{"id":42530,"date":"2020-05-06T18:27:04","date_gmt":"2020-05-06T18:27:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=42530"},"modified":"2020-05-06T18:27:04","modified_gmt":"2020-05-06T18:27:04","slug":"jordan-to-continue-partial-curfew-amid-continued-coronavirus-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=42530","title":{"rendered":"Jordan to continue partial curfew amid continued coronavirus pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nCHICAGO:\u00a0For the past 20 years, Marc Schneier, an American rabbi, has been building \u201cbridges of understanding\u201d between Jews and Muslims, an activity that has recently become the latest focus in interfaith dialogue.<\/p>\n

\nHe has carried out this vital work through his organization, The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding.<\/p>\n

\nSchneier, who has established strong ties with like-minded people in the Arab Gulf, is now trying to educate people about the meaning and importance of Ramadan.<\/p>\n

\nHe is doing this by hosting a special TV series, entitled \u201c30 Faces for the 30 Days,\u201d on the Jewish Broadcasting Service (JBS) and the foundation\u2019s social media.<\/p>\n

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

\nThe new series highlights the positive impact of Muslims globally by featuring a Muslim luminary in politics, religion, arts and culture and sports.<\/p>\n

\nThe objective is to educate the Jewish community and the public about Islam and the significance of Ramadan.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThere is a lot of ignorance about Ramadan during this sacred and holy season for Muslims. There is little understanding on the different traditions, rituals and precepts of Ramadan,\u201d Schneier said in an interview with Arab News via video call.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cSo, we decided to reach out to our global network.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cMuslim luminaries from politics, media, entertainment and culture teach and sensitize us to this important and sacred season for our Muslim brothers and sisters.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nSchneier\u2019s message is reaching a large audience. A non-profit educational channel, JBS is America\u2019s largest Jewish TV network, broadcasting to more than 49 million cable subscribers.<\/p>\n

\nHe said the \u201c30 Faces for the 30 Days\u201d program is being produced with the goal of reaching not just the Jewish community but the foundation\u2019s diverse network.<\/p>\n

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\nFAST<\/span>FACT<\/h4>\n
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\nFFEU<\/h4>\n

\nThe Foundation for Ethnic Understanding was launched in 1989 originally to build bridges between Jewish and African Americans.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n\u201cEach episode begins with me introducing our special guests, each of whom has recorded a video for us,\u201d Schneier said.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cIn the video they have been asked to share with us Ramadan and its traditions, particularly in addressing a non-Muslim community, and the interfaith message they can share during this holy season.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nOne of the participants, Sheikh Musa Drammeh, chairman of the Islamic Cultural Center of North America, praised Schneier\u2019s effort, saying it would promote understanding and resolve differences between the two communities.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWe are grateful because the unfortunate coronavirus situation has brought Ramadan to its original concept, which is to focus on humanity, togetherness, neighborliness, injustice and oppressiveness,\u201d Drammeh said in one of the \u201c30 Faces for the 30 Days\u201d video messages.<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0\u201cIt allows us to look from within and look inward, to correct our shortcomings, and advise our families to do the same.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cSo, I am sending this message of peace, this message of greetings, to all of you, especially to the family of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\"\"Schneier said that the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, which he established 31 years ago, has become the platform of choice for people who are dedicated to strengthening Muslim-Jewish relations.<\/p>\n

\nIt has offices and contacts in 35 countries where Muslims and Jews share their lives.<\/p>\n

\nHe said his efforts are focused on building bridges between the Muslim and Jewish communities in the Arab countries in the Gulf, particularly in the UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThis is my passion to find the path to narrow the gap that divides the chasm between 1.6 billion Muslims and 16 million Jews,\u201d Schneier said.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWe have become extraordinarily successful. Muslim-Jewish relations have become very chic. It is very much in vogue now.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThe number of organizations, particularly in the Jewish community, who have brought this field into their spectrum and are looking to us as a resource.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nThe foundation was originally launched in 1989 to build bridges between the Jewish and African American communities, but it expanded to strengthen relations with Muslims in 2003.<\/p>\n

\nSchneier said improving relations between Jews and Muslims was not an easy goal to pursue.<\/p>\n

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

\n\u201cI remember when I was practically lynched for even venturing into the Muslim world,\u201d Schneier said, adding that such an idea was \u201cimpossible\u201d to pursue decades ago in the Jewish community.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThings were in such a bad state between Muslims and Jews,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\nSchneier said he was familiar with that struggle from his days of launching a drive in the 1980s to build bridges between Jewish Americans and the African American community.<\/p>\n

\nAppointed a \u201cspecial adviser\u201d to the King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, he said he has forged good relations with leaders of many of the Islamic world\u2019s major powers, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Morocco, Palestine and Qatar.<\/p>\n

\nSchneier was the first rabbi to lead a Jewish congregational mission to an Arab Gulf country when he brought members of the Hampton Synagogue to Bahrain in 2018.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cMuslims and Jews have a common faith and a common fate,\u201d he told Arab News, \u201cand our single destiny must strengthen our bonds of concern, compassion and caring for each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\nTo this end, he said, 20 of the \u201c30 Faces for the 30 Days\u201d video messages have been recorded and are being broadcast.<\/p>\n

\nThat said, based on his experience of the series, what do Jews and Muslims want to know about each other?<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI think Muslims want to know what we have in common,\u201d Schneier said.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cBoth Jews and Muslims recognize it is human nature to change human actions and how we need to go through a process of growth, spiritually, socially, culturally.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWe need to continue to expand our sympathies and our interests.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cAnd we Jews go through the same process during our High Holy Day season in terms of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, which are typically in the early fall.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nHe added: \u201cThere is so much commonality but there is also so much ignorance on both sides without understanding each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\nSchneier has been appointed to the steering committee of Saudi Arabia\u2019s World Conference on Dialogue.<\/p>\n

\nHe also serves on the executive steering committee of the Multi-Religious Campaign Against Anti-Muslim Bigotry in the US.<\/p>\n

\nSchneier founded The Hampton Synagogue in 1990, creating a Jewish presence in the affluent Long Island area.<\/p>\n

\nPrior to starting the synagogue, the Hamptons was devoid of opportunities for Jewish life.<\/p>\n

\nToday, however, it boasts one of the largest philanthropic memberships in the country, hosting international and national politicians and celebrities.<\/p>\n

\nThe synagogue is the only traditional Orthodox synagogue in the US which has its services televised nationally.<\/p>\n

\nSchneier has pioneered programs and discussions among Jews and Muslims to remind them that they have more that unites them than what divides them.<\/p>\n

\nHe has achieved this through his work in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Palestine, Singapore, throughout Europe, South America and the southern hemisphere.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI would like Muslims and Jews to recognize, coronavirus or no coronavirus, we are all in this together,\u201d said Rabbi Schneier, adding: \u201cRamadan Mubarak.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO:\u00a0For the past 20 years, Marc Schneier, an American rabbi, has been building \u201cbridges of understanding\u201d between Jews and Muslims, an activity that has recently become the latest focus in interfaith dialogue. He has carried out this vital work through his organization, The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding. Schneier, who has established strong ties with like-minded…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spotlight_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42530"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42530\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}