Members from London’s East End Muslim, Jewish and Christian communities took part in the Abraham Initiative which involved cleaning and maintaining places of worship (Photo:Muslim Aid)

Elham Asaad Buaras

Abraham Initiative the brainchild of Muslim Aid Volunteers Officer Zakaria Hussain, who sought more contact between the three communities. He told The Muslim News, “We often see Imams meeting Rabbis and high church people in high-profile settings, but people like myself hardly ever have an opportunity to meet Jewish or Christian people socially.”

“This time of year it’s Qurbani, the period that Muslims focus on the theme of sacrifice, so we are asking our Abrahamic brothers and sisters to sacrifice time for the upkeep of our precious holy places.”

President of Nelson Street Synagogue in Tower Hamlets, Leon Silver, said. “I see very good relationships between communities in the East End, and I often give talks at Muslim and non-Muslim schools about Judaism, but I also see misconception, hatred and prejudice between Muslims and Jews, which comes from lack of familiarity and social contact. The more we get to know each other, the more we will see how Muslims and Jews have many similarities,” he says.

Reverend Alan Green of St John at Bethnal Green Church said the Abraham Initiative “will show the good relationship that already exists between our communities in this area and will build on that to make it even better.”

Half the volunteers from the three Abrahamic faiths worked on Nelson Street Synagogue, the other half on St John on Bethnal Green church on August 24.