The Big Iftar

I had a wonderful time at Alyth last week and want to thank everyone involved. Especially the amazing cooks and of course the Rabbis for hosting us.

I had never been to a synagogue before and it always intrigued me as of course the Jewish faith is so close to my own. I also always wondered what it looked like from the inside as its usually so pretty from the outside. So breaking my fast on Thursday was just the best introduction. I had met Rabbi Mark on an interfaith course earlier this year and he just really stood out with his happy manner. He was always smiling and full of stories.

At the synagogue, we focused on the theme of hospitality which is a dominant theme in our two religions. We related stories of prophet Ibrahim/Abraham (peace be upon him) and how he received his guests. In both Islam and Judaism, having a guest is a real chance to serve someone and put into practice the rule for loving for your neighbour what you love for yourself. So sharing the exquisite food and talking to people of all ages was something I will definitely remember for a long time. I’m inspired to do something similar myself. I would very much like to host our Jewish cousins for an event. Knowing each other is part of my faith. It makes me appreciate God’s creation and magnificence even more.

There are so many good people out there who are doing great work, helping people and reaching out; these stories don’t get shared despite them happening so often. So I’m very glad to be a part of that.

Asmaa Islam Georgiou
Chairperson, Yusuf Islam Foundation