(JTA) — A year ago, when several dozen Washington-area Jewish and Muslim religious and lay leaders jostled for spots in a group picture, the mood was convivial. The most novel item on the agenda for that November 2015 confab was bringing in non-Middle Eastern Muslims into the Jewish-Muslim dialogue. The meeting and the venue —…
I was at the gym this morning, when an ad came on the TV with a powerful image. It was three men: a minister, an imam, and a rabbi talking to and hugging each other. I couldn’t hear what they were saying but it looked heartwarming — the kind of feel-good image you might find…
Spanish prosecutors are investigating the actions of an imam from a town near Madrid who called for the destruction of Jews. Salahuddin al Mussaoui of Azuqueca de Henares made the statement in a video that appeared Aug. 25 on the YouTube channel of the Islamic Cultural Center of Azuqueca de Henares, but authorities only now…
(Religion News Service) — Italy has moved to expel a Moroccan imam who was caught on video inciting violence against Jews during Israel’s military offensive in Gaza. Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said he had ordered the imam, Raoudi Aldelbar, to be expelled “for seriously disturbing the peace, endangering national security and religious discrimination.” The imam…
Israel issued restraining orders against several Jewish right-wing activists on Wednesday, restricting their movements over concern that they could try to disrupt a May 24-26 visit to the Holy Land by Pope Francis. Francis will visit Jordan, the Palestinian Territories and Israel during the trip, his first as pope to the region. An Israeli police…
A British imam was convicted in a U.S. court on terrorism-related charges linking him to al-Qaida and a fatal kidnapping plot. Mustafa Kamel Mustafa, a former imam at London’s Finsbury Park mosque, was found guilty by a Manhattan jury on all 11 charges following a four-week trial. The jury found that Mustafa had been involved…
(JTA) — With a rabbi and a Muslim sheik as his travel companions, Pope Francis is heading to the Middle East with what he hopes will be a powerful message of interfaith respect. It will be the first time that leaders of other faiths are part of an official papal delegation. The aim is to…
A French imam known for promoting Jewish-Muslim relations said he was physically assaulted in Tunisia by a man who called him a “Zionist.” The attacker of Hassen Chalghoumi, the imam of Drancy near Paris, punched him in the chest and shoved him to the ground on Sunday near Hotel Gammarth near Tunis, the capital of…
