In a collaboration that’s being called the first of its kind in the country, Muslim and Jewish doctors joined forces Sunday to provide free medical screenings to low-income and uninsured Houstonians at a community health fair.
The health fair was part of the international “Weekend of Twinning,†meant to strengthen ties between the two faith groups by co-hosting programs. The New York-based nonprofit Foundation for Ethnic Understanding hopes the fair can serve as a national model.
“We share a common moral imperative to heal the sick,†said Walter Ruby, the director for the foundation’s Muslim-Jewish program. “With all the bad news out there, it’s inspiring seeing Jewish and Muslim doctors serve the community in which we live side by side.â€
Sunday’s efforts were led by Dr. Aijaz Ali Khowaja, CEO of the Ibn Sina Foundation that operates five clinics in the Houston area, and Dr. Harvey Rosenstock, a Jewish psychiatrist who works with the Bellaire synagogue he attends, Congregation Brith Shalom, to engage Jewish physicians to volunteer with Ibn Sina.
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