Interfaith Thanksgiving, 2001

November 19, 2001

Source: Newsday

On November 19, 2001, Newsday reported on a New York "trialogue" in the article "Different Religions, Common Goal - Peace." The article noted, "Harkening to the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving, the minister [Rev. Arthur Caliandro] challenged the interfaith audience to likewise count every blessing in these trying days. Begging his pardon, the imam...interjected. 'This gives me a time to repeat that the Pilgrims were not my forebearers,' said Al-Hajj Talib 'Abdur-Rashid, leader of the Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood in Manhattan. 'That's all right. They're not mine, either,' said Rabbi Ronald Sobel of Temple Emanu-El." The article noted that this exchange "underscored the spiritual leaders' message that people of different religions and ancestries must come together now more than ever in search of peace."