Muslim, Christian & Jewish Women Leaders Cross Continents for Interfaith Dialogue...

Muslim, Christian & Jewish Women Leaders Cross Continents for Interfaith
Dialogue to Increase Tolerance & Understanding, Condemn Violence

Visiting 'mourchidates,' or women religious counselors, from Morocco join U.S.
Jewish, Muslim & Christian women in NY to discuss role of women in faith,
communities, & common challenges

WASHINGTON, May 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A delegation of Moroccan
mourchidates, women religious counselors, just concluded a week-long visit to
the U.S. with an interfaith forum in New York City that examined the
increasing role women leaders are playing in Muslim, Jewish, and Christian
communities around the world. Panelists at the May 21 forum, "Women's
Spiritual Voices: Crossing Continents, Finding Common Ground", co-hosted by
the Moroccan American Cultural Center and the American Jewish Committee,
appealed for greater tolerance and understanding, and condemned violence
following reports of a foiled bomb plot in a nearby New York City
neighborhood.

"We come from lands apart, but we couldn't be closer together," said Sarah
Sayeed, program associate, Interfaith Center of New York, and board member,
Women In Islam, Inc. "Across the world, women religious leaders of diverse
faiths have made great strides and yet face many of the same challenges. The
mourchidate program in Morocco is an exciting and promising initiative that
strengthens our faith communities. It should definitely be replicated in
other countries."

Begun in 2006, Morocco'smourchidate program is working to elevate the status
of women and promote religious tolerance by training and certifying female
religious counselors to work alongside imams (traditional male religious
leaders in Islam) in the 40,000+ mosques in Morocco.

In addition to the mourchidates and Sayeed, other panelists at the NYC forum
included Rabbi Stephanie Dickstein, LMSW, Spiritual Care Coordinator, Shira
Ruskay Center of the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services; Rev.
Elizabeth Garnsey, Associate Rector at Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest;
and Mahara't Sara Hurwitz, Rabbinic Staff, Hebrew Institute of Riverdale.

The interfaith panel discussion took place only hours after reports of an
attempted bombing of two synagogues in the Bronx, NY, uncovered by the NYPD
and the FBI. Members of the visiting delegation expressed sadness over the
news and addressed the issue with reporters following forum.

"Threats and violent acts have no place in Islam or any true faith tradition,"
said mourchidateFatima Zahra Salhi, to members of the press after the event.
"Incidents of such intolerance underscore the importance of today's
discussions and the need for deeper dialogue and understanding."

On Friday, the mourchidates met with American Muslim women leaders at New York
Public Library's Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture to discuss the
role increased female leadership in Islam is playing in helping to break down
stereotypes and cultural barriers in the U.S., Morocco and around the globe.
After the meeting, the mourchidates joined their U.S. counterparts for jumu'ah
(Friday prayers) at the Islamic Cultural Center of New York, the city's
largest mosque.

Members of the mourchidate delegation visiting the U.S. from Morocco included:
*Fatima Zahra Salhi, a 2006 graduate who coordinates community health programs
in Morocco, including blood donation drives and sexually transmitted disease
awareness campaigns for teens;

*Nezha Nassi, who works at women's detention centers organizing social
activities & religious ceremonies for prisoners, and providing counseling for
recently released women seeking to rejoin society; and

*Ilham Chafik, a Ph.D. in Arabic linguistics who conducts workshops for the
blind on Islam and Qur'anic study and recitations at Mohammed VI Institute for
the Education and Training for the Blind.

Earlier in the week, the mourchidate delegation was in Washington, DC, where
they shared personal experiences and perspectives at an interfaith forum with
American Muslim and Jewish women leaders. They also met with U.S. State
Department officials, Members of Congress and their staffs, and attended
worship service at Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, home of
Washington, DC's oldest African-American AME congregation.

On June 4th, President Barack Obama is scheduled to travel to Cairo to deliver
his much-anticipated address to the Muslim world from Egypt, which has
initiated a mourchidate program similar to Morocco's.

The Moroccan American Cultural Center (MACC) is a not-for-profit 501 c(3)
organization which works to build stronger cultural and educational ties
between Morocco and the U.S. through its support of programs that enhance
bilateral relations and cooperation. Created in 2003 as an initiative of His
Majesty King Mohammed VI, MACC has undertaken a range of projects which
include hosting events that celebrate and share the rich diversity of Moroccan
culture, and supporting programs that enhance cultural and educational ties
between the U.S. and Morocco as well as across the Maghreb. For more
information, go to www.moroccanamericanculture.org.

SOURCE The Moroccan American Cultural Center

Calvin Dark of The Moroccan American Cultural Center, +1-202-309-0372,
cdark@moroccanamericancenter.com