"Asking Tough Questions: A Conversation with the Children of Abraham"

Dinner and Dialogue on October 25, 2007 at Fordham University
For all three faiths, Abraham is the model of human responsiveness to God. What was Abraham's legacy to the world? What should ours be? What do our traditions ask us to do and to be for the good of the world? A dinner buffet featuring Middle Eastern specialties brought a large group of interested participants to explore these questions.

Speakers:
Rabbi Marc Gellman, The God Squad, Senior Rabbi of Temple Beth Torah, Melville, NY Father Patrick Ryan, S.J., VP Mission and Ministries, Fordham University Imam Kareem Adeeb, American Institute for Islamic and Arabic Studies


"Let Us Open the Ears of Their Hearts"- Poetry readings from the Golden Age of Andalusia"

In southern Spain a thousand years ago, Jewish and Muslim poets reached a pinnacle of aesthetic splendor. On Sunday, November 18, 2007, at the Hudson Valley Writers' Center in Sleepy Hollow, NY, CJCMU presented an afternoon of glorious poetry readings from the Golden Age of Hebrew and Muslim poets. Guests heard both Jewish and Muslim voices in the poems of Peter Cole and Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore. Mr. Cole is an American poet who lives in Jerusalem. He has garnered much praise for The Dream of the Poem: Hebrew Poetry from Muslim and Christian Spain, 950-1492. Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore, also an American, became a Sufi Muslim in 1970. He has read his poetry to a wide variety of audiences at such places as the United Nations, the University of Chicago, Duke University, and the American University at Cairo, Egypt.


A Mediterranean Escapade" - Celebrating the Shared Musical Roots of Judaism, Christianity and Islam

Voices and instruments from the lands of the three "peoples of the Book" demonstrated their centuries-old links in concert on December 10, 2006 at the Tarrytown Music Hall, Tarrytown, NY


"The Spirit of Andalusia" - a two-week celebration consisting of six cultural and interfaith events promoting diversity and understanding

Events held in and around Tarrytown, NY, from November 1 - 13, 2005
- Andalusian Music Festival - Four outstanding musical groups bringing their diverse sounds to the stage:
     Boston Camarata
     Sharq Arabic Music ensemble
     Judith R. Cohen (performing traditional Sephardic music)
     Jonathan "Juanito" Pascual (Flamenco guitarist and dancer)

- Andalusia and the Power of the Pen - two noted authors speak about their works
     Professor Maria Rosa Menocal, Yale University
     Professor Ross Bran, Cornell University

- Storytelling and Poetry Readings
     Herbert Hadad, storyteller
     Sholeh Wolpe, poet
     Mansour Ajami, poet and 'oud player
     Matthew Shenoda, poet and educator

- The Middle East: A Cultural Odyssey (Lecture on its history and people)
     Audrey Shabbas, educator and founder/director of Arab World and Islamic Resources

- Islamic Art: A Hands-On Workshop by Audrey Shabbas

- Israeli and Palestinian: Artists' Impressions
     Featuring artists Renate Ghannam and Tamar Drucker


Other past events sponsored by CJCMU:

Days of Understanding I and II - Exposing the public to dialogue among the three faith communities

One Root, Many Branches - A discussion between the God Squad (Rabbi Marc Gellman, Monsignor Thomas Hartman) and Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, at the Performing Arts Center at Purchase College, Purchase, NY

Large interfaith events in Mt. Vernon, Thornwood, White Plains, and Tarrytown, New York