A Shared Struggle: Muslim and Jewish fasters break it together
Brooklyn’s Jewish and Muslim communities have used a common fasting day to build stronger bonds between them.
Last Tuesday, July 16, Jews observed Tisha B’Av, the saddest day of the Hebrew calendar which commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples and is a strict fast day. Meanwhile, until Aug. 7, Muslims are observing the holy month of Ramadan, during which they believe the prophet Mohammed received revelations from God, which are recorded in the Qu’ran. Both fasts end at sundown, and the timing inspired Congregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope, the Turkish Cultural Center and the Kings Bay YMHA to hold a joint break-the-fast meal. Muslims call this meal the Iftar, and hospitality is a central part of this tradition.
The large Reform temple in Park Slope had already enjoyed an ongoing friendship with the Kings Bay Y and is starting a new relationship with the Turkish Cultural Center. Helping bring them together was the Peace Islands Institute, a non-profit organization that is experienced in this very work.
“Basically, we form dialogue groups and understanding between religious groups,” Ibrahim Sayar told the Brooklyn Eagle during the Iftar. Mr. Sayar is the director of the Peace Island Institute’s Center for Interfaith Affairs. They have worked with Congregation Beth Elohim in recent years. “This kind of event is not new,” Sayar explains. “They had a similar program with the Jewish Theological Seminary, for example. We have different programs with different communities: different churches, different churches and different temples—and even Buddhist groups, not only Jewish people.” Working in seven U.S. states, including New York, Sayar knows from experience that “it really helps to bring people together, give them first-hand experience of the other. Because the information that we are receiving about the other culture is usually from second-hand or third-hand: through media or the books that we know. And the media can be sometimes deceiving.