On February 9, Bridges: Muslim-Jewish Interfaith Dialogue at NYU launched its first event on the NYU campus in over a year and enthusiastically announced that Muslim-Jewish interfaith dialogue at NYU is back. This event paired Rabbi Yehuda Sarna and Imam Khalid Latif on a panel to discuss the significance of Jerusalem to each respective faith, and more specifically, to students of both faiths practicing their religion on NYU's campus. The event drew over 100 people from numerous campuses across New York City, including students from Brooklyn and other NYC boroughs.
The event discussed the significance of Jerusalem from three perspectives; historical, theological and sociological. These categories allowed both Rabbi Sarna and Imam Khalid to discuss numerous aspects of students' particular relationships with Jerusalem.
Both Rabbi Sarna and Imam Kahlid provided insightful and thought provoking historical accounts of the history of Muslim and Jewish engagement with Jerusalem. They also shared personal stories that highlighted themes that they saw as important to understanding the significance of Jerusalem in their personal lives. Rabbi Sarna joyfully recounted proposing to his future wife Michelle at the foot of the Western Wall as a symbol of the Jewish attachment to this ancient symbol of history and religious service. Imam Khalid, while never having had the privilege of visiting Jerusalem himself, provided the students with insightful comments on the difficulties many Muslims across the world face when trying to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He also provided accounts of difficulties he has dealt with while traveling internationally as a identifiably Muslim traveler.
Ultimately, this event was a tremendous success and created buzz around the Mulsim and Jewish communities at NYU that Bridges would be running numerous similar programing in the future. Stay tuned for future programs and for future blog posts about all upcoming Bridges events!
-Ariel Ennis
The event discussed the significance of Jerusalem from three perspectives; historical, theological and sociological. These categories allowed both Rabbi Sarna and Imam Khalid to discuss numerous aspects of students' particular relationships with Jerusalem.
Both Rabbi Sarna and Imam Kahlid provided insightful and thought provoking historical accounts of the history of Muslim and Jewish engagement with Jerusalem. They also shared personal stories that highlighted themes that they saw as important to understanding the significance of Jerusalem in their personal lives. Rabbi Sarna joyfully recounted proposing to his future wife Michelle at the foot of the Western Wall as a symbol of the Jewish attachment to this ancient symbol of history and religious service. Imam Khalid, while never having had the privilege of visiting Jerusalem himself, provided the students with insightful comments on the difficulties many Muslims across the world face when trying to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He also provided accounts of difficulties he has dealt with while traveling internationally as a identifiably Muslim traveler.
Ultimately, this event was a tremendous success and created buzz around the Mulsim and Jewish communities at NYU that Bridges would be running numerous similar programing in the future. Stay tuned for future programs and for future blog posts about all upcoming Bridges events!
-Ariel Ennis