 "Photo: Hasan Altaf")
Russell Simmons joined representatives from the Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life and the Islamic Center at NYU last night to discuss the future of dialogue and collaboration between the two faiths at a panel discussion in NYU's Kimmel Center for University Life.
Both centers organized the panel in conjunction with the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, which is chaired by Russell Simmons, co-founder of Def Jam Records.
The panel consisted of Imam Khalid Latif, Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, Imam Shamsi Ali and Rabbi Marc Schneier, president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding. The discussion was moderated by Joel Cohen, a former federal prosecutor and author of several books on religion.
Following a brief introduction by NYU senior Eric Goldberg, co-president of the Jewish organization Hillel, Simmons took to the podium clad in jeans and a trademark baseball cap to give the night's opening remarks and to describe his personal and professional interactions with members of both faiths.
Cohen then began the discussion with a series of yes-or-no questions directed at the panelists.
When asked if Muslims and Jews worship the same god using different names, all four panelists agreed that they do. But the similarities interested the panelists and the audience members less than the differences and political strife that often distance the two faiths.
"I think there has to be an acknowledgment of the diversity of interpretations that possibly would allow for the texts to be interpreted," Latif said. "What we have too often is a separation of voices, with people speaking to like-minded individuals."
Both he and Sarna pointed to a recent service trip by the Bronfman and Islamic Centers to New Orleans, claiming it inspired personal, mutual conversations about religion that weren't immediately politically provocative.
"If the starting point for conversations between Jews and Muslims is the politics in the Middle East, then I think they're doomed from the start," Sarna said. "I think politics can only be discussed in the context of friendship."
As part of NYU president John Sexton's plan to foster interfaith activity on campus, Sarna and Latif are planning several more programs between their two centers for this academic year.
Latif said their hope is to satisfy student interest by moving beyond dialogue and toward concrete and united action.
Issie Lapowski is theater editor. E-mail her at ilapowski@nyunews.com.
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