Over eight hundred people gathered to listen to the wisdom of two grandfathers, Akbar Ahmed and Judea Pearl,  at The Daniel Pearl Foundation’s Dialogue for Muslim-Jewish Understanding. This cornerstone event of the Greater Kansas City Festival of Faiths demonstrated a practical display of interfaith dialogue.

There was honest soul searching and scratching beneath the surface of complicated, aggravating and sensitive issues that transcend religious, political and social borders. These two grandfathers explored the root causes of hatreds that fan extremist actions and perpetuates the distrust that exists between the Abrahamic faiths.

Dr. Judea Pearl, father of slain Wall Street  journalist Daniel Pearl, and a professor of computer science at UCLA,  shared the pain he and his wife, Ruth, faced with the tragic murder of their son, Danny. The task of transforming their pain into courage and compassion led to the creation of the Daniel Pearl Foundation. Judea placed his Jewish faith and the need for building relationships between faiths before the audience Tuesday evening, November 13 at Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village, Kansas.

Dr. Pearl explored his dream of Jewish and Palestinian states living in harmony. Dr. Akbar Ahmed, Professor of Islamic studies at the American University in Washington D.C., agreed, but pointed out that mistrust in the hearts of people from both sides is high, and work lies ahead.
Both men reflected on the positives within their own faiths, as well as each others. Judea called Islam “a universal religion” and Akbar noted the “value of learning” in the Jewish faith. These two factors may be starting points to initiate bridge building. Islam is spread across the globe and understanding this faith, and the people who represent it, could be half the battle. What better initiators, than the Jewish faith, whose followers have been described as “ avid learners” by a scholar on the other side of the aisle. Akbar reminded the audience of Mohammed’s warning word of advice, “ The ink of the scholar is more sacred than the blood of the martyr.”

Stimulating questions from the audience underlined the fact that there is a serious desire of conscientious elements in society to play their role in achieving peace. Dr. Ahmed warned that anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism are rising like a tidal wave across the globe. He observed that also the growth of dislike of Islam in the United States makes interfaith dialogue a matter of life and death.

Both men maintained that dialogue, understanding and friendship can change everything. It is possible to change the world by engaging in dialogue that transcends emotion. The alternative is a bloody century.