Sabeeha Rehman - We Refuse to Be Enemies: How Muslims and Jews Can Make Peace, One Friendship at a Time

Advance Praise for We Refuse to Be Enemies

Rehman and Ruby are each activists in the growing movement of Muslim-Jewish engagement. We Refuse to Be Enemies is an epiphanya profoundly American book.

Rabbi Burton L. Visotzky, PhD, Appleman Professor of Midrash and Interreligious Studies, Director, Milstein Center for Interreligious Dialogue, Jewish Theological Seminary

I salute Sabeeha Rehman and Walter Ruby for their important contribution to strengthening Muslim-Jewish relations chronicled in We Refuse to Be Enemies.... A gripping account of how our two communities stood up for each other in the face of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, and a prescription for how we can work together going forward to buttress pluralism, democracy, and religious liberty in this country. Not to be missed.

Dr. Sayyid Syeed, President, Islamic Society of North America

An essential book for the vital and important emergence of a Muslim-Jewish alliance in the United States. It takes more than a shared disgust with Donald Trumps myriad forms of bigotry to bridge the gap between Jews and Muslims in America. Now this book helps light the path.... Rehman and Ruby draw on personal experience, history, theology, and concrete examples of effective partnership to show the hard work that our two communities must continue to do.

Samuel G. Freedman, award-winning author and professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism

Today, Pakistan and Israel do not recognize each other. But here are two brilliant writersone rooted in Pakistan, the other in Israelwho do recognize, understand, and respect each other. Sabeeha Rehman and Walter Ruby, a Muslim and a Jew, are both proud of their faith traditions, while being wise enough to see the deep ties and bridges between them. Their stories and insights give us some hope for the future of the world, including the Middle East, at a time when their current state of affairs isnt too bright.

Mustafa Akyol, Cato Institute Senior Fellow, opinion writer for the New York Times, and author of Islam without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty

This is a unique and remarkably compelling book written as a dialogue between a Muslim woman and a Jewish man. We learn what it takes to understand the many historical issues and experiences of both communities through their lens. They explore challenges as well as the unity among Jews and Muslims in the United States without losing their deep attachments to Pakistan and Israel. A vital contribution for dialogue and peace between Jews and Muslims.

Mehnaz M. Afridi, PhD, Holocaust, Genocide and Interfaith Education Center at Manhattan College

A Muslim woman living in an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood; a Jewish man hanging out with Arab Bedouins in Israel. Their stories of transformation and bringing communities together offers hope for America.

Wajahat Ali, author of The Domestic Crusaders and contributing New York Times op-ed writer

Sabeeha Rehman and Walter Rubys work is at once daring and careful, forgiving and demanding. They share their stories with disarming honesty, having come to their positions through deep listening and personal experience. This book gives a taste of what real Muslim-Jewish dialogue can look like.

Rabbi Jeffrey Saxe, Temple Rodef Shalom, and Dr. Maqsood Chaudhry, Founder and Trustee, McLean Islamic Center

In this important book, Walter Ruby and Sabeeha Rehman give us unique insight into their own personal transformation journeys and their years of work on the ground to build authentic Jewish-Muslim relationships in the United States. The authors dont shy away from the difficult issues, but rather show howthrough lived experiencethey have been able to build lasting relationships that go far beyond the surface. This is a must-read for anyone looking to deepen their own interfaith engagement.

Dr. Catherine Orsborn, Executive Director, Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign

Having spent a lifetime building dialogue between members of different religious traditions, I am truly excited for the release of Walter Ruby and Sabeeha Rehmans We Refuse to Be Enemies, which focuses on efforts to bring together Jews and Muslims in peaceful coexistence. Given the massive importance of the Jewish-Muslim relationship, I consider Ruby and Rehmans work to be a prerequisite for anyone interested in interfaith dialogue.

Dr. Akbar Ahmed, Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at the American Universitys School of International Service, former High Commissioner of Pakistan to the UK and Ireland

Copyright 2021 by Sabeeha Rehman and Walter Ruby

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Arcade Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

First Edition

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Arcade Publishing is a registered trademark of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

Visit our website at www.arcadepub.com.

Visit the authors sites at sabeeharehman.com and bywalterruby.blogspot.com.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020951544

Cover design by Erin Seaward-Hiatt

Cover photo: Jonathan Knowles/Getty Images (ecumenical symbols added)

ISBN: 978-1-951627-33-1

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-951627-63-8

Printed in the United States of America

To my husband, Khalid, my soulmate; and our sons Saqib and Asim, who have brought so much joy in our lives.

Sabeeha

To my late parents, Stan and Helga, who would have loved to read this book; my son Gene, a compassionate and philosophical soul; and my life partner, Tanya, whose love gives me the strength and inspiration to engage the world each day.

Walter

CONTENTS

PREFACE

We write these words soon after the inauguration of Joe Biden as president of the United States, an historic event offering hope that our country will return to core values of democracy and mutual understanding and respect between people of diverse racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds. However, Donald Trumps success in convincing tens of millions of Americans that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him and the storming of the U.S. Capitol by thousands of his fervid followers as well as the emergence of conspiracy theoryspewing extremists at high levels of the Republican Party, including in the halls of Congress, show that Trumpismthat potent brew of authoritarianism, nativism, mendacity, and fearmongeringis certain to remain a powerful factor in American political and cultural life for years to come. It is also all too clear that anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and diverse forms of bigotry that Trumped stoked during his term as president are here to stay for the foreseeable future.