Jewish-Muslim Text Study

The Fragment of the Month for April reveals the detailed itinerary of a new India trader, as he sets off across Egypt for Yemen. This one is written by three Princeton students, Caitlin Buckley, Mohammed Salih Cholakkalakath, and Jesse Noily:

https://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/departments/taylor-schechter-genizah-research-unit/fragment-month/fotm-2026/fragment-1

Praying Together for the Peace of Jerusalem . This city, which our sources tell us should be full of beauty and peace, is still divided and contentious. Let us all gather at 6:00 pm on Thursday, 7th May, in person at St Peter of Gallicantu and on Zoom , to offer our heartfelt prayers for the city we love. Prayers and teachings will be offered by St Rita Kammermayer, Dr Jane Kruger, Hanna Yaffe and more. If you would like to offer a prayer, please contact [email protected]. See you there!

Contact us for the Zoom link!

We’re back with another Peace Walk!

Be sure to save the date while we finalise the details. A full agenda and timings will be shared very soon.

And of course, don’t forget to pray for good weather!

How can religion and faith communities contribute to the life of our nation in unifying ways?

Join the U.S. Baha'i Office of Public Affairs and Interfaith America on Sunday, May 24, for a panel discussion that brings together diverse perspectives to explore the moral and spiritual dimensions of our shared civic challenges, and how religious traditions help develop the capacity to overcome division and work for the well-being of all.
Light refreshments will follow the conversation.

Prior to the panel, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., attendees are welcome to join the 18th annual Baha'i Choral Festival Devotional Concert at the Baha'i House of Worship. The concert brings together more than 140 local and international singers from diverse cultural and faith backgrounds, inspired by teachings of unity in diversity.

Interfaith America’s Chief Impact Officer and COO, Katie Bringman Baxter, will speak at the event.

Learn more and register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-conversation-about-spiritual-renewal-in-the-life-of-the-nation-tickets-1987849529454?aff=oddtdtcreator

The Medieval Institute is delighted to announce that Ph.D. Candidate Francisco J. Cintrón Mattei has been awarded the prestigious Millicent Mercer Johnsen Rome Prize. Congratulations, Francisco!

Read more: https://loom.ly/HnqHOHQ

Last week, we were delighted to present the findings of our How To Continue Talking project in the House of Lords at an event attended by policy makers, interfaith practitioners, and faith leaders.

The project’s lead researcher Dr James Sunderland outlined some of the challenges that have emerged in the interfaith space since the 7th October 2023 and paths forward for reforging disrupted relations on the ground in the UK.

Our research found a number of key areas that have led to disruptions in interfaith relations in the UK over the last two and a half years. These included:

· Differing uses of language and terminology by communities around Israel-Palestine
· The use of different spaces for dialogue
· The challenges that intense emotions and difficult topics cause for interfaith practitioners

Following the presentation, a panel of speakers from different faith perspectives spoke movingly to guests about their experiences of interfaith amidst the fall out from violence in Israel-Palestine and how their own experiences give them hope for building a better society together. All speakers stressed the need of faith communities to come together in difficult times to support one another and tackle the issues that impact us all

Particular thanks to Lord Wajid Khan for hosting us and to all of the speakers and panelists for their contributions.

Read the report at: https://www.woolf.cam.ac.uk/research/projects/how-to-continue-talking

On 30 April Nisa-Nashim members joined an interfaith solidarity walk to the site of the recent terror attack in Golders Green, standing arm in arm with women of different faiths to show unity against hatred and fear. The walk was organised by Nisa-Nashim co-founder Julie Siddiqi and Nisa-Nashim member Dr Lindsay Simmonds.

https://www.nisanashim.com/nisa-nashim-join-interfaith-solidarity-walk-to-site-of-terror-attack/

Wanted: Director for the مدرسة السلام - בית הספר לשלום - The School for Peace
For details in Hebrew: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iak7ZKH67CQ40ay8FLuUWOS4QRuJGeRv/view?usp=sharing
Arabic: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1THDUAyL6p2fT-sU2PSb7TeFv5y3oHe3c/view?usp=sharing

Our recent webinar, held in collaboration with the Society for Medieval Mediterranean, is now available to watch online.

We were delighted to hear Maximilian Lau present on ‘John II Komnenos: Rebuilding New Rome’.

Thank you to the speaker and to George Theotokis for chairing.

View for free at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDdvPBNdxFI

Society for the Medieval Mediterranean

Leo Baeck College’s secrets unlocked

It is well known that we in Britain (and many synagogues abroad) are lucky to have a constant supply of rabbis that have been trained at the Leo Baeck College.

What is not generally known is that part of their course involves writing a lengthy thesis on a Jewish topic. However, these fascinating original works have largely been read only by the examiners and a few others. What a waste! However, in order to celebrate the College’s 70th anniversary since its establishment in 1956, a book has just been published which contains a shortened version of 27 of them by the original writers, covering a variety of subjects including:

How do you deal with bad rabbis?
What does Judaism say about eating disorders?
How do Jewish ethics interact with social media?
What is so unique about the Jewish approach to death and dying?
Did you know there is a Jewish theology of sleep?
What should we do about the sale of defective goods?
How did the Bible get divided into chapters and verses?
To what extent should we redistribute money to the poor?
What happened when anti-alienism coincided with antisemitism?

These and many more intriguing topics are in Judaism Uncovered, edited by Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain. The book is 255 pages, costs £9.99, makes fascinating reading for you and is the ideal present for others. It is available from the College and can be obtained by emailing: [email protected].