In Arkansas, A Palestinian-American Muslim Builds A Synagogue For Free (VIDEO)

In late 2006 a Palestinian-born American Muslim from Springdale, Ark. reached out to help the local Jewish community build a synagogue in the heart of the Bible Belt -- at no charge.

Almost four years later, "Temple of Peace," a forthcoming documentary film by Hayot Tuychiev, chronicles Fadil Bayyari's involvement with Temple Shalom, which will be the first permanent temple for the Reform Jewish congregation of Fayetteville, Ark.

WATCH the trailer:

Comments

[FindingGuidance]

03:27 PM on 09/20/2010

This is my hometown.
Our local news paper hasn't even picked up this story :-/
No one really cares about the nice stuff I guess... Terror is such a more fantastic piece of news...

[rgilley]

08:04 PM on 09/11/2010

Why is this guy not in the middle east trying to promote peace? He no doubt would do better than the politicians have done thus far.

[RayanOfChampaign]

03:00 AM on 09/11/2010

Great.. Let the same team help to build a Mousqe now! How everyone around is feeling?

[holyheretic]

06:28 PM on 09/13/2010

What a great idea. Or is it?

[FindingGuidance]

03:17 PM on 09/20/2010

Thank God we have a mosque already here :-) Everyone is feeling fine.

[holyheretic]

08:38 PM on 09/10/2010

Why spread sacred superstitions? Even the biased Templeton Foundation published the following about the futility of prayers.

My Post Judeo-Christian heritage series

DIVINE JUDGMENT AND THE EFFICACY OF PRAYER -
COMPLETELY IMPLAUSIBLE IN LIGHT OF THE CONSISTENCY OF SCIENCE

Myth-busting, from Galileo to Heisenberg

Matthew Stanley of New York University examines Albert Einstein's declarations about the divine and concludes that he did not believe in a personal God. "To Einstein," Stanley writes, "divine judgment and the efficacy of prayer seemed completely implausible in light of the consistency of science."

And Daniel Patrick Thurs, the author of Science Talk: Changing Notions of Science in American Popular Culture, shows why various 20th-century mystics are mistaken in trying to find "room for spirituality" in the "jostling and overlapping possibilities" of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle.

http://www.templeton.org/templeton_report/20090528/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Templeton_Foundation

[swordfis]

06:42 AM on 09/13/2010

Logical positivism states that claims that cannot be either proved or disproved are not appropriate for scientific investigation. Therefore, the claim that there is a personal God cannot be evaluated. But this cuts both ways: the existence of a personal God cannot be proven nor can it be disproved. In any case, who knows what Einstein really believed? And exactly what is a "personal God" anyway? I'm not certain that either Judaism or Islam is based on this idea. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[MaryBethC3]

07:37 PM on 09/10/2010

Beautiful. Let the media do more stories about the Fadil Bayyari's in this world. There are many. Why does Fadil Bayyari get so little press compared to those haters in Florida who were going to have a Koran burning party on 9-11?

[Boor123]

06:56 PM on 09/10/2010

This may sound provincial, perhaps even dense, but I have literally never met a muslim who I did not find to be generous and of very high moral caliber. Mr. Bayyari's actions exemplify what we should all strive to achieve as Americans. This story will with hope be told to a much bigger audience.

[swordfis]

06:52 AM on 09/13/2010

Speaking as a Jewish American, I have had the same experience.

Speaking as a New Yorker, I've had some run-ins with cab drivers of Muslim faith (perhaps a majority of cabbies are either Muslim or Hindu now), but they were acting in the capacity of d***head cabbies, not Muslims.("d***head cabby" is non-denominational].

Muslims are present in every field of New York life and make up an important part of its super-variegated fabric. I'm proud to share my city with them.

[gibranII]

02:53 PM on 09/10/2010

blessed are the peace makers... we all should find hope in this message...and why isn't this on TV?

[tjconkster]

09:56 PM on 09/10/2010

because the corporate owned media and the repubs don't want you to hear this....they need fear to win elections....

[FindingGuidance]

03:18 PM on 09/20/2010

Nobody really likes to hear nice things about Muslims... :-/

[MohammedAbbasi]

01:12 PM on 09/10/2010

At the end of the day we are all brothers and sisters regardless what faith we belong to or even if we believe in a Supreme Being. I hope people will continue to reach out to each other and share their lives ans skills

[yasunari]

11:34 AM on 09/10/2010

Curiously, I was reading about another story now happening in France.
Ahmed, a Muslim, has been responsible for the maintenance work on a 10 centuries old cathedral. In a kind of tribute to excellent work, one stone cutter recreated a gargoyle with Ahmed face.
Most people appreciate this, considering the great tradition of the cathedral builders to hide their signature on the stones.
Unfortunately, some christian extremists are claiming it's a blasphemy.

Just a picture to get an idea of what both Ahmed an his statue look like :

http://www.france-info.com/france-regions-2010-09-06-ahmed-la-gargouille-qui-reveille-les-traditionnalistes-lyonnais-483566-9-13.html

[MichelleB]

04:32 AM on 09/10/2010

The world needs to hear this uplifting story!

[Weirdwriter]

01:00 AM on 09/10/2010

The man is a mensch!

To all celebrating the Jewish New Year and the Muslim blessed holiday, to all those not of those faiths --including all our atheist brothers and sisters -- to all who hold these truths to be self-evident, may you be fortunate and generous in your good fortune.

[MohammedAbbasi]

01:12 PM on 09/10/2010

I second that :)

[holyheretic]

08:36 PM on 09/10/2010

Weirdwriter,

We note an evolution in your greetings: "including all our atheist brothers and sisters"...

But then you are not a Muslim. For a true Muslim or Jew. This would be consider blasphemy.

[Weirdwriter]

10:25 PM on 09/10/2010

"We"? Ya gotta mouse in yer pocket? ;>)

"Evolution" implies change. I try not to change in my respect for people, as people. I believe all are worthy of respect until they prove otherwise.

There are adherents in every belief system who believe only "the chosen" are worthy of respect and there are adherents who believe in some version of the Golden Rule. This is true of every belief system I've heard of, with or without a deity involved.

[swordfis]

06:56 AM on 09/13/2010

Nonsense.

[Basilio]

10:52 PM on 09/09/2010

It is good to see evidence of harmony between Jewish Semites and Palestinian Semites.
They are both human beings and the Jews and Palestinians both claim descent from the Hebrews and the same land. There is no reason why they shouldn't reach out to teach other and find ways to heal the breach, bridge the divide.

[Edward Standley]

10:05 PM on 09/09/2010

Fadil Bayyari, "yay you", bro. A good" Human bean."

[Raigerzero]

09:56 PM on 09/09/2010

Fadil Bayyari

A good man

[JohnnyKay]

09:25 PM on 09/09/2010

Fadil Bayyari is a Righteous Man.

Peace.