News Desk |
Bishop of London Rt Rev Sarah Mullally and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan hosted a first-ever interfaith Ramadan event at St. Pauls Cathedral. The event was organized on Tuesday to mark the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan in the UK.
Bringing people together to break bread and share experiences builds community. Young Londoners are the future of our city – and I’m so encouraged by the optimism, energy and enthusiasm of all those who joined us at tonight’s historic #Iftar at @StPaulsLondon. #RamadanMubarak https://t.co/hK6MZafwSX
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) May 7, 2019
The event was organized to strengthen the interfaith harmony in the face of rising religious extremism and intolerance. It was attended by hundreds of young student having different religious backgrounds. The occasion, besides serving Iftar to the attendees, also provided an opportunity to the young Londoners to discuss their respective faith and give suggestions over how to increase the interfaith harmony in London.
Here is our selfie at St Paul’s Cathedral with @SadiqKhan and the Bishop of London together with 100s of young people from across London at the Naz Legacy iftar #LondonIsOpen 👊🏼✌🏾❤️ pic.twitter.com/JP93FiFzvM
— Mete Coban (@metecoban92) May 7, 2019
Talking to media at the event, Mayor Sadiq Khan stated, “I want to pay huge tribute to the Bishop of London and everyone at St Paul’s Cathedral for opening up this really special cathedral and spiritual home of many Londoners.”
An Anglican Church that is a symbol of London.
Muslim Mayor of London.
Female Bishop of London.
Multifaith Iftar Dinner.Over 100+ young people of all faiths and none.
What a city. ❤️
(via @metecoban92) pic.twitter.com/C1inGXy6Zh
— Jakub Krupa (@JakubKrupa) May 8, 2019
“As a city, we don’t just tolerate difference, but we respect it, celebrate it and we embrace it.” ” We believe in pluralism and believe the fact that we have more in common than that which divides us and separates us.
“The message from London is that we are going to put down bridges rather than build walls.” Each year the function is held at different religious locations in London but it was for the first time St.Pauls Cathedral hosted the event.
Read more: Pakistani origin Mayor displays what’s best about his city, London
Bishop Sarah said: “It’s so important, particularly at this moment that we put events on where people of different faiths and no faith can come together. “Because actually by talking you find out what you have in common but you also find out what you don’t and you can celebrate that difference.
“In a world where there are increasing divisions, it is so important that we provide these opportunities to be able to celebrate what we have in common together.”