Special to the Queens Tribune

The perception among many people is that few things, if any, could unite Bukharian Jews, a community of about 50,000 in Queens, with the borough’s Muslim population, a large segment of the estimated 600,000 Muslims throughout the City.

The Bukharian community, hailing from the Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union, is often described as an insular one, interested, first and foremost in preserving their culture and tradition. Many of the borough’s Muslims, meanwhile, have felt vulnerable each time an act of terrorism takes place and they’re called upon to defend themselves.

Add to the mix strong feelings over Middle East politics, and you might figure that any meeting between leaders of the two communities would be filled with tension and suspicion.

But that’s not what took place Sunday at the Jamaica Muslim Center, where leaders of the mosque hosted a small delegation of Bukharian Jews.

Much In Common
Instead of bickering over Middle East politics, speakers at the event talked of the many commonalities they believe their religions share. Instead of focusing on Islamic terrorism, denounced by each of the center’s Muslim leaders, they discussed some of the things they might do together for “the common good,” as more than one of the speakers termed it.

“I didn’t know what to expect when I walked into the mosque,” said Rabbi Shlomo Nisanov, spiritual leader of Kehilat Sephardim in Kew Gardens Hills, who added that he had never before visited a mosque. “I was also a little skeptical,” the rabbi said, referring to what he thought the meeting would achieve.

But the 38-year-old Nisanov, interviewed after the event, said he was happy the meeting “worked out” and saw the gathering as “a good beginning.”

Sunday’s event took place as part of the second annual “Weekend of Twinning” between mosques and synagogues, an international project sponsored by the New York-based Foundation for Ethnic Understanding. The foundation, created by Rabbi Marc Schneier of the New York Synagogue, organized more than 100 similar programs this year, including nearly 30 in Europe.

In addition to the event in Jamaica, two other “twinning” programs took place in Queens during the weekend: a meeting between members of the Free Synagogue of Flushing and Masjid Al-Hikmah, a mosque in Astoria, and a gathering at Queens College, where students committed themselves to separate yearlong projects aimed at fighting hatred. Each of the students made his or her pledge in honor of a Holocaust survivor.

Not All Agree
Both the Jewish and Muslim communities have their critics of such meetings.

Among Jewish critics, the refrain is that while Muslim-Jewish dialogue may produce warm, cozy feelings for the moment, no amount of dialogue can paper over the gulf that remains on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. When push comes to shove, these critics say, most Muslims will continue to harbor animosity toward the Jewish state and side with groups, like Hamas, dedicated to Israel’s destruction. Muslim critics offer similar objections, calling the meetings unwarranted as long as Israel, in their view, comes down harshly on fellow Muslims. Some also point to what one leader called a “power differential” between American Jews and American Muslims, saying that dialogue is useless unless it addresses that issue.

But those who engage in dialogue say that whatever takes place in the Middle East, Jews and Muslims often share the same neighborhoods in this country and that working together to address social issues here would be a win-win situation for both communities.

Schneier, addressing his Jewish critics, said the Muslim world includes voices of moderation and that ignoring those voices would amount to negligence, especially in a world of 14 million Jews and 1.3 billion Muslims. It behooves the Jewish community to do all it can to strengthen those moderates, he added.

Sunday’s program in Jamaica reflected the views of those in both communities who advocate dialogue.

Working Together
Imam Shamsi Ali, who also leads the mosque in Astoria, told the gathering that Judaism and Isiam have much in common, but that “misunderstandings” between the two communities are rife. Many Muslims, for example, mistakenly believe that Jews control the media, he said. But joint meetings like Sunday’s can dispel those stereotypes, he added, making such meetings “critical.”

Known in Muslim circles for his moderate views, the Imam also addressed “the elephant in the room” – namely, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – saying that Jews and Muslims are both “sincere” in wanting to solve the problem. The only question, he continued, is whether people of both communities can use their faith as a tool for doing so.

Like the Imam, the center’s President Khwaja Mizan spoke of religion as a potentially healing force. “Some of us have taken religion to be a source of animosity, to be a source of hatred,” he said, adding that religion was actually the opposite – a source of love and peace.

Rabbi Yitzhak Yeshoshua, the chief rabbi of Bukharian Jews in North America, addressed those in the room as “friends” and said he was happy to be there. Clad in a caftan and a traditional Bukharian gold-embroidered robe, he acknowledged that religion today was “mixed up” with politics and other issues, but said both communities had to work together.

Nisanov, meanwhile, echoed the Imam, saying that Judaism and Islam had “more in common” than they do differences. He suggested that the two communities “find the common ground” and work together on issues that cut across ethnic and religious lines, such as crime, unemployment and aid to religious schools. He also invited members of the mosque, most of whom come from Bangladesh, to volunteer for his synagogue’s food pantry, a project that could benefit both communities, he said.

Nisanov’s suggestion was taken up by members of the mosque, one of whom urged the Rabbi during a question-and-answer session to use his influence with Mayor Michael Bloomberg to add two of the most important Muslim holy days to the public-school holiday calendar. The City Council has voted to urge that action, but Bloomberg is opposed to the idea.

In an interview after the program, one Bukharian leader described relations between Muslims and Jews in his native country as positive and even harmonious – one reason why Bukharian leaders in Queens may have been receptive to the event.

Rafael Nektalov, a native of Uzbekistan and editor of the Bukharian Times, said that even today, when only a few hundred Jews remain in the city of Bukhara, the region’s Muslims care for the upkeep of the local Jewish cemetery. The cemetery, he added, has suffered “not one act of vandalism.”

The Queens College event, held at the same time as the program in Jamaica, brought together six students and six Holocaust survivors. The students – Muslim, Jewish, Latino and African American – each lit a candle, introduced a survivor and pledged to work for a year on fighting hatred, said Mark Rosenblum, a professor of history and director of the college’s Center for Jewish Studies.

Erum Haleem, a Muslim student from Pakistan and a history major, said in an interview that one of her teachers recommended she participate in the program. She described the event as an emotional one, both for her and the survivor she introduced. As for her pledge, the 21-year-old senior said she plans to organize a twinning event in the next year.