Jews and Muslims turn hate to humanity March 8

Religious leaders to discuss interfaith collaboration in face of vandalism, threats

As America grapples with recent acts of violence against its Jewish and Muslim communities, leaders from these groups will explore responses based on partnership and solidarity in a public forum at 7 p.m. March 8 in Graham Chapel on the Danforth Campus of Washington University in St. Louis.

El-Messidi

Sponsored by the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics, the free public event is inspired by recent expressions of solidarity between Jews and Muslims that have occurred in the wake of recent incidences involving racial, ethnic and religious hate.

In St. Louis, Muslim organizations, such as Philadelphia-based CelebrateMercy, have led fundraising efforts in response to the desecration of monuments at Chesed Shel Emeth Jewish cemetery in University City.

Andrew Rehfeld, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, and Tarek El-Messidi, founding director of CelebrateMercy, are scheduled to discuss what it means to partner and support one another across religious and political lines, despite potential differences on geopolitical issues.

Rehfeld

The discussion will be moderated by Marie Griffith, center director and the John C. Danforth Distinguished Professor in the Humanities.

Seating in Graham Chapel will be first come, first served. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. An RSVP, while helpful in facilitating contact for parking passes and event changes, does not guarantee admission or seating. For more information, or to RSVP, call 314-935-9345 or email rap@wustl.edu.

The John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics serves as an open venue for fostering rigorous scholarship and informing broad academic and public communities about the intersections of religion and U.S. politics. It is committed to fostering debate and discussion among people who hold widely different views about religion and politics.

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