Shocking details of Slain Imam’s Autopsy

Chris Rock Reads Muhammad Ali’s Remarks for Hope for Haiti Telethon

Chris Rock and Muhammad Ali at Hope for Haiti telethon. Rock reads a statement prepared by Ali which speaks about the importance of charity in Islam and for all human beings.

Both Islamic Relief and Zakat Foundation are among the charities delivering assistance to the people of Haiti.

Jewish Muslim Community Building Initiative Text Study

Rabbi Avi Finegold (left) with Abdul-Malik Ryan

I have been participating for some time with the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs and their Jewish Muslim Community Building Initiative. I also have participated in several Jewish-Muslim Text Studies through JCUA and at DePaul University through University Ministry.

Here is a write up from the JCUA newsletter of the most recent event, a text study on the moral and ethical as well as religious implications of the food laws in Judaism and Islam.

Jewish-Muslim Discussion: Are We What We Eat?

We are what we eat? That was the question on Jan. 10 at the “Jewish-Muslim Discussion About Food and Ethics,” the most recent Discussion Over Coffee sponsored by the Jewish-Muslim Community Building Initiative (JMCBI). JMCBI has been organizing these discussions for several years, bringing Jews and Muslims together to explore each other’s traditions.

The most recent discussion — at the Awake Café in Lakeview — was facilitated by Imam Abdul-Malik Ryan, co-founder of IMAN (Inner City Muslim Action Network) and modern-Orthodox Rabbi Avi Finegold. For both Jews and Muslims, food and ethics are important to discuss together.

More than 35 Jews and Muslims, young and old, studied religious texts and discussed such questions as “Is the food I am eating actually kosher or halal?” and “Do I have to care about the way the animal has been slaughtered?”

Would you like to organize another JMCBI discussion? Contact us (jmcbi@jcua.org) to volunteer.