US Air Force Opens Joint Jewish-Muslim Prayer Space in Germany

September 21, 2005

Source: Stars and Stripes

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=30903&archive=true

On September 21, 2005 Stars and Stripes reported, "Just weeks after Air Force policymakers issued guidelines limiting public prayer, officials at Ramstein Air Base threw open the doors to a unique new chapel dedicated to interfaith worship and understanding. The new Kaiserslautern Military Community Interfaith Chapel, which formally opened Tuesday, is an unusual hybrid by any religious standards: It’s the Air Force’s first designated Jewish-Muslim prayer space. The project is the fruit of seven months of work and collaboration by an unlikely pair: reserved, contemplative Chaplain (Capt.) Hamza Al-Mubarak, a Muslim imam; and outgoing, ever-smiling Chaplain (Capt.) Donald Levy, a Jewish rabbi. The two helped design the center: an airy, light-drenched building with two identical chambers, each decorated for Muslim or Jewish services. Both chaplains delivered opening prayers at the center’s dedication Tuesday."