Berlin, Germany
Photo: Uri Berkowitz
Germany: Rabbi receives Muslim award
Augsburg Rabbi Henry Brandt is first Jew to receive prestigious Muhammad-Nafi-Tschelebi Prize for his commitment to interfaith dialogue
Augsburg Rabbi Henry Brandt is the first Jew to receive the prestigious Muhammad-Nafi-Tschelebi Prize for his commitment to interfaith dialogue – in particular for his rapprochement efforts with Islamic communities in Germany.
The Central Institute Islam–Archive honored the rabbi with the 2,500 euro award “for the way in which he brought about understanding between Muslims and Jews”, according to the institute’s chairman, Salim Abdullah.
Abdullah called Brandt, “a pioneer”.
“Such dialogue among Muslim communities can not be taken for granted,” writes Chaim Guski of the Jewish monthly Juedische Zeitung (JZ), unlike the 60-year tradition of dialogue between Christians and Jews.
JZ said the challenges faced by Jews and Muslims today were very similar. As far as these two minority groups are concerned, they often share the same problems that arise from religious precepts that are astoundingly similar - from analogous dietary regulations to comparable languages and timetables of prayer.
Lack of knowledge
Guski implied that Rabbi Brandt paved the way to remove religious hatred and other prejudices, including advanced anti-Semitism, from society through “enlightenment, talk, dialogue and alliances”.
“Triologue” is the name JZ gave to Brandt’s special form of cooperation.
JZ laments that the biggest hurdle that Jews and Muslims face today is their respective lack of knowledge about each other’s religions – a challenge that Brandt has actively made every effort to overcome.
Guski wrote “it is imperative that potential dialogue partners come together with theological knowledge that is free of prejudice. Brandt’s prize is exactly that: the recognition to the Jewish contribution towards Jewish-Muslim dialogue”.
Rabbi Brandt, who currently heads the German steering committee of the Society for Christian-Jewish Cooperation, was primarily recognized for his efforts in bringing the ideas of “Round Table of Religions in Germany” to the public’s attention.
Conflict resolution
Established in 1998, the round table brings together Jewish, Muslim, Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, B’hai and Buddhist representatives to discuss ways of promoting conflict resolution and keeping religions from being used for political purposes.
Brandt was born in Munich in 1927. He and his family escaped persecution by immigrating to Palestine in 1939. Brandt, who studied in Great Britain, returned to Germany in 1998 to take up a rabbinical posting.
The Central Institute Islam-Archive is a central depository for documentation from Muslim communities dating back to 1737.
Established in 1927, it is the oldest Islamic organization based in German-speaking countries.
Reprinted by permission of European Jewish Press
