Interfaith dialogue between Muslims and Jews in America has become increasingly necessary in the aftermath of the events of October 7, 2023, to sustain the relative coexistence between these two important religious minorities in the West. This need is largely tied to the rising status of Islam in the United States in recent decades, especially after 9/11, with Islam projected to become the second-largest religion after Christianity in the coming years. This shift could have crucial implications for Islam’s influence in America in general, and on the Jewish community in particular.

The potential for Muslim–Jewish dialogue—both before and after October 7—remains largely untapped, yet it could serve as a foundation for greater collaboration between the two communities. This has become especially relevant in light of the sharp rise of anti-Israel sentiments, which has affected the complex relations between the two communities since October 7. 

In the post-9/11 era, Islam in the United States was shaped by widespread Islamophobia, leading many within the Muslim community to recognize the need to strengthen their integration into American society. Aware of the importance of protecting their faith and reputation, they increasingly engaged in vital social and civic initiatives to foster greater inclusion and understanding among non-Muslim Americans. These activities also included building ties between Muslim immigrants and African-American Muslim communities, as well as between organizations such as Zaytuna College (Sufi) and Al-Maghrib Institute (Salafi), despite deep theological disagreements. Muslim Americans also expanded their involvement in social and political arenas and engaged in interfaith encounters with Christians and Jews on campuses and through other platforms. This multi-faceted engagement also led to the election of the first Muslim congressman, Keith Ellison, in 2006.

A crucial factor that helped advance Islam’s visibility after 9/11 was the rise of social media. Muslim preachers and activists used these platforms to present Islam and Muslims in a more positive and peaceful light. As a result, countering Islamophobia and promoting the religion online transformed the 9/11 catastrophe into an opportunity for the Muslim community for greater engagement in the public sphere. This, in turn, helped to strengthen the American identity of many Muslims, particularly within the immigrant community. Ironically, while 9/11 significantly damaged the image of American Muslims and fueled the rise of Islamophobia, it also contributed to the spread of Islam throughout the United States. For example, according to a study by the Association of Religion Data Archives from 2010, the Muslim population had increased by 67% in the decade following the 9/11 attacks. This growth was also reflected in the number of mosques: In the year 2000, there were only 1,209 mosques, and by 2011, the number had almost doubled to 2,106.

Clerics such as Imam Dr. Omar Suleiman and Sheikh Dr. Yasir Qadhi from Texas are part of a new generation of American Muslim preachers who emerged in the wake of 9/11. They played a key role in defending Islam and conveying its messages in fluent English to millions in North America and the West. Imam Dr. Omar Suleiman, a second-generation immigrant born to Palestinian parents, is one of the founders of the Yaqeen Institute, an Islamic organization in Texas. He is active in interfaith dialogue and social activism, particularly on issues related to Palestine. Yasir Qadhi, also a second-generation immigrant, was born to parents from Pakistan and is currently the chairman of the Fiqh Council of North America. He is also a resident scholar at the Epic Masjid in Plano, Texas, and the dean of the Islamic Seminary of America. A former hardcore Salafi, Qadhi studied for a decade at the Islamic University of Madinah (IUM) during the 1990s. However, the events of 9/11 and his doctoral studies at Yale University (2005–2013) influenced his worldviews, leading him to adopt a more moderate and pragmatic stance. This shift is reflected in his emphasis on building bridges between Muslims and non-Muslims in America, including engaging in dialogue with Christians and Jews. 

For example, Omar Suleiman expressed positive attitudes toward the Jewish people and participated in two interfaith dialogues, titled “Islam, Judaism, and Christianity—A Conversation.” These dialogues went viral on social media and drew public attention. The first event was held in 2018 in Texas and included Chris Girata, the rector at Saint Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, and Rabbi David Stern, a senior figure at Temple Emanu-El of Dallas. The second interfaith dialogue in 2019 featured Chris Girata and Rabbi Nancy Kasten, a leading interfaith figure. In these discussions, Suleiman addressed issues such as the permissibility of kosher meat and poultry products, which are also considered halal for Muslims, highlighting how this commonality could foster Muslim–Jewish fraternity in the United States. He also emphasized the significant similarities between Islam and Judaism as a foundation for building positive relations between the two communities.

Similarly, in 2010, Yasir Qadhi participated in an official visit to Auschwitz, along with other American Muslim leaders, such as Suhaib Webb, Muzammil Siddiqi, and Laila Muhammad, the daughter of the prominent African-American leader Warith Dean Muhammad. Qadhi expressed his inability to comprehend “the sheer inhumanity” of the Holocaust and called for communal actions against antisemitism and Islamophobia. He urged Muslims and Jews to work together to combat the dehumanization of all peoples based on their religion, race, or ethnicity. Qadhi also expressed great appreciation for prominent rabbis, such as the late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, the former chief rabbi of Britain, regretting that he never had the opportunity to meet him in person. In a broader historical context, Qadhi rejected the popular claim of an eternal historical conflict between Jews and Muslims. He referenced the Golden Age of Jewish culture and highlighted the major rabbinic figures of this era, such as Maimonides and Rabbi Saadia Gaon, who flourished specifically in the lands of Islam. 

Like Suleiman, back in 2012 Qadhi also expressed that the similarities between kosher and halal food could serve as a foundation for joint efforts against both antisemitism and Islamophobia in the United States, particularly when there were concerns about banning ritual animal slaughter. This comparison reflected Qadhi’s beliefs in the parallels between conservative Muslims and Orthodox Jews, whom he respected and saw as potential partners for interfaith cooperation.

Another area with potential for religious cooperation and interfaith dialogue between Muslims and Jews is the political sphere. For example, conservative Muslims and Orthodox Jews often share an opposition to progressive movements, particularly regarding the LGBTQ agendas. In 2023, for instance, American Muslim parents began publicly protesting what they described as the “LGBTQ indoctrination” in schools. They argued that such education aimed to instill gender concepts that fundamentally contradict their Islamic values and pose a threat to the religious future of the younger generation. Qadhi, Suleiman, and other prominent clerics, such as Imam Zaid Shakir—one of the founders of Zaytuna College in California—also voiced similar criticisms. Shakir argued that progressive and postmodern trends represented by the LGBTQ community constitute the greatest threat to Islam in America, warning that widespread adoption of these values among American Muslims could lead to the erosion of Islam itself.

This stance, which reflects the views of many conservative Muslims in the United States, could serve as a basis for cooperation with Orthodox Jewish communities, who similarly oppose progressive agendas and seek to raise their children according to Halacha (Jewish law). Such an alliance could contribute to the coexistence of these communities in the United States, highlighting the joint struggle of Muslims and Jews to strengthen and preserve their traditional religious values.

The importance of conservative values for American Muslims was evident even in the elections prior to 9/11, during which many within the community chose to vote for the Republican Party. In fact, even during Donald Trump’s three presidential campaigns, segments of the Muslim community preferred Trump over Democratic candidates, despite his administration’s travel ban on people from predominantly Muslim countries during his first term in office. This preference was influenced, in part, by the Democratic Party’s prominent support for the LGBTQ rights and, in the most recent presidential election, by its backing of Israel’s extensive war in Gaza. 

In essence, the aftermath of October 7, with its devastating consequences for both Jews and Muslims, seemed to halt religious dialogues and the potential for collaboration between these communities. Hamas’s unprecedented attack on October 7 against Israeli Jews was swiftly overshadowed by the horrific images and videos of thousands of dead Palestinians and with the enormous destruction of Gaza. Therefore, instead of creating an opportunity for natural empathy from the Muslim community toward the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, the focus shifted almost entirely to the Palestinian side. This has unprecedently exacerbated anger and resentment toward Israel’s actions in Gaza. Notwithstanding, due to the salient diversity of the American Muslim community in general, and its clerics in particular, there have been some activities and discussions that may positively impact the pessimistic reality following October 7. 

For example, shortly after October 7, interfaith partners Rabbi Marc Schneier and Imam Shamsi Ali led a meeting at Queens College. Marc Schneier is a prominent rabbi involved in outreach between Jews and Gulf countries, and he is the founder of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding (FFEU), which aims to improve Muslim–Jewish and Black–Jewish relations. Shamsi Ali is an Indonesian-American and a well-known Muslim figure in New York, primarily recognized for his tolerant version of Islam and interfaith dialogue. He leads the Jamaica Muslim Center in Queens, one of the largest mosques in New York, with 20,000 members. 

However, the meeting of these two religious leaders at Queens College, intended to build bridges between Muslims and Jews, exposed the deep divisions between the two communities amid the Israel–Hamas war. While Schneier and Ali did their best to guide the conversation toward interfaith relations, the heated atmosphere between the members of the Muslim Student Association (MSA) and the Jewish members of the campus Hillel was pronounced and blunt. Nevertheless, almost all of the students unequivocally condemned discrimination against Muslims and Jews, as well as the harming of civilians. In addition, other optimistic voices stressed the similarities between Islam and Judaism. For example, one Muslim student addressed shared traditions, such as fasting on holidays and eschewing pork, to focus on commonalities and not just the differences.

Yasir Qadhi’s discourse in the aftermath of October 7 is another example of highlighting Muslim–Jewish similarities as a means of easing tensions between the two communities. Despite Qadhi’s salient criticism of Israel’s foreign policy and its military actions in Gaza, he used several sermons to call for a distinction between antisemitism and anti-Zionism and to present Muslim–Jewish relations in a more positive historical light. In an appearance before Muslim students at Yale University in 2024, he emphasized that the slogan “from the river to the sea Palestine will be free” does not, in any form, imply killing or harming Israeli people, contrary to the seemingly violent tone often associated with the slogan during protests. Qadhi also argued against the notion that criticizing Israel’s foreign policy constitutes an attack on Jews or Judaism, emphasizing that censuring a state (Israel) is different from criticizing a faith (Judaism). He offered an analogy, noting that condemning the Taliban or other theocratic Muslim regimes in the Middle East—as he and other clerics do—should not be understood as denouncing Islam.

Qadhi further highlighted the role that Muslim civilization played in protecting hundreds of thousands of Jews throughout history, stressing the marked difference between the treatment of Jews in Muslim lands and in Christian Europe, where antisemitic attacks and theological hatred were persistent. Referring to World War II, Qadhi cited multiple cases in which Muslims risked their lives to protect Jews. He gave the example of Sultan Muhammad V of Morocco, who refused to comply with Nazi policies under the Vichy regime, thereby saving the lives of 250,000 Jews from deportation to Nazi death camps. He also noted the Muslim community in France during that era, which saved thousands of Jews.

Another example of Muslim–Jewish interfaith dialogue in the aftermath of October 7 was a delegation to Morocco in March 2024. This initiative represented a collaboration between African-American imams, led by Talib Shareef, and Israeli rabbis, led by Ya’akov Nagen and Aharon Lavi. The African-American members were affiliated with the late Imam Warith Dean Muhammad under the auspices of The Nation’s Mosque and the International Coalition for Peace and Reconciliation (ICPR), while the Israeli members were mainly associated with the Blickle Institute for Interfaith Dialogue and the Sharaka organization. The goal of this delegation was to foster understanding and dialogue between American Muslims and Israeli Jews, despite the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict, which had significantly escalated after October 7. Similar to other interfaith dialogues mentioned before, one of the aims was to promote a shared struggle against antisemitism and Islamophobia, both of which have intensified since October 7. This Muslim–Jewish collaboration continues through mutual meetings and discussions and also includes Muslim representatives from Indonesia.

While interfaith dialogue and Muslim–Jewish collaboration have never been widespread, they have become even more complex challenges in the aftermath of October 7. However, as shown in this article, important voices and initiatives within the diverse landscape of prominent American Muslim clerics may signal a positive change for the future. Nonetheless, there is no doubt that anti-Zionist sentiment has intensified significantly following October 7, also affecting American Jews who expressed support for Israel. While this phenomenon has always emerged after previous Israel–Hamas conflicts, it seems that the unprecedented destruction and killing in Gaza marks a turning point in the attitude of American Muslims toward Israel. 

Nevertheless, it is important to emphasize that even among mainstream imams who prominently support the Palestinian cause, expressions of anti-Jewish sentiment are rare. This suggests that pure antisemitism—such as that found in extremist Islamic groups or radical far-right movements—is still considered a red line by many American imams. This critical distinction offers hope for continued Muslim–Jewish collaboration in combating both antisemitism and Islamophobia. It also reinforces the potential for interfaith dialogue between Muslims and Jews, where Islam and Judaism can serve as neutral spiritual platforms for rebuilding relations between Muslims and Jews in the United States in the aftermath of October 7.