PRESS
MIRRORINDY
This is a Difficult Time for Both Muslims and Jews
Key Takeaways from We Refuse to Be Enemies: A Conversation with Sabeeha Rehman and Walter Ruby at the JCC Indianapolis
Feb. 20, 2024
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Haaretz
For Jewish-Muslim Dialogue Groups in America, Gaza War Shatters Dreams of Co-Existence
June 1, 2021
Walter Ruby, co-author of We Refuse to be Enemies, is quoted.
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Jewish Standard. Times of Israel
Coming together in America: Jewish and Muslim co-authors of ‘We Refuse To Be Enemies’ to speak for Parsippany shul.
March 10, 2021
Sabeeha Rehman didn’t know a lot of Jews growing up. Just kidding. She didn’t know any. . . .
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Long Island Weekly
Islamic Center and Jewish Congregation host author.
Sept. 14, 2020
They shared fascinating stories of how their perspectives shifted. . . .
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Reviews
Washington Jewish Week
Power of Refusal
August 1, 2021
”What makes this relationship remarkable is, in the authors’ words, “the elephant in the room” — the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. That ongoing conflict should have made these two people’s friendship as unlikely as easily purchasing a whisky sour in Mecca or a steak sandwich in Mumbai. . . . the way forward for improving Muslim-Jewish relations.
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Our Town
The Wrestlers
June 9, 2021
“an informative and mighty book. . . . a contemporary work of searing scholarship that aims to dispel falsehoods and searches for commonality between two vast religions. . . noble and important . . . .relating sometimes comic personal anecdotes, the book illuminates even as it amuses. . . . compel in both their unexpected levity and unwavering search for the truth. . . . opens a vital dialogue between two titanic ways of life. . . “
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Inside Arabia. April 24, 2021
Though an ever-growing number of authors have written books on inter-religious dialogue, many of which approach it from more scholarly standpoints, . . . reinforces its points by grounding them in direct experience. Rehman and Ruby’s penchant for storytelling increases their book’s accessibility. The pair added a personal touch—the book’s greatest strength—to a topic that a more academic writer might have turned into a far drier read."
A compelling case for interfaith dialogue and religious pluralism from start to finish...Rehman and Ruby’s book shines when it weaves the writers into the narrative...the pairs' voices give the book its combination of warmth and punch.
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TESTIMONIALS
Goodreads. March 30, 2021
Both writers did a fantastic job really illustrating their perspective on the others people, while still maintaining respect for one another.
The Transition Network (TTN). NYC. April 6, 2021 (Book Talk)
Very engaging discussion of an important book. The authors spoke from their personal experiences addressing “sensitive” issues, demonstrating their abilities to dig deeper, to reach the common humanity that we all share. The Q and A was especially informative and inspiring. Yes, do buy this book! Yes, to more TTN events like this.
Advance Praise
We Refuse To Be Enemies
How Muslims and Jews Can Make Peace, One Friendship at a Time
This is a unique and remarkably compelling book written as a dialogue between a Muslim woman and a Jewish man. We learn what it takes to understand the many historical issues and experiences of both communities through their lens. They explore challenges as well as the unity amongst Jews and Muslims in the United States without losing their deep attachments to Pakistan and Israel. A vital contribution for dialogue and peace between Jews and Muslims.
– Mehnaz M. Afridi, Phd. Holocaust, Genocide and Interfaith Education Center at Manhattan College, NY.
A Muslim woman living in an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood; a Jewish man hanging out with Arab Bedouins in Israel. Their stories of transformation and bringing communities together offers hope for America.
— Wajahat Ali, author of The Domestic Crusaders and contributing NYT op-ed writer
Two searingly honest memoirs intertwine in WE REFUSE TO BE ENEMIES. Rehman and Ruby are each activists in the growing movement of Muslim-Jewish engagement. WE REFUSE TO BE ENEMIES is an epiphany – a profoundly American book.
—Rabbi Burton L. Visotzky, PhD, Appleman Professor of Midrash and Interreligious Studies, Director, Milstein Center for Interreligious Dialogue, Jewish Theological Seminary
Having spent a lifetime building dialogue between members of different religious traditions, I am truly excited for the release of Walter Ruby and Sabeeha Rehman's "We Refuse to be Enemies," which focuses on efforts to bring together Jews and Muslims in peaceful coexistence. Given the massive importance of the Jewish-Muslim relationship, I consider Ruby and Reman's work to be a prerequisite for anyone interested in interfaith dialogue."
—Dr. Akbar Ahmed, Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at the American University's School of International Service, Former High Commissioner of Pakistan to the UK and Ireland
I salute Sabeeha Rehman and Walter Ruby for their important contribution to strengthening Muslim-Jewish relations chronicled in We Refuse To Be Enemies. I am proud to have been involved in this cause since 2006, and to have worked with Walter, Sabeeha and other pioneers to build a common space between Muslims and Jews for dialogue, communication and interaction. We Refuse To Be Enemies is a gripping account of how our two communities stood up for each other in the face of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, and a prescription for how we can work together going forward to buttress pluralism, democracy and religious liberty in this country. Not to be missed.
—Dr. Sayyid Syeed, President Islamic Society of North America (ISNA)
Sabeeha Rehman and Walter Ruby have written an essential book for the vital and important emergence of a Muslim-Jewish alliance in the United States. It takes more than a shared disgust with Donald Trump's myriad forms of bigotry to bridge the gap between Jews and Muslims in America. Now this book helps light the path. Affectionate and yet unflinching, Rehman and Ruby draw on personal experience, history, theology, and concrete examples of effective partnership to show the hard work that our two communities must continue to do. They model an interfaith relationship in which we can agree to disagree on certain issues—Israel-Palestine at the top of the list—while refusing to subject our alliance to a loyalty oath's checklist.
—Samuel G. Freedman is an award-winning author, columnist and professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Freedman is the author of nine non-fiction books including "Jew Vs. Jew: The Struggle for the Soul of American Jewry."
Today, Pakistan and Israel do not recognize each other. But here are two brilliant writers — one rooted in Pakistan, the other in Israel — who do recognize, understand, and respect each other. Sabeeha Rehman and Walter Ruby, a Muslim and a Jew, are both proud of their faith traditions, while being wise enough to see the deep ties and bridges between them. Their stories and insights give us some hope for the future of the world, including the Middle East, at a time when their current state of affairs isn’t too bright.
— Mustafa Akyol, Cato Institute Senior Fellow, Opinion Writer For the New York Times, author of "Islam without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty"
Sabeeha Rehman and Walter Ruby’s work is at once daring and careful, forgiving and demanding. They share their stories with disarming honesty; having come to their positions through deep listening and personal experience. This book gives a taste of what real Muslim-Jewish dialogue can look like. This is something the two of us learned personally when, at Walter's initiative, our respective congregations in Northern Virginia, Temple Rodef Shalom and McLean Islamic Center, formed a wonderful twinning relationship; one which positively transformed attitudes toward the 'Other' in both congregations.
—Rabbi Jeffrey Saxe, Temple Rodef Shalom, and Dr. Maqsood Chaudhry, Founder and Trustee, McLean Islamic Center
In this important book, Walter Ruby and Sabeeha Rehman give us unique insight into their own personal transformation journeys and their years of work on the ground to build authentic Jewish-Muslim relationships in the United States. The authors don't shy away from the difficult issues, but rather show how—through lived experience—they have been able to build lasting relationships that go far beyond the surface. This is a must-read for anyone looking to deepen their own interfaith engagement.
—Dr. Catherine Orsborn, Executive Director, Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign