CAIR-Chicago Co-Sponsors First Café Finjan Galleria

Earlier this week, CAIR-Chicago, as part of the Jewish-Muslim Community Building Initiative (JMCBI), co-hosted the first Café Finjan of 2009. The event featured an art galleria that included artwork, short films, and music. The Cortelyou Commons at DePaul University’s Lincoln Park Campus was transformed into an intimate gallery house. Art exhibits were dedicated to visual displays of spiritual identity for Muslims and Jews.

Café Finjan is a series of interfaith arts exchanges, begun in 2004 by the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs as part of the JMCBI. The series establishes points of contact, and nurtures a greater understanding between Jews and Muslims of Chicago. It also serves to create spaces for Chicagoland Jews, Muslims, and others of diverse backgrounds to come together and give voice to their identity and experience as part of a larger community.

"Finjan," a word in both Arabic and Hebrew, is a metal pot for brewing coffee in the traditional Middle Eastern style, both in the home and around a campfire.

The Café Finjan Cultural Events Series is sponsored by the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs (JCUA), the Chicago chapter of the Council for the Advancement of Muslim Professionals (CAMP--Chicago), the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR--Chicago), Mitziut Jewish Community, American Muslims for Activism and Learning (AMAL), KFAR Jewish Arts Center, United Muslims Moving Ahead (DePaul-UMMA), New Israel Fund, Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC), the Inner-city Muslim Action Network (IMAN) and Hebrew Meet-up.