{"id":1233,"date":"2017-03-03T22:55:23","date_gmt":"2017-03-04T04:55:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/?p=1233"},"modified":"2017-03-03T22:56:45","modified_gmt":"2017-03-04T04:56:45","slug":"children-of-abraham-are-standing-together-at-last","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/children-of-abraham-are-standing-together-at-last\/","title":{"rendered":"The Children of Abraham Are Standing Together…At Long Last"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the Name of God: The Extremely and Eternally Loving and Caring <\/i><\/p>\n

We are natural allies, Muslims and Jews. We worship the same God. We honor the same Prophets. We have very similar theology and religious law. We both harken to the same patriarch, Abraham. <\/p>\n

Yet, for some reason, and for many years, Muslims and Jews were not always standing together. I suspect it had a lot to do with the conflict in the Middle East between Israelis and Palestinians. While unfortunate, it was nevertheless reality.<\/p>\n

But recent events may be changing this reality. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In the wake of the election of 2016, there has been a shocking wave of threats directed toward the Jewish community. Most recently, it took the form of bomb threats to JCCs<\/a> and Synagogues and the desecration of Jewish cemeteries<\/a>. Muslims, too, have also been the target of repugnant acts of hatred and violence. This includes multiple arson attacks on mosques<\/a> across the country.<\/p>\n

And in response, the Muslim and Jewish community have stood up for each other. <\/p>\n

The Religion News Service detailed <\/a>how Jews in Florida rallied to help local Muslims who had their mosque attacked by arson. It also outlined  other instances of interfaith support:<\/p>\n

When vandals damaged headstones in a Missouri Jewish cemetery last month, Muslim activists raised more than $125,000 to fund repairs.<\/p>\n

When a Victoria, Texas, mosque was razed by vandals in late January, members of a local Jewish congregation allowed the displaced Muslim worshippers to worship in their synagogue.<\/p>\n

And when vandals toppled more than 100 headstones in a Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia last weekend, Muslims and others traveled from other states to repair them.<\/p>\n

The Muslim Student Associations of Florida State and Florida A&M universities delivered bouquets of flowers to campus Jewish organizations and local synagogues in a show of solidarity after the two cemetery attacks.<\/p>\n

Muslim veterans have offered to help guard Jewish sites.<\/p>\n

Jonathan Greenblatt, head of the Anti-Defamation League, an anti-Semitism watchdog group, received a standing ovation when he said at a conference that if U.S. Muslims were forced to register with the government, he would register as a Muslim, too.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This truly warms my heart to see, and I pray these recent actions sow the seeds for deep and lasting cooperation and friendship between American Jews and Muslims for many years to come. <\/p>\n

And while I am sad that it took repugnant acts of hatred against the Muslim and Jewish community to motivate this wonderful interfaith work, it is better late than never. And may any differences between Muslims and Jews, either real or perceived, never let them forget who they really are: Children of Abraham who must always stand together. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At long last, Jews and Muslims are standing together…as they should have been doing all along.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":175,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[814,102,101,812,417,817,12],"class_list":["post-1233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-common-word","tag-anti-semitism","tag-hatred","tag-islamophobia","tag-jcc","tag-jews","tag-mosques","tag-muslims"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Children of Abraham Are Standing Together...At Long Last - Common Word, Common Lord<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Children of Abraham Are Standing Together...At Long Last - Common Word, Common Lord\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At long last, Jews and Muslims are standing together...as they should have been doing all along.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/children-of-abraham-are-standing-together-at-last\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Common Word, Common Lord\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-03-04T04:55:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-03-04T04:56:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/files\/2017\/03\/img_4215.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hesham A. Hassaballa\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@GodFaithPen\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Children of Abraham Are Standing Together...At Long Last - Common Word, Common Lord","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Children of Abraham Are Standing Together...At Long Last - Common Word, Common Lord","og_description":"At long last, Jews and Muslims are standing together...as they should have been doing all along.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/children-of-abraham-are-standing-together-at-last\/","og_site_name":"Common Word, Common Lord","article_published_time":"2017-03-04T04:55:23+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-03-04T04:56:45+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/commonwordcommonlord\/files\/2017\/03\/img_4215.jpg"}],"author":"Hesham A. 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Hassaballa","description":"Hesham A. Hassaballa is a Chicago doctor and writer. He has written extensively on a freelance basis, being published in newspapers across the country and around the world. He has been a Beliefnet columnist since 2001, and has written for the Religion News Service. He is also a columnist for Patheos. His articles have been distributed worldwide by Agence Global, and he was also a guest blogger for The Chicago Tribune and has blogged on ChicagoNow\" . In addition, Dr. Hassaballa has appeared as a guest on WTTW (Channel 11) in Chicago, CNN, Fox News, BBC, and National Public Radio. Dr. Hassaballa is co-author of The Beliefnet Guide to Islam (Doubleday), and his essay, \u201cWhy I Love the Ten Commandments,\u201d was published in the award-winning book Taking Back Islam (Rodale). His latest book, Noble Brother, is the story of the Prophet Muhammad told entirely in poetry, and it is now published in its second edition. In 2007, his blog \"God, Faith, and a Pen\" was nominated for a Brass Crescent Award for a blog that is \u201cthe most stimulating, insightful, and philosophical, providing the best rebuttals to extremist ideology and making an impact whenever they post.\u201d \"God, Faith, and a Pen\" has also received an award for being one of the \"Top Muslim Blogs for 2010\" by Awarding The Web. In addition to writing, Dr. Hassaballa helped found the Chicago Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations and currently serves on their board of directors. He also co-founded the Bayan H. 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