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.

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.

Waleed Basyouni, Vice President for AlMaghrib Institute, talks extensively in a thought-provoking lecture entitled: Violence in the Name of God. He touches on the dangers of extremism and sets a clear foundation on the parameters of taking arms from a Sunni Islamic perspective. This is a greatly needed lecture to set the tone for today’s population, educating and empowering both Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

Photos by Savera Iftikhar

Pictures from “Fruits of Your Iman: The Grand Finale of the Grow Your Iman Fundraising Campaign” Luncheon.

(Can you spot Abu Noor Al-Irlandee in these pictures?)

Please donate to IMAN. Wealth is not decreased by sadaqa.

1. Detroit (Northeast) 28.5 percent unemployed
2. Chicago (Southside) 23.2
3. Detroit (West Side) 22.6
4. Cleveland (Northeast) 22.0
5. Detroit (Northeast) 21.6
6. St. Louis (North) 21.4
7. Chicago (West side) 20.9
8. Toledo (East, Southeast) 20.3
9. Detroit (Northeast) 19.9
10. Atlanta (west Central) 19.0

It is painfully ironic that the presidency of the first Blackamerican president upon whom so many people placed such great hope has coincided with a Depression in Black America.

I’m not recommending listening to music…but Irish American Muslim Hip Hop Artist Everlast has a nice video out for his song “Stone in My Hand” which includes the lyrics:

You build your fighter jets

You drop your bombs

You kill our fathers

You kill our moms

Kill our brothers and our sisters and our uncles and our aunts

And STILL I’m fighting with the stone that’s in my hand

…………

Blood runs the gutters

Smoke fills the sky

Every son that suffers

Every mother cries

So if you had enough and ready for your stand

I’ll be waiting with the stone that’s in my hand

Stone in my hand, Stone in my hand

All the love that’s in my heart and the stone that’s in my hand

You can learn more about IMAN and donate here.