Beyond the Mindset of 9-11: A Discussion With the Interfaith Amigos

Steve Scher
09/09/2009 at 9:00 a.m.

Friday is the eighth anniversary of September 11. In many ways, September 11 unified our country, but to many, it also vilified Islam. Wars in the Middle East and fighting between Israel and Palestine have also contributed to fractured relations between religions. Locally, the Interfaith Amigos — a pastor, a rabbi and a sheikh — have joined together to open a dialogue. They believe that open conversation between different faiths encourages tolerance, understanding and progress toward peace. How did their dialogue begin? How do they work together? Today we take a look at different faiths — the commonalities, the differences — and where the religions meet in the middle.

Related Event

The Interfaith Amigos will be speaking Friday, September 11, at the Barnes and Noble Bookstore at University Village from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.

Guest(s)

Rev. Don Mackenzie is a minister at the United Church of Christ, and a recently retired minister and head of staff for University United Church of Christ in Seattle. His interest in interfaith work began when he was a student at Macalester College and continued with his living and teaching in Sidon, Lebanon, in the year prior to the Six–Day War in 1967. He also co–founded the Seattle Network for Peace and Justice in the Middle East.

Rabbi Ted Falcon is a Reform rabbi with a doctorate in clinical psychology. He founded the Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue in Seattle with his wife, and before that, the Makom Ohr Shalom synagogue in Los Angeles. He is co–author, with David Blatner, of "Judaism For Dummies," and the author of "Journey of Awakening: Using the Kabbalistic Tree of Life in Jewish Meditation."

Shaikh Jamal Rahman is a Muslim Sufi Minister and co–founder of the Interfaith Community Church in Seattle and adjunct faculty at Seattle University. He is the author of "The Fragrance of Faith: The Enlightened Heart of Islam," and a co–author of "Out of Darkness into Light: Spiritual Guidance in the Qu'ran with Reflections from Jewish and Christian Sources." He frequently leads interfaith retreats and workshops.