2. Have the extremists and jihadists taken over Islam and where are the moderates? We must be careful not to allow Islam, Judaism or Christianity to be defined by extremists. Religious faiths that are embraced by millions around the globe are far more complex than the action of any one group or any one political conflict. We can not allow government leaders, the media or adherents of any movement to reduce the teachings of the three great Abrahamic faiths to political rhetoric and demagoguery. Equally, when religious extremists represent themselves as the guardians of the faith and act out in ways that are abhorrent to the tenets of our faith we must speak out with vigilance. We must condemn acts of terror, words of hate, bigotry and anti-Semitism that foster ignorance, hatred and even murder. Silence in such cases only condones such acts and words. People of faith must act on their faith by speaking out, by not allowing the extremists to win the day by having the only voice. Post 9/11 there has been far too much violence and far too much silence. In the 1930s the Pastor Martin Niemoller wrote:
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out -
because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out -
because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out -
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me - and there was no one left to speak for me.
It is time we speak out and let the moderate voice of all faiths be heard.

3. How can we live together in harmony and peace in the future?

It starts not with nations or the three faiths making any grand change, but rather, it begins with each of us. I am the child of a Holocaust survivor. My mother saw things in her childhood no human being should ever see, and yet she grew up to be a wonderful artist who sees the beauty of the world and shares it. She taught me and my brother from an early age a lesson most mothers teach their children, to be wary of strangers. Our problem is we all listen to our mothers and we stay away from strangers. So long as Muslims are strangers to Christian and Jews; so long as Jews are strangers to Christians and Muslims; so long as Christians are strangers to Muslims and Jews, we will not have peace. We need to reach out to each other, we need to build the bonds of interfaith relationships, we need to share in our common work to make this world a better place: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, safeguarding the environment, bringing justice to the oppressed.

I started my interfaith work not with grand programs or intense study sessions, but rather by inviting Akbar Ahmed and his family and Bishop John Chane and his family to my home to share a meal with me and my family. This approach has made all the difference. No matter what my children see on TV portrayed as Muslim or Christian behavior, they have families in their lives that teach them a different truth by example--a truth they know as love, caring and friendship. These men-- a Muslim and a Christian--are my friends, my mentors, my brothers, and are what I humbly think of when I think of beings created in God’s image. These relationships happen when we choose to see others not as strangers, but as children of one God.

Bruce Lustig is senior rabbi at Washington Hebrew Congregation. Along with the daily responsibilities of leading a 3,000 member congregation, he is involved in the Jewish Council for the Aging, the Executive Board of Israel Bonds of the Greater Washington Area, the UAHC Rabbinic Network on Youth Suicide, the Mayors Faith Advisory Board, the National Liaison for National Day of Prayer, and the Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society, District of Columbia Division.