Interfaith Iftar Dinner & Maktoub/Katuv: An Exploration of Arabic and Hebrew Calligraphy

Join AC and our Muslim partners from Peace Islands Institute for an Interfaith Iftar Dinner (Ramadan break fast), as well as an exploration into the rich visual worlds of Arabic and Hebrew calligraphy, discovering the parallels between both languages. Educator, community builder, and artist Ruben Shimonov will also take us on a journey of his own multilingual calligraphy and how he has used his art to build Muslim-Jewish interfaith bridges. Participants will then have the opportunity to engage with these two languages through a hands-on calligraphy workshop. No background in Arabic or Hebrew calligraphy necessary.

About Ruben Shimonov

Currently based in Detroit—by way of Uzbekistan, Seattle, and NYC — Ruben is an educator, community builder, and artist passionate about Jewish diversity and intercultural understanding. Ruben is the American Sephardi Federation’s National Director of Sephardi House and Education. He is also the Founding Executive Director of the Sephardic Mizrahi Q Network, the sole international organization building community for LGBTQ+ Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews. He previously served as the Director of Community Engagement and Education at Queens College Hillel, as well as Director of Educational Experiences and Programming for the Muslim-Jewish Solidarity Committee. As a visual artist, Ruben uses his multilingual Hebrew-Arabic-Persian calligraphy to build interfaith bridges. Check him out on Instagram @_wordsinmotion_