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Sunday, 7 April 2019

A lesson from history for Jews and Muslims | Letters

The faiths must acknowledge their differences, writes Zaki Cooper, as Charles Harris identifies a key text of the far right

Muslims and Jews face a common enemy on the far right, and have other shared elements to draw on (Muslims and Jews must stand together against the common threat: white supremacists, 4 April). Inspiration can be taken from the coexistence that flourished between those faiths in the middle ages in Spain. There are also substantial theological similarities between them. The Jewish figure Maimonides, who lived in Spain and Egypt and died in 1204, was a particular admirer of Islam. Today, observant Jews and Muslims find common ground in prayer, dietary restrictions and charitable obligations.

At the same time, we must be careful not to overstate the similarities. Any relationship, including those between our faiths, needs to be founded on honesty: accentuating commonalities but also acknowledging differences. Notwithstanding friendships between many Muslims and Jews, there is antagonism, suspicion and tension between our communities. At this delicate time, we should remind ourselves of the words of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel in his essay No Religion Is an Island: “We must choose between interfaith and inter-nihilism.”
Zaki Cooper
Trustee, Council of Christians and Jews

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from Islam | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2D4o9Qg

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