Augsburg Rabbi Henry Brandt is the first Jew to receive the prestigious Muhammad-Nafi-Tschelebi Prize for his commitment to interfaith dialogue – in particular for his rapprochement efforts with Islamic communities in Germany.

The Central Institute Islam–Archive honoured the rabbi with the 2,500 euro award “for the way in which he brought about understanding between Muslims and Jews”, according to the institute’s chairman, Salim Abdullah.

Abdullah called Brandt, “a pioneer”.

“Such dialogue among Muslim communities can not be taken for granted,” writes Chaim Guski of the Jewish monthly Juedische Zeitung (JZ), unlike the 60-year tradition of dialogue between Christians and Jews.

JZ said the challenges faced by Jews and Muslims today were very similar. As far as these two minority groups are concerned, they often share the same problems that arise from religious precepts that are astoundingly similar - from analogous dietary regulations to comparable languages and timetables of prayer....

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By Oliver Bradley