Midwest peace agreement

As tensions continue to run high between Jews and Muslims in the Middle East, a local group is determined to foster a more genial relationship between the two communities in this neck of the woods.

On Sunday 15, a roster of Muslim and Jewish musicians, spoken-word and visual artists, and filmmakers will present work during Café Finjan, a biannual event held at DePaul University that is, by design, an example of tolerance between two cultures whose interaction has historically been defined by strife. (Not for nothing does the Arabic and Hebrew word finjan—pronounced “fin-JAHN”—refer to a traditional metal coffee pot around which friends gather for warmth.)

Creating an interfaith event that would discourage finger-wagging arguments about politics or religion was a major hurdle for the event’s organizers. “The planning for Café Finjan happened throughout the Gaza war,” says Irene Lehrer Sandalow, a co-organizer and the director of outreach and education for the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs. “Even though it was tense and it was difficult and there were a lot of emotions in the Muslim and Jewish [communities], the planning kept going, and we kept seeing each other, talking to each other. We decided we didn’t have to come in having to defend an opinion [about Gaza],” she says. “We weren’t going to let hostilities in the Middle East affect friendly feelings here in Chicago.”

First held in 2004, the showcase, which spans a tightly packed four hours, includes DJs, discussions between Jewish and Muslim visual artists about the interaction between their spirituality and their work, and several short films. The screenings include The Tribe, a Sundance Film Festival selection which draws parallels between the evolution of the Barbie doll and that of the Jewish people; A Land Called Paradise, composed of confessions from American Muslims penned on cue cards (our favorite: “Broccoli is my personal jihad”); and Forbidden Love, in which a Muslim college girl ashamed to pray in public searches for privacy. Capping off the night is a performance by Lamajamal, a local interfaith band that churns out multiculti tunes informed by styles from the Middle East, North Africa, the Balkans and Turkey.

Café Finjan regular Julie Hochstadter, a 30-year-old Jewish real-estate agent, says the event has significantly increased her awareness of the similarities between Jewish and Muslim cultures. Inspired by the experience, she now hosts Israeli-Arab and Jordanian exchange students in her Ravenswood home. “I love these cultural ways, these nonpolitical ways, of bridging the gap between our two cultures,” she says. For the upcoming Café Finjan, Hochstadter feels she’s doing her small part: She’ll be attending the event with a Muslim coworker in tow.

Come together at Café Finjan, 4–9pm Sunday 15 at DePaul University’s Cortelyou Commons (2324 N Fremont St, 312-663-0960, cafefinjanchicago@gmail.com).

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