Ramadan Celebrations Unite Muslims, Jews and Christians in Egypt

Last week, a series of independent inter-religious initiatives to celebrate the Ramadan Iftar seemed to coincide to defy the current narrative on conflict, making a clear statement to the world: “it’s not about religion”.

The Cairo Synagogue hosted an Iftar with the purpose of bringing together Muslims, Jews and other communities. The iftar, the breaking of the fast at sunset during the Islamic Month of Ramadan, was called for by the Egyptian Alliance for Minorities, aimed at promoting unity across the different faiths, according to Egyptian Streets.

On the same week, the Kasr El-Dobara Christian church presented its annual Ramadan charitable tradition through a series of free Iftars which are repeated Friday and Saturday throughout the month. Church Priest Fawzy Wahib explained that he organized the dinners to encourage “national unity”.

“Growing up, the terms Muslim and Christian never mattered,” AbdelHakim Selim, a 49-year-old Muslim taxi driver who ate Iftar with the Christians, told the Daily News.

The Maidat Rahman annual charity event is held at the Evangelical church located near Tahrir Square, where church chefs cook 200 meals every weekend, 140 of which are served on the side of the road for whoever doesn’t have food to break the fast.

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