Zamir Hassan, founder of Muslims Against Hunger, was feeding homeless people in Boston’s central public park with a group of volunteers Saturday morning when he first learned of the attacks in Paris the previous night.
As the group made their rounds, a homeless man asked one of the volunteers what church she belonged to. Upon learning that she was Muslim, the man asked if she had poisoned the food. Five minutes later, Hassan told The Huffington Post, another man bit into a hummus sandwich handed to him by a volunteer and said, “This is delicious!”
The irony of those two very different exchanges, within minutes of one another, struck Hassan.
“This is a time when Muslims have to engage and show the good side [of our faith] because the bad guys are vocal,” Hassan said.
Advertisement
“It’s a very small group of people that has essentially no religion, but they claim to be Muslims,” he told HuffPost. “In each faith group there is always this fringe group which has a fringe agenda. The good people have to be louder.”
On Sunday, Muslims Against Hunger is partnering with the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding and The Brotherhood Synagogue in New York City for a Muslim-Jewish rally and community service project. The event has taken place annually for five years, Hassan said, but this year’s gathering will take on new importance in the wake of Friday’s attacks.
Volunteers from both communities will gather at the synagogue on Sunday morning to prepare food packages for homeless people, and then hear from religious leaders like Imam Shamsi Ali, Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, Daisy Khan and others for a rally on the theme of “We Refuse To Be Enemies.” Mayor Bill de Blasio and Manhattan borough president Gale Brewer have also been invited to attend. After the rally, volunteers will deliver the food to homeless people in Tompkins Square Park.
“Now more than ever we need to do this,” said Walter Ruby, Muslim-Jewish Program Director for FFEU. “We’ve been hearing ugly voices over the last 24 hours making suggestions mosques should be closed and such. It’s very worrisome.”
Within days of the Paris attacks, Muslims in France and around the world have already been targeted. Mosques have been threatened and vandalized; individuals have been harassed; and right-wing politicians have aimed much of their anger at the thousands of Syrian refugees, many of whom are fleeing violence from the Islamic State.
“The effort of ISIS is to drive us into separate camps and make us afraid of each other,” Ruby said. “Our response is to reach out to each other and embrace each other.”
The Paris attacks reflect “terrible violence committed by extremists” who are far from the norm, Ruby said. “The vast majority, huge majority of American Muslims are peaceful, loyal citizens and should be in no way stigmatized,” he added.
Advertisement
Fear and hatred stem largely from ignorance, said Hassan. The activist grew up in Pakistan and said he had a negative view of the Jewish community in his youth, though he had never met a Jewish person. When he finally did, Hassan said, he “realized that people are people” and the two faiths have much in common.
Central to both faiths is the importance of community service, called “tikkun olam” in Judaism and “islah” in Islam, Ruby and Hassan noted.
Sunday’s event sidesteps traditional interfaith dialogue, Hassan said, to get people of faith working together for the common good.
“Our program is the best dialogue,” Hassan said. “We just get together, make food, and go together out in the street to feed the homeless.”
Also on HuffPost:
Interfaith Prayers For Paris
Advertisement
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.