dajoga
11-17-2006, 10:11 PM
Rabbi Schneier said he came away "concerned, frustrated and deeply disturbed by [Abu Namous'] misinformation and misinterpretation of the facts about Israel … He is more extreme in his views than I had understood."
But he insisted the dialogue was worthwhile. "I could have gotten someone else if I wanted a polite dog-and-pony show, but it seemed to me important for our people to hear what the head of the most prominent mosque in New York City is thinking."
Rabbi Schneier said he intended to accept Abu Namous' invitation to speak at his 96th Street Mosque. "Despite everything he said, it is incumbent to continue the dialogue".
In soaring rhetoric, host Rabbi Marc Schneier of the New York Synagogue and Imam Omar Abu Namous of the Islamic Cultural Center urged that Jews and Muslims should put aside conflicts and reach out to each other.
But after Rabbi Schneier and moderator Joel Cohen pressed him on why more Muslims don't speak out against Islamic extremism, Abu Namous, leader of New York's largest mosque, unleashed a barrage of criticisms against Israel, at one point even questioning its legitimacy.
The event rapidly deteriorated into a dialogue of the deaf.
"It demonstrated how far apart we are and opened my eyes to the reality that we have a long way to go," Rabbi Schneier said after the event.
Funniest quote: Abu Namous at first objected, "It wouldn't work" but finally said, "I would accept a two-state solution. We have been waiting for it since President Carter was in office."
more (http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/2531)
But he insisted the dialogue was worthwhile. "I could have gotten someone else if I wanted a polite dog-and-pony show, but it seemed to me important for our people to hear what the head of the most prominent mosque in New York City is thinking."
Rabbi Schneier said he intended to accept Abu Namous' invitation to speak at his 96th Street Mosque. "Despite everything he said, it is incumbent to continue the dialogue".
In soaring rhetoric, host Rabbi Marc Schneier of the New York Synagogue and Imam Omar Abu Namous of the Islamic Cultural Center urged that Jews and Muslims should put aside conflicts and reach out to each other.
But after Rabbi Schneier and moderator Joel Cohen pressed him on why more Muslims don't speak out against Islamic extremism, Abu Namous, leader of New York's largest mosque, unleashed a barrage of criticisms against Israel, at one point even questioning its legitimacy.
The event rapidly deteriorated into a dialogue of the deaf.
"It demonstrated how far apart we are and opened my eyes to the reality that we have a long way to go," Rabbi Schneier said after the event.
Funniest quote: Abu Namous at first objected, "It wouldn't work" but finally said, "I would accept a two-state solution. We have been waiting for it since President Carter was in office."
more (http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/2531)