Walking to a Place of Understanding

 

Davina Abujudeh

June 24, 2009

 For many Americans, 9/11 marked the start of a new era that represented just about anything other than greater inter-faith dialogue and understanding.  An era of fear, terror, war and suspicion—yes.  The last thing anyone would expect to gain from the events of 9/11 is an enlightened interaction between Jews and Muslims and an attempt to spread a message of tolerance between the two faiths.

 In Tucson, Arizona, however, this has been the case for the past 6 years.  Since 9/11, there has been a heightened level of dialogue between Jews and Muslims, supported and expressed by the city’s annual Jewish-Muslim Peace Walk.  The event’s goal each year is to get people talking to people outside of their regular circles about what’s going on and to promote mutual understanding between Tucson residents of the two faiths.  It seems to have been a pre-emptive measure taken by the city’s residents to prevent what has happened in many other parts of the country and the world—a greater rift between people of different religions and cultures, and an ever-increasing fear and marginalization of Muslims in America.

 The walk this year, which took place in March, began at a Jewish Synagogue and ended at a Mosque, where participants expanded their horizons even more with a Thai dinner.  The event has a different theme each year, and this year’s theme was water.  Participants learned how to spell the word water, as well as other words, in both Arabic and Hebrew. 

 Although the event is intended to serve only the city of Tucson with its message of coexistence and interfaith dialogue, its message has reached residents of cities as close as Phoenix and as far away as the state of Michigan.  Hopefully, the message will resound even further, proving to people everywhere that there is nothing to fear and much to gain from simply taking a walk with someone different from you.