Part 1 Starting the conversation: embracing our commonalities. We refuse to be enemies ; Muslims and Jews belong together ; If you save one life, it is though you save the world ; Welcome the stranger ; Islah and Tikkun Olam: our common moral imperative to help those most in need ; Standing up for each other: minority communities fighting bigotry together -- Part 2 Tapping our roots: what we learned from our respective life journeys. Bearing witness for our mothers ; How the two of us got here: Israel and Pakistan: love of our homelands ; We believed we were enemies ; The sad trajectories of Pakistan and Israel ; Who am I? Our shifting identities and embracing the promise of American pluralism -- Part 3 Confronting the elephants in the room. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict: a dialogue ; Is the Qur'an anti-Semitic? Is the Torah genocidal? -- Part 4 Healing our past and claiming our future. Putting and Sarah and Hagar's conflict to rest ; The road forward.
Summary:
"We Refuse to Be Enemies is a manifesto by two American citizens, a Muslim woman and Jewish man, concerned with the rise of intolerance and bigotry in our country along with resurgent white nationalism. Neither author is an imam, rabbi, scholar, or community leader, but together they have spent decades doing interfaith work and nurturing cooperation among communities. They have learned that, through face-to-face encounters, people of all backgrounds can come to know the Other as a fellow human being and turn her or him into a trusted friend. In this book, they share their experience and guidance. Growing up in Pakistan before she immigrated to the United States, Sabeeha never met a Jew, and her view was colored by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In his youth, Walter never met a Muslim, and his opinion was shaped by Leon Uris's Exodus. Yet together they have formed a friendship and collaboration. Tapping their own life stories and entering into dialogue within the book, they explain how they have found commonalities between their respective faiths and discuss shared principles and lessons, how their perceptions of the Other have evolved, and the pushback they faced. They wrestle with the two elephants in the room: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and polarizing material in their holy texts and history. And they share their vision for reconciliation, offering concrete principles for building an alliance in support of religious freedom and human rights"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.