Muslims and Jews in America : Commonalities, Contentions, and Complexities

Jews and Muslims make up less than 3% of the total population of the United States. Yet, despite their relatively small numbers, the members of these two minority groups often find themselves the focus of a disproportionate amount of media attention, particularly when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Beyond such international issues, American Jews and American Muslims find themselves struggling with similar inter-communal concerns when it comes to matters like education (for example tensions between student populations of Jews and Muslims on university campuses), politics (such as the swearing in of the first Muslim Congressman in the House of Representatives, Keith Ellison, or the omnipresent emails and robo-calls linking President Obama to the Muslim community that emerged during the 2008 Presidential election), or even pop culture (think of such recent Hollywood productions as Kingdom in Heaven , Munich , Paradise Now , and Traitor , to name but a few). In all of these matters, American Jews and American Muslims have consistently engaged each other in conversation – whether directly or indirectly; constructive or not – in ways that have usually eluded their co-religionists throughout the rest of the world. This has partly to do with America’s ethos as a 'melting pot' of different religions, ethnicities, and cultures. But it also has to do with the innovative ways in which Judaism and Islam have absorbed, and been radically altered, by the so-called 'American experience.' This book is an exploration of contemporary Jewish-Muslim relations in the United States and the distinct and often creative ways in which these two communities interact with one another in the American context. Each essay discusses a different episode from the recent twentieth and current twenty-first century American milieu that links these two groups together. Some deal with case examples of local inter-communal interaction, such as 'dialogue groups,' which can help us better understand national trends of similar activities in other parts of the country. Others focus on national trends themselves, thus giving us greater insights into individual incidents. Jews and Muslims make up less than 3% of the total population of the United States. Yet, despite their relatively small numbers, the members of these two minority groups often find themselves the focus of a disproportionate amount of media attention, particularly when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Beyond such international issues, American Jews and American Muslims find themselves struggling with similar inter-communal concerns when it comes to matters like education (for example tensions between student populations of Jews and Muslims on university campuses), politics (such as the swearing in of the first Muslim Congressman in the House of Representatives, Keith Ellison, or the omnipresent emails and robo-calls linking President Obama to the Muslim community that emerged during the 2008 Presidential election), or even pop culture (think of such recent Hollywood productions as Kingdom in Heaven, Munich, Paradise Now, and Traitor, to name but a few). In all of these matters, American Jews and American Muslims have consistently engaged each other in conversation - whether directly or indirectly; constructive or not - in ways that have usually eluded their co-religionists throughout the rest of the world. This has partly to do with America's ethos as a "melting pot" of different religions, ethnicities, and cultures. But it also has to do with the innovative ways in which Judaism and Islam have absorbed, and been radically altered, by the so-called "American experience." This book is an exploration of contemporary Jewish-Muslim relations in the United States and the distinct and often creative ways in which these two communities interact with one another in the American context. Each essay discusses a different episode from the recent twentieth and current twenty-first century American milieu that links these two groups together. Some deal with case examples of local inter-communal interaction, such as "dialogue groups," which can help us better understand national trends of similar activities in other parts of the country. Others focus on national trends themselves, thus giving us greater insights into individual incidents. -- Publisher description Front Matter....Pages i-xiv Introduction....Pages 1-5 Front Matter....Pages 7-7 You Can’t Handle the Truth ... or Maybe You Can....Pages 9-19 Who Put Hate in My Sunday Paper?: Uncovering the Israeli-Republican-Evangelical Networks behind the “Obsession” DVD....Pages 21-32 Children of Abraham in Dialogue....Pages 33-44 The Khalil Gibran International Academy—Lessons Learned?....Pages 45-53 Front Matter....Pages 55-55 Evolving from Muslims in America to American Muslims: A Shared Trajectory with the American Jewish Community....Pages 57-70 The War of Words: Jews, Muslims, and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict on American University Campuses....Pages 71-92 Muslims, Jews, and Religious Visibility on American College Campuses....Pages 93-105 J Street and Current Directions in American Muslim-Jewish Dialogue....Pages 107-114 Front Matter....Pages 115-115 Introduction to Speeches by Rabbi Eric Yoffie and Dr. Ingrid Mattson....Pages 117-119 Inaugural Address at the Forty-fourth Annual Convention of the Islamic Society of North America....Pages 121-125 Address at the Sixty-ninth Conference of the General Assembly of the Union for Reform Judaism....Pages 127-132 Integration or Separation: The Relationship between Iranian Jewish and Iranian Muslim Communities in Los Angeles....Pages 133-144 Challenges and Opportunities for Muslim-Jewish Peacemaking in America....Pages 145-156 Front Matter....Pages 157-157 Beyond Sarah and Hagar: Jewish and Muslim Reflections on Feminist Theology....Pages 159-172 Status Quo versus Solution: A New Middle East Playbook....Pages 173-176 Sacred Text Study as Dialogue between Muslims and Jews....Pages 177-189 American Jews and American Muslims of Love....Pages 191-199 Afterword....Pages 201-202 Back Matter....Pages 203-214 An exploration of the sometimes contentious, sometimes conciliatory, and often complex relationship between Jews and Muslims in the United States, this book was written by important scholars, religious leaders, and activists from the two communities. Each essay discusses a different episode from the twentieth or twenty-first century American milieu that has either linked these groups together or torn them apart.