The Muslim-Jewish Dialogue (MJD) has organized a reception for non-Arab Ajmi Muslims at Baycrest, the Jewish community’s leading edge gerontology and geriatric facility in Toronto, in recognition of May’s Jewish History Month in Ontario.
Tariq Khan, on behalf of Muslim guests, said, “Muslims and Jews are cousins. and I am very glad today we are jointly marking the Jewish Heritage Month. Islam and Judaism share a common origin through Prophet Abraham and thus, both are considered Abrahamic religions. One of the common teachings in both religions is to serve humanity selflessly.”
He maintained that throughout Muslim history, “whether in Khilafat-e-Rashida (The Pious Caliphate), Umayyad Dynasty, Abbasid Empire, Muslim Spain or Ottoman Era, there is no record of any religion based armed conflict found between the two. Muslims and Jews lived in relative peace with one another all over the world, and Muslim Spain is still considered as the Golden Era for Jews.”
“The Palestinian conflict has nothing to do with religion, and it was initiated by communist Arab rulers,” according to Khan. “Instead of welcoming the Jewish people who came back to their holy land which was lost 2,000 years ago and joining hands with them to serve humanity together, so-called Arab nationalist rulers invaded the modern state of Israel.
“To get sympathies and support of Muslims living all over the world, the communist rulers of the Arab world, shamelessly converted their adventurism into a religious battle between the two faith communities. No doubt, God is kind and never supports unjust; they were defeated. Now, it is time for Muslims to understand the facts, recognize the reality and work together with their Jewish cousins to make this planet hate-free and a wonderful place for everyone,” concluded Khan, who is editor of Weekly Press Pakistan.
Mark Adler, local member of Parliament for the Government of Canada and who is involved in the Jewish community, offered full assistance to the group to expand good relations between the two religious communities.
The Muslim and Jewish guests toured the current display in a museum on the main floor of the Baycrest. The exhibition features sacred and secular head gear from all over the world, worn by Jews and non-Jews.
This article was written by Andrea Spindel for the Tazpit News Agency.