We’re Branching Out!Welcome to the first issue of AAi’s newsletter OlivA, bearing the fruit of peace for the glory of God. OlivA aims to reveal the bountiful harvest of charity and righteous-ness (Hebrew צדקה tzedakah, Arabic صدقة sadaqah) produced by a growing movement of Jews, Christians and Muslims uniting to build peace, serve communities, and save lives.

Inside This Issue pg2•AboutAAi pg3•MeetaMember

pg2•UnderstandingMuslims pg6•Rabbi&ImamStudyTogether

continued on page 7

Bearing the fruit of peace for the glory of God

Did You Know?

Abrahamic Alliance InternationalFounder

and Executive Director RodCardozahasbeennominated for the 2012

CoexistPrize.Foundedin2006,theorganizationpromotesbetterunder-standing between Jews, Christians and Muslims via education, dialogue andresearch.The$100,000prize($10,000fortworunners-up),goestosomeone who has “made an excep-tional contribution to building bridges between people of different faiths, who has shown courage and imagination beyond their day to day responsibilities and effected change that will leave a lasting impact in their society and beyond,” says coexistfoundation.net. InalettertoAAiBoardmemberandformerpresidentoftheSouthValleyIslamicCenter,SohailAkhter,MichaelWakelinofTheCambridgeCoexist Programme in London said those viewingCardoza’snominationwere“impressedandinspired”bytheworkMr.CardozaandAAiaredoing,whichhas gained international attention.

9/11 A Decade Later: An Act of Peace by Loureen Murphy

Phoenix,Ariz.,aplacewhere hard feelings can simmer in the desertsun,provedanunlikely,

yet perfect theater for a class act on the tenthanniversaryof9/11.Beforethecurtainwentup,aleaderofMuslimwomen readied the final details, a Christian from Kansas covered her head, an imam rehearsed answers to tough questions, a Muslim couple anticipated befriending Christians, and a Mennonite pastor opened his heart to them all.Theninaspiritofjoyandfriendship,AbrahamicAllianceInternationalbrought together this group of strangers to perform a real-life act of charity—serving a meal to the needy. ThetroupeofplayersanddirectorsassembledatTempeIslamicCentertogetacquainted.ImamBasirofPhoenixMetroIslamicSchoolandPastor HalShraderofTrinityMennoniteChurchofGlendaletookcenterstage,askingice-breakerquestionsofthetwenty-threeothersgatheredwiththem.Then,wallscamedownandbondsformedastheydispersed,two-on-two,into Mulsim-Christian buddy groups. Conversation and laughter continued

Muslim and Christian leaders prepare to unite their faith communities to serve 180 meals to homeless residents of WatkinsEmergencyShelterinPhoenix,Ariz.,onthe10thanniversaryof9/11.

fall–winter 2012 www.abrahamicalliance.org

Understanding MuslimsThe Wide Open Door to Loving Muslim Neighbors

Attending AAi’s Loving Muslim Neighbors seminar at Golden Hills Community Church

“wasnatural”forJenniferStanley, aChristianfromBrentwood,Calif.Her world intersected with Muslims years ago when her husband’s sister married a Muslim in Kuwait. Jennifer’s children loved spending the summer months with their Kuwaiti cousins whentheycametovisittheU.S.eachyear.Finally,withherhusbandandchildren,JennifermadethetrekoverseasforthemonthofRamadan.ThetimeofclosecontactinKuwaitgave Jennifer’s whole family an un-derstanding that Muslims are “people justlikeyouandme.” Still,overtheinterveningyears,Jennifer hungered for greater under-standing of the Muslim community, partly because family visits didn’t allow much time for one-on-one sharing.Shetooksomeclassestaught by non-Muslims, but felt they brushedIslamwitha“reallybroadstroke.”AAi’sLoving Muslim Neighbors seminar addressed more ofherquestions.“Thatwasextremelyhelpful to me,” she says.

Jennifer now hopes to have more interaction with Muslims in Brentwood.Shealsohasadream:“IwouldlovetoseefearofMuslimsreplaced with love. We have a new mosqueinBrentwood.Atanymen-tion of that mosque to my Christian friends,youseefearontheirfaces.Iwould love to see that fear replaced with love and understanding.” Howwouldthathappen?“Ithinktherejusthastobemoreofthese types of opportunities, more of these seminars for the Christian community,”Jenniferexplains.Thechurch she attends sees a need to educate the entire congregation to deal with this fear. Hosting the AAi seminar was an important step in this direction. When Christians understand Muslim faith and culture, fear and suspicion can be replaced with appreciation and friendship. Ironically,Jenniferfoundthatunlikemany Americans, “Muslims love to talkaboutspiritualthings.”Inpost-9/11 America, many Christians have difficulty imagining friendships with Muslims.ButaccordingtoJennifer,“We have a wide open door.”

JenniferStanley(farleft) chats with her buddy group mem-bersSerife,Ruby,and Neslihan at the a Common Word Com-munityServicehostedbyPacificaInstituteinSunnyvale,Calif.,November 2011 (see “A Hearty Helping of Love and Charity,” page 4.).

2 • fall–winter 2012 AAi news

About AAi

AbrahamicAllianceInterna-tional is a faith-based, non-

profitorganizationunitingJews,Christians and Muslims for active peacebuilding and relief of extreme poverty. AAi builds peace by unit-ing Jews, Christians and Muslims to serve the poor, suffering and marginalizedtogetherinacontextof compassion.

Questions?Write,emailorcallusat:AbrahamicAllianceInternationalPOBox23955SanJose,CA95153+1(408)728-8943phone+1(206)600-4978faxinfo@abrahamicalliance.org

Editor in Chief ..............RodCardoza

Editorial Director .... Loureen Murphy

SeniorEditor ............... RabbiSimcha Aaron Green

Associate Editor ........MaheenAkhter

Associate Editor ............PaulKosloski

Associate Editor ....Jonathan Partridge

Design .......................Alicia Deguchi

OlivA Editorial Team

fall–winter 2012 • 3www.abrahamicalliance.org

Meet a Member:

Maheen Akhter

WhenIfirstspottedMaheen in a photo on the Abrahamic Alliance (AAi)

website wearing an Archbishop Mitty HighSchoolsweatshirt,Iwonderedwhether this was a random ward-robe choice for the Muslim teen, or whether she was somehow a living embodiment of Abrahamic Alliance ideals.SoIasked.

Loureen:Icouldn’thelpbutnoticethatsweatshirt. Do you attend Mitty?Maheen:Yes,Ido.

LM:Howislifeforyouoncampusas a Muslim?MA:It’snotthathardformebecauseI’vebeenraisedwithanopenmindto all religions. My parents chose private Catholic schools for us be-cause they give excellent educations. My older brother was already attend-ingwhenIstarted.IthinkCatholicschool is better than a non-religious school because it instills values.

LM:Howdoesitinstillvalues?DoyouhavetoattendMass?Ifso,whatisthatlikeforyou?

MA:Yes,IattendMass,butmyschooldoesagoodjobatgearingtheirliturgiesforallfaiths.They usually try to give a universal mes-sage.Therequiredreligionclassesare about morality and philosophy. IwasveryopentothembecauseIthoughttheywoulddevelopmemore as a person.

LM:Inthisclimate,doyoufindyourclassmates interested in discussing spiritual things?MA:Iftheycomeupinconversation, yes. Everybody at Mitty is super acceptingofwhoIamasaMuslim.

Maheen at a Glance

Home: Gilroy, California Faith Community: Muslim Favorite Sport:TennisSchool:Senior,ArchbishopMittyHighSchool,SanJose,CaliforniaLatest Adventure:ServiceMissiontotheTamarindoinElSalvador

“AAi is a great way to open your mind and open your heart to everyone around you.” —Maheen

LikewhenIfastduringRamadan, myfriendsskiplunchwithme.

LM:Whatwillmakeadifferenceforpeace in the world?MA:Ithinkthemainproblemis discrimination.It’sthelittlethingsthatcount.Sotomakeadifference,whenyouseediscrimination,takeastandagainstit.Letpeopleknowthatwe should not treat people differently becauseoftheirreligion.Schools and families need to teach diversity in religion and culture, and also appreciationandknowledgeaboutother religions.

LM:Howelseareyoulivingoutyourvalues?MA:I’vegottentoknowalotofpeopleofotherfaiths…I’velearnedthatwe’renotallthatdifferent.Soit’snot unusual for us to learn something about each other and say, “We do thatathometoo.”Thosediscoveriesarereallycool.Ithinkthestories others have to tell and the experi-ences they share open my mind to theirperspectives.Itletsmeknowthat we’re not all that different.

Forexample,inschoolduringLentwe have this program called OperationRiceBowl,wherewe cut down on what we would buy for ourselves and donate the change instead. Our donations go to CatholicReliefServicesforfeedingtheneedy.TheLentenperiodof fasting and concentrating on being withGodislikeRamadan.

LM:Tellmeaboutyourconnectionwith AAi. MA:Myfamilyhasbeenassociatedwith AAi for a long time and has been doing community service with them. AAi is a great way to open your mind and open your heart to everyonearoundyou.It’sthekey to a successful community and improving your character.

continued on page 8

by Loureen Murphy

What do you get when you mix mounds of salad greens and vegetables,

multiple pounds of rice and meat, and then stir in the conversation andlaughterof32ChristiansandMuslims?ThejoyfulfeedingoftheneedyatCityTeamMinistriesMen’sRecoveryCenterinSanJose,Calif.Thisrecipeserveshundreds. OnSunday,Nov.20,2011 an eager group of children, teens and adults gathered at the Pacifica InstituteinSunnyvale,firsttoget acquainted with one another. MehmetSenofthePacificaInstitute,aTurkish-Americanspiritualandculturalorganization,andSanJosePastorRobbieErnstledvolunteerorientation.Bothleaderscameinwith high hopes for building bridges. “… it’s our understanding that Abrahamicreligions[Islam,Judaism, Christianity] have more commonali-tiesthandifferences,”saysSen. “Thisservicebringsustogetherfora

common goal.” “We are here to love our neighbors together as Muslims and as Christians,” said Ernst. “We can serve together for the common good.”

This service will bring us together

for a common goal.

Then,eachparticipantmethis match—or hers, when paired in buddy groups for the day. Women satintwosandthreesandtalkedabout fond childhood memories and favorite holidays. Men stood face to face,animated,theirenjoymentinthediscussionobvious.Usingques-tions provided, they all interacted aboutfaithheroes,familyback-grounds and even scriptures that taught them to care about those less fortunate than themselves. Thefriendshipsbegun,buddies then surrounded long tables to

AAi news

continued on page 5

A Hearty Helping of Love and Charity

prepareacompletemeal.Thoughthisgrouphadneverworkedtogetherbefore, what could have been bum-blingandchaoticquicklybecamean efficient, cheerful assembly line of grating,choppingandshredding.Tubaftertuboffreshgreensaladstackedup, followed by rice, meat and color-fulfruitsalad.Teensmanagedthe dessert, revani,adeliciousTurkishcaketoppedwithsweetsyrup. Volunteerspackeddozensofaluminum trays into vans and then drovetotheCityTeamfacility,whichhousesmenbreakingfreefrom addictions and daily feeds homeless guestsofallagesandbackgrounds.After everyone assembled in the kitchen,CityTeamChefReynoldsStewartgaveinstructionsandhelpedthegrouporganizeatdifferentstations. Somedishupthehotmeal,somehandouttake-awayfood,suchas pre-packedfruitandmilk,andotherspassoutcupsofwater.Stillmore volunteers wash trays and start preparingthenextday’smeal.Thepurpose was to bless those in need as much as possible.

As people passed the servers, smilesandthankscamewithasmuch good will as the food did. Eyes

“ ”

4 • fall–winter 2012

www.abrahamicalliance.org

“A Hearty Helping” continued...

sparkledashungryfolkssmelledthe savory meat prepared at Pacifica Institute.Soonafter,remarkslike“ Yessir.It’sgood!”pepperedthequeue as men returned for seconds andevenhomelesswalk-inguests,who included families with young children, proved equally enthused about the service and the meal. A CityTeamstaffermentionedthatthis was the largest crowd they had servedallyear,about150walk-ins,plusthe50residents. How did the group of volunteers fare? “Helping people issoenjoyable,”remarkedSuneyra,whoarrivedfromTurkeyjustfourmonthsago.“IfeelIcandosome-thing for humanity.” After all the guests had eaten, volunteers sat down to dine together, sometalking,someeating.Connec-tions grew as some found they lived orworkednearoneanother.Onepair of women exchanged contact information so they could meet later forcoffeeandtakewalkstogetherduringtheday.VinceStanleyenjoyedtalkingwithhisbuddyRinatIbrayev,impressedtolearnhe’dleftKazakh-stan and obtained a bachelors, mastersandaPh.D.intheU.S. “He has lived in more places in the U.S.thanIhave,”heobserved. Overall, the afternoon proved delightful for every person involved. MehmetSensaid,“Theeventwasunique in the sense that it helped on two valuable purposes. One, it brought people together from different genders, ages, locations, andfaithcommunities.Second,weworkedtogethertoservetheneedy,care for our neighbors, and care for those less fortunate than ourselves. People united in a very short time, and left each other with warm feel-ings.”Inshort,thedaywaseven“more than we expected.”

Anatomy of a Service Event• Faithleaderswelcomeparticipantsandkickofforientationwithanicebreaker.

• Buddygroupsoflikegenderandagepairupandgettoknoweachother.

• Volunteerspreparefoodinbuddygroups.

• Foodispackedandvolunteerscarpooltotheservicesite.

• Volunteersservethemealtogetherandcleanup.

• Buddygroupsdinetogetheranddeepenconnections.

Loving Muslim NeighborsHearts and minds opened at this seminar held at

Lincoln Glen Church in San Jose, CA in April 2012

In the NewsSojourners author credits AAi founder with ground-breaking peacebuilding

AaronD.TaylorinhisOctober2011articleinSojournersmagazine,“AcrosstheGreatDivide:MuslimsandChristiansinthePost9/11World,”

observes, “While most attempts at dialogue and bridge-building tend to gloss overthetheologicaldifferencesbetweenChristiansandMuslims,Cardozatacklesthemhead-onanddarestosuggestthatmanyofthesedifferencescanactuallybereconciledbyacarefulreadingoftheBibleandtheQuran.” Taylorisreferringabovetoapaperentitled“NewPathsinMuslim-Christian Dialog:UnderstandingIslamfromtheLightofEarliestJewishChristianity,”presentedbyCardozainWashington,DCattheAnnualConferenceonMuslim Peace,JusticeandInterfaithDialogue(sponsoredbySalamInstituteforPeaceandJustice,andIslamicSocietyofNorthAmerica),andwasrecentlyacceptedfor publication in The Muslim World,ajournalfocusedonIslamandMuslim-Christian relations.

fall–winter 2012 • 5

AAi news

A Rabbi & Imam Study Scripture Together

Sometimeago,Iwasprivilegedto spend one and a half hours withImamTahirAnwar,dis-

cussingwaysIstudythetextoftheBibleandlearningfromhimthemethods used by Muslims to study thetextoftheQur’an.Forme,thiswas a most meaningful time spent learning from one another—both in-spirational as well as deeply moving. Muslims call Jews “people of thebook,”indicatingthereverencewe show to the depth of our study of the written word. Jews do notreadtheBible;westudy it. Each and ev-ery word is significant asweseektofullygrasp the true and complete meaning. Our study session begins by reading together the Genesis story of the“command”toAbrahamtotakehis son to the mountain to fulfill the “explicitdirectionofGod.”InthetextoftheJewishBible,thenameofIsaacisnotedasthesonconcerning whom this command is directed. Abraham implies he has two sons and loves them both, but he’s finally toldhemustsacrificeIsaac.Tradition tells us the other two males who accompaniedAbrahamwereEliezerandYishmael(i.e.,Ishmael).Wediscuss for a while why God would evenmakesucharequestof Abraham, and that discussion is

most meaningful. Ithenpointouthowsignificant itistoJewsthatIsaacistheson designated to continue the tradition begun by Abraham, becoming as it were, the second patriarch. His willingness to be the human sacrifice if so demanded is critical to our understandingofourtradition.IaskImamTahirwhyMuslimsbelieveIsaacwasnotthesondesignated,butratherYishmael,sonofAbrahamandHagar.ItseemstoJewsthattheBibleismostclearinnamingIsaacdefinitelyandspecifically.Tome,this fundamental difference had to be addressed as we sought to study together.Iammostimpressedbytheimam’sresponse.Incandor,hesays

that the Muslim tradi-tion clearly states it wasIshmael,andthatthis is supported by theQur’an.Whythatis so then became the basis of our contin-ued conversation.

Theissueremainedunresolved,butthe process of our studying together remained most important to me. ImentionHagarislaterreferredtointheBibleasKeturahandexplain that the translation of Hagar in Hebrew is “the convert,” indicating that Hagar, in becoming a member of the household of Abraham, adopted his teaching of the One God. Ilookforwardtocontinuing suchstudiestogether.Iseektoexplain thewayswereadtheBibletext carefully and hope to better under-stand the words of the traditions of theQur’an.Iwasmostgratefulto the imam for the time he spent with me.

byRabbiSimchaAaronGreenAbout Rabbi Green

RabbiSimchaA.Greenisa modern orthodox rabbi who

received his ordination from YeshivaUniversity.Hehasservedin the rabbinate for more than 40 years and directed several religious HebrewschoolsinEastCoastU.S.communities. Active with all age groups, he directed adult educa-tion at the Jewish Community Center in Philadelphia, and served in youth programming and outreach to intermarried Jewish families. He moved from Maine to Californiain2006toleadAhabatTorah,SanJose’sonlySephardicOrthodox synagogue. He is a contributortoBeitHaMidrashoftheBayAreaandagreatbelieverinthepowerofdialogue.RabbiGreenhasorganizednumerousTorahstudysessionsovertheyearsfor rabbis in all streams of Jewish thought. He also developed similar Torahstudiesforuseindiscussionwith Christian leaders. His interest in dialogue has more recently resulted in several meetings with BayAreaMuslimleadersand educators, building bridges of understanding and respect.

“The issue remained unresolved, but the

process of our studying together remained most important to me. ”

6 • fall–winter 2012

as volunteers rolled up their sleeves tocutfruit,veggiesandchickentoserve160dinnerstoresidentsatWatkinsEmergencyShelter.Onceat the shelter, the volunteers served side-by-side before closing off their daybyfeastingontheirowncookingand fellowship. Thisharmonyowedtothegoodwill of those who came. Of all thewayshecouldhavespentSep-tember11,ImamAbdulBasirwantedtogivehimselftothistask.“Numberone, that day is all about all man-kind....Weneedtounderstandmoreand more about each other.” Others attending echoed similar sentiments. Aliya Ghani, who helped orchestrate theeffortfromstarttofinish,spokeof replacing memories of a horrible tragedy with peace and healing. Par-ticipantVerlaDickofKansaslovestogettoknowpeopleofotherculturesandfollowedherhearttoArizona,takingpartinAAi’s“LovingMuslim NeighborsSeminar”beforetheserviceactivity.ZebMirzaandherhusband get great satisfaction from serving those in need and wanted to learn more about Christians. Pastor HalShradertakeseverychancehecantomakepeacewithMuslims. Bothgroupsembracedoneanotherrightoff.VerlaDicksays that the Muslims received the Christians “with such hospitality” andtheChristiansinturnenjoyed“getting a firsthand experience in a world we seldom get to see.” Aliya Ghani recalls how much she and her peers wanted to be good hosts and notoffend.ShefoundtheChristiansvery respectful as well as inquisi-tive.“Iwasreallyimpressedwitheveryone, how they were open and wanted to experience everything.” Each came away gratified by a differenthighlight.ImamBasirnotes,“Then,whenwewerepreparingthefood,Ilookedateveryone,andtheyhad smiles on their faces and were

“9-11 A Decade Later” continued from page 1...

happy, and had a good understand-ing of each other. With the love that wehadtogether,westartedtomakesomethingreallybeautiful.That moment... was a very interesting momentinmylife.”VerlaDickconcurs.“Workingtogethercreatedconnections beyond words.”

Working together created connections

beyond words.

ForPastorHal,the“coolestthing” occurred after the food ser-vice. “At the end, we sat down and gottoeattogether.Youwouldn’tknowthatpeoplehadnotknowneachotheralltheirlives.Therewaslaughter.Itwasbeautiful.”Bothcon-gregational leaders also encountered surprises.Theimamhadbracedforan onslaught of tough and perhaps accusatory questions, but found his Christian counterparts eager to learn aboutIslamandMuslimculture.HalShrader,whohadlongheardthatMulsim women were oppressed, interacted with “strong, intelligent, confident women” who have careers. Inamemorableongoingdialogthroughouttheday,VerlaandZeb

clicked.Zebsays,“...wediscussedthe similarities between our reli-gions....MybuddyVerlawasfabu-lous,sopersonableandfriendly.Itsurprised me that we were having suchagoodtimethatthetimejustflew.”Verlaherselfhad“nosenseof awkwardnessgettingtoknowZeb, ... and she was such a warm person we easily got into conversation.” Thecurtaindidn’tgodownonthis “act” once everyone went home. Inearly2012,ZebandVerlareunited, going out to dinner along with their husbands. Zeb says once again, with such pleasant company, the timeflew.ImamAbdulBasirsayshedetermined“tosharewhateverIsawwithmyMuslimcommunity.Soasaleader,Itoldthemitwouldbeagoodthing... in the future to have more events.” Pastor Hal notes that while this effort had a symbolic aspect, his desire and plan is to do more thanjustplantaflag,buttomakeregular moves toward peacebuilding withMuslims.Soherecentlysched-uled two more service events with theMuslimcommunity,andlooksforward to visiting an Arab cafe with ImamBasirtocontinuebuildingtheirfriendshipoversometastyTurkishcoffee.

“ ”

www.abrahamicalliance.org fall–winter 2012 • 7

POBox23955SanJose,CA95153

“Meet A Member” continued from page 3...

LM:Whathasbeenthehighlightforyou with AAi?MA:FeedingthehungryatSt. Joseph’sFamilyCenterinGilroy.Afriend serving with me noticed that one of the guests for the meal was a girlwhowenttoschoolwithher.Inthatmoment,Ilearnedthatevery-body in the community needs help nowandthen.Youneverknowhowclosetoyouitmightbe.Ijustneverthought it would be that close to us. It’sallforthecommongood.

LM:Isthiskindofserviceeverfun?MA:Yeah.Usuallytherearen’talotofkidsaround,butRod’skidsare really fun, especially Abram. He’s onlythree,buthetalkssomuch. It’sreallyfunny.

Maheen holds a child in ElSalvadorduring a charitable mission in summer, 2011.

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