“The first batch of Pakistanis to settle in the US was the Jewish community and neighborhood in the Brooklyn borough of New York, where there were no halal slaughterhouses in those days, but there were other things in common, including kosher. We had a synagogue on one corner and a mosque on the other. There was no fighting between us, and there was dialogue, and there still is,” Rabbi Mark Meyer-Appel told attendees of a luncheon held to celebrate the launch of the recently established multimedia digital platform NYUrdu.com.

“I didn’t go to my synagogue as much as I went to mosques,” he said.

The gathering was hosted by New York Urdu, or NYUrdu.com, at the famous restaurant “Dera” in Jackson Heights — New York’s South Asian population and business center — and was attended by social, civic and political leaders from different religions and communities, journalists, writers, poets, famous YouTubers, and influencers, alongside the editor-in-chief and friends of New York Urdu.

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The knowledge of peace and unity that we have has been given to us to pass on to our generations, and the newspaper — or the pen — is also an excellent means of passing on our message of love, knowledge and truth to our future generations.

Imam Sheikh Musa Darme · Islamic scholar & preacher of interfaith unity, New York

Speaking with a prayer, Imam Darme congratulated the team and chief editor of New York Urdu and asked that the power of their pen grow stronger still.

“I Am Only a Messenger”

The chief editor of the newspaper, Hassan Mujtaba, said that the objectives and goals of NY Urdu were stated in its very first editorial. “I am only a messenger, and the message is of love — against anti-Semitism, which is not only against Jews, but also against Muslims and Christians. We should also make efforts to understand each other among the Abrahamic nations,” he said. “The purpose of this event is not only to sit together, break bread and have a conversation. You can disagree and have disagreements — your disagreements will also be given a prominent place on this new platform of ours. This is the beauty of democracy.”

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The launch of a newspaper should not only be a means of providing news but should also be a voice for the voiceless and oppressed.

Shahida Soomro · Democratic City Council Member, Connecticut

In her remarks at the event, Council member Soomro congratulated the team on the launch of NY Urdu, calling it a great achievement for a good cause.

Lawyer Bushra Ahmed said the goal and mission of the platform should not stop at Urdu, but should also reach the languages of South Asia and Central and West Asia — a reach she said NYUrdu.com is already delivering on.

Participants traveled not only from New York but from Pennsylvania and Connecticut to attend and take part in the discussion.

Each attendee offered congratulations and good wishes to Hassan Mujtaba, editor-in-chief of New York Urdu.

Khurram Ali Raza

Faith & Freedom News

Khurram Ali Raza reports on faith, community and civic life for Faith & Freedom News (FFN), covering the stories of interfaith dialogue and grassroots journalism across the South Asian diaspora in the United States.