Pastor Warren to address American Muslims

Syeed said that he and Warren, a Southern Baptist and author of "The Purpose Driven Life," have worked together on projects fighting malaria and advocating for people with HIV and AIDS.

The convention will not be the first time Warren has addressed an American Muslim group. Last December, he spoke at a meeting of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, a policy organization based in Los Angeles. But the Islamic Society gathering is by far his most dramatic display of friendship with U.S. Muslims. Warren would not comment ahead of the event.

Two years ago, Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the liberal Union for Reform Judaism, the largest American branch of Judaism, became the first major Jewish leader to address the convention. The two groups have pledged to fight extremism and build ties between mosques and synagogues nationwide.

Jewish group to attend as well
This year, Conservative Judaism, the second-largest American Jewish movement, will show its support at the assembly. Rabbi Burton Visotzky, a prominent professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, the Conservative movement's flagship institution, will be a featured speaker. Conservative rabbis and the Islamic society have also been building relationships between local mosques and synagogues. Next year, along with Hartford Seminary in Connecticut, they plan a conference on Judaism and Islam in the United States.

"I think there has been a change in general perceptions," of American Muslims, said Mark Pelavin, associate director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. "When you look at the kind of symbolic participation of Muslims in public life, and you see Rick Warren and Rabbi Yoffie coming, those are all things you wouldn't have seen five years ago."

The Islamic Society, based in Plainfield, Ind., still has its opponents.

A stigma remains from the years immediately following Sept. 11 when the millions of U.S. Muslims, their mosques and charities came under intense public scrutiny in the search for domestic terrorists. None of the investigations yielded any finding of wrongdoing or penalty against the Islamic Society.

Visotzky said he is concerned about the potential for criticism of Conservative Judaism's work with the Muslim group. Bloggers who closely follow Warren already are denouncing his appearance at the convention, scheduled for Saturday night.

But Visotzky said he feels a sense of religious duty. He views the assembly as a chance to show American Jews that Muslims are reaching out to them despite differences over Israel, and explain to Muslims his support for the Jewish state.

"We are commanded to love our neighbors," Visotzky said, "and my friends at ISNA are good neighbors."

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