PrintNovember 14, 2010
Jewish Theological Seminary Hosts Islamic Triumphalists
Audience members in the packed Jewish Theological Seminary auditorium just down the block from Columbia University might have been gratified to see hijabs and yarmulkes adorning the heads of Muslims and Jews coming together for interfaith dialogue on the evening of October 25. The title of the event, "Islam in America: Assimilation and Authenticity," drew a large, mixed crowd, perhaps three hundred strong, eager for interreligious conversation. The anticipation of imams and rabbis in reserved front seats, or students filling other rows to the brim, was understandable -- isn't this, after all, the conversation Muslims and members of other faiths need to start having? This optimism at the prospect of dialogue between mainstream Muslim organizations and their Jewish and Christian counterparts resurfaces often, and rarely for good reason. Monday night was no exception. The event, a joint project of the Jewish Theological Seminary and the Islamic Society of North America,...(Read Full Article)
