At Brooklyn Technical High School, students who identify with either religion have the option to join the Muslim Student Association and the Jewish Club, where they can discuss issues they face without judgment from other groups. The downside is they most likely spend those group meetings preaching to the choir, which is why the school has organized a joint meeting for all of the student-run religious clubs. Jewish Club president Jeremy Landau told the Daily News, "Jews and Muslims have more in common than people think." Like how they both don't dig on swine?
The meeting comes during the Week of Dialogue, which Islamic leaders hope will encourage people to learn about Islam. Numerous mosques in the area are holding open houses all week; Imam Al-Amin Abdul Latif of the Islamic Leadership Council of New York told NY1, "We find when we begin to talk to people and share the Islamic values people are surprised. 'Oh I didn't know that, thank you for that.' You see the attitude changes."
Brooklyn Tech is hoping the same happens at the school, where there is a notable divide between students of different faiths. "People are open-minded but there's still a divide," said Landau. "A lot of Jewish kids are uneducated about Islam and vice-versa." According to a new study, Atheists, Jews and Mormons know the most about different religions, though the survey didn't seem to include Muslims.
