Participants in the Muslim-Jewish Dialogue filled up at least two tables at the Shabbat. The discussion was relaxed, with conversations about what people had been doing the last week and what plans they might make for the weekend.
Esther Breger ’10, a fellow on the Religious Life Council and a senior writer for The Daily Princetonian, then welcomed the guests, introduced the song Shalom Aleichem, the Kiddish prayer and the tradition of ritualistic hand washing.
The idea of Muslim and Jewish students dining together is not unusual at the University, though the event facilitated and coordinated this interaction. “A lot of [Muslim] students come individually [to the CJL], so we decided to get everyone together,” Salih said.
She said that some muslim students frequent the CJL because kosher meat served there also meets some Halal standards and “because their friends are there, it’s a comfortable environment.”
Salih said that the idea for the Muslim-Jewish Shabbat came from a trip with the Muslim-Jewish Dialogue to Spain during spring break last year. Twenty-one students and the Jewish and Muslim chaplains traveled to Spain, where they not only toured country but also interacted with fellow students of the other faith.
“When you think about it, [the Muslim-Jewish Dialogue] is a revolutionary group; it was just new last year,” Jewish student Marina Olevsky ’09 said. “It’s the kind of interaction you don’t get in a classroom; you’re not just listening to a panel.”
“We are really proud of the connection we have with the Muslim Student[s] Association, and we want to continue to have events that foster friendship and understanding between Jewish and Muslim students on campus,” Singer said in an e-mail.
Salih said the dinner was supposed to be an informal, fun event, explaining that advertising, beginning with a simple facebook.com group, let people know about the dinner. “It’s really just a regular Shabbat. It’s just a fun event.”
Such goals can be reached through personal interactions such as those fostered by the dinner, Olevsky said. “It has to be a very grassroots, work of mouth, friendship based, like personally sharing a meal with someone. You have to make it a person to person sort of thing,” she added.
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