imam, Ossama Bahloul, came from Egypt.
“This is what our religions expect from us,” Bahloul said. “We believe that the religious community can be a part of the solution.”
Mary Cornelius, a Jewish convert and part of the synagogue, talks about how much she enjoyed the event.”We come here in love for our brothers and our sisters and we are fellow human beings. As the religious leaders so aptly said, there will be times and subjects upon which we will not agree, but we have a common humanity and we need to reflect on that and embrace that and embrace one another.”
This exactly what our Ummah should be about, joining our brothers and sisters of different faiths and walks of life, while respecting our differences as well. Its important that we can stand together in times of hardship, and laugh in times of ease.
