ISIS and other terrorist organizations which kill and commit barbaric acts against innocent Muslims and non-Muslims alike continue to be the worst enemies of Islam. [...] It is evident that terrorist groups are determined to target our youth and use them to further their own political agendas. Sadly they have been very active while many of our imams and parents have failed to recognize the extent of their threat.

The seemingly awkward exchange between two friends -- the duo co-authored a book last year on Muslim-Jewish relations -- underscored a unique challenge that confronts the rabbis, imams, pastors and other religious activists engaged in the vast, growing network of U.S. interfaith relations that has blossomed since Sept. 11, 2001.

This week, a UK-based synagogue hosted its first iftar with members of both the local Jewish and Muslim communities.  With Ramadan being a time of reflection and peace, the Jewish-Muslim interfaith iftar at the synagogue, was a way for “Jewish and Muslim communities to come together in the UK to provide a light of hope for our co-religionists in the Middle East,” according to Mustafa Field, director of Faiths Forum London.