Unique Middle East educational program

Messages of acceptance and appreciation of diversity were echoed by many during the Queens College event “Bridging the Cultural Divides.”
“Our program is designed to highlight the similarities and celebrate the uniqueness of two great and ancient civilizations of cultures,” Queens College President James Muyskens said during the event which took place on Tuesday, February 13.
In 2004, Queens College history professor Mark Rosenblum initiated the educational program “The Middle East and America: Clash of Civilizations or Meeting of the Mind?” The program “requires that Jewish and Muslim students immerse themselves in opposing groups.”
During “Bridging the Cultural Divides,” which coincided with the opening of the exhibition “The Grandeur of Islamic Art in Images” at the college’s Godwin-Ternbach Museum, Queens Borough President Helen Marshall spoke about the diversity of the borough, saying that it is enriching children with world knowledge.
Marshall also gave a special citation to Professor Nasser Khalili, a Queens College alumnus whose photos are featured in the newly opened exhibition. It was in recognition of his work to “preserve Islam’s cultural heritage” and promote interfaith understanding.
Through a presentation entitled “The Art of the Possible,” Khalili shared examples of his photographs.
The event also included an interfaith dialogue, “Search for Common Ground,” between Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch and Sheik Ahmed Dewidar.
Continuing with the theme of bringing together different cultures, music was performed by Salman Ahmad and Yale Strom. They were joined on stage by Pandit Samir Chatterjee, April Centrone and Ismail Butera.
The evening concluded with the reception “Food for Thought,” which was “a sampling of Mediterranean cuisine with Glatt Kosher Persian cuisine and Halal food.”
Queens College will hold other related events in March and May. They are “The Golden Age in Muslim-Jewish Relations: Idealization or Realization?”, “Sesame Street in the Middle East: Paving the Road to Tolerance” and the concert “Common Chords,” which will feature Ahmad and Strom.