AL-HIKMAT - THE WISDOM WEBSITE Serving the Muslim and Non-Muslim Community for the past 28 years, through the distribution of publications, DVD's, CD's, radio & TV shows, lectures, seminars, dialogues etc.,establishing tolerance and better understanding among different faiths and cultures. AL QUR'AAN Ch: 16 V: 125 “Invite To the Way of Thy Lord With Hikmat” (Wisdom).

Dear Shaikh Shafayet Mohamed and the family of the Darul Uloom Institute,peace be upon you, I truly appreciate your having invited me to speak at the Eid Festival but because of two weddings this weekend , I am unable to do so.

I, presently, serve as the President of the Interfaith Council of Greater Hollywood and South Broward as has Shaikh Shafayet Mohammed in years past. The commitment to Interfaith Understanding by the members of the Darul Uloom Institute and its leader has been unfailing throughout the years. Numerous times, Shaikh Shafayet and I have shared in interfaith dialogue with an open agenda in Temple Solel before I retired. This Feast today is another example of a close bond that exists between the Islamic, Jewish, and Christian communities in South Broward County. We share the same belief in One God of the Universe. We are all brothers and sisters descended from the one, we call in Judaism, Abraham. We share more in common than we realize and how appropriate it is that this Feast is occurring on the first night of the Jewish Festival of Chanuka, an event that occurred almost 2200 years ago.At that time, the ancient Maccabees under the leadership of Judah were able to defeat the Syrian Greeks who had defiled the Great Temple of the Lord with pagan idols and had desecrated the altar of God. Had that victory over paganism not been achieved that may have spelled the end of monotheism, the very end of Judaism. Consequently, Christianity and Islam may never have been born. While people refer to Chanuka as a minor festival, to me, it is a major festival for it changed the very nature of humankind and was necessary to the continuation of a belief in One God . The word Chanuka is usually translated as dedication or rededication which is what this moment is all about,tonight. In such a moment as this, let all of us rededicate ourselves to the belief in One God, the teachings of the Torah, the Old Testament and New Testament, and the Qur’aan through the words of our mouths and the works of our hands. We share so much in common and tend to emphasize our differences. Let us continue to learn from one another in seeking to build a world filled with the blessing that is Shalom, Salaam, the blessing that is peace.