Boston-Area Muslim and Unitarian Universalist Groups Build Friendship Through Dialogue

November 9, 2003

Source: The Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2003/11/09/clerics_overcome_fear_and_suspicion_to_build_bridges_of_understanding/

On November 9, 2003 The Boston Globe reported, "Just hours after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, while the nation was convulsed with fear and anger, a Turkish imam was breaking his Ramadan fast in the company of a Universalist Unitarian congregation in Lexington. That Muslim imam was Salih Yucel, director of the Boston Dialogue Foundation, which until last week was based in Medford. The person who left him a voice mail message inviting him to an evening prayer for the terrorist victims was the Rev. Lucinda Duncan, minister of the Follen Community Church. In the two years since, the paths of Yucel and Duncan, and those of their congregations, have remained close. The two religious leaders have brought together members of their communities for monthly public talks and annual Ramadan dinners. They have raised money for Afghan children and even planned joint trips to Turkey."