Mitzvah Day: Bringing the Community Together
Muslims and Jews volunteer together on Christmas Day to allow Christians to celebrate the holiday
Stephen Henderson welcomes to Detroit Today, David Kurzmann, the Executive Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) and Sumaiya Ahmed, the Communications Director for the Michigan Muslim Community Council (MMCC), to talk about Mitzvah Day, which occurs on Christmas Day. Kurzmann explains that the JCRC came up with Mitzvah Day more than 20 years ago as a day where members of the Jewish community volunteer at social service sites to allow Christians to take the day off to celebrate Christmas with their families. For the past 7 years, the MMCC has joined with the JCRC to establish a tradition of volunteering that has now gone beyond Mitzvah Day. Ahmed says that Mitzvah Day is a terrific way for the Muslim community to promote love and understanding between the faiths. Kurzmann and Ahmed tell Stephen that service to the community is a staple of their religions and that Mitzvah Day/Muslim Volunteer Day is a fulfilling and rewarding experience during a season where a Non-Christian may question where they fit in.
Please click the audio link above to hear the entire conversation:
