It was a big night in the English city of Bristol last Friday, when the Bristol Cathedral staged an event that its organizers hope will herald a new era of peace, love and understanding not just in Bristol itself, but in all of Britain and all over the West. The Anglican cathedral played host to a Grand Iftar, that is, the meal breaking the Ramadan feast, for the local Muslim community. What a noble, beautiful gesture, right? Now the local Muslims will surely respond to this gesture of welcome and generosity with one of their own, won’t they?
Bristol 24/7 reported Friday that this was not just a one-off; it’s an annual event, “organised [that’s ‘organized’ in the King’s English, as opposed to Old Joe Biden’s] by Muslims4Bristol in partnership with Bristol Cathedral and Bridges for Communities.” The event this year built on earlier victories for coexistence: “Following the success of the Grand Iftar on College Green in 2023, the event inside the cathedral was a special collaboration between faith communities in Bristol with the theme of hope.”
This was the first time that the dinner had been held inside the cathedral itself, and everything went swimmingly. Mohamed El Sharif, one of this year’s organizers, was all smiles, saying that the iftar was “unique and historical,” and explaining that it was designed “to show unity and peace and is an interfaith event.” He emphasized that since this was the first Grand Iftar to be held inside the cathedral, it was “a historical event to happen here with all volunteers.”
Savvy politicians, aware that such an event was a good place to be seen and photographed, were on hand in large numbers: “Attendees inside from the Labour Party included MPs Thangam Debbonaire and Kerry McCarthy, deputy mayor Asher Craig and Bristol Labour group leader Tom Renhard.” Not to be outdone, the Green Party, which is even farther to the left than Labour, sent its “police & crime commissioner candidate Katy Grant.” Some English Conservatives-in-name-only were there as well, “including Bristol Conservative group leader Mark Weston.”
And so a splendid time was had by all. And really, it was all wonderfully generous, tolerant, ecumenical, and all that. Still, the event raises a few questions. One that fairly leaps out is the fact that while events such as this one have been going on fairly regularly for years, there is never, ever any reciprocity. Why are Christian services never, ever held in mosques? Why is the “outreach” only one way?
Bristol 24/7 also reports, without making anything of the fact, that “the Grand Iftar started in Bristol in 2017, shortly after the Manchester Arena bombing.” On May 22, 2017, an Islamic jihadi murdered twenty-two people and injured over a thousand in a jihad suicide bombing after an Ariana Grande concert at that arena. The response of the good people in Bristol was to start holding Ramadan dinners for their Muslim friends.
That’s wonderful, but consider a thought experiment: if a Christian screaming “Jesus is Lord” had committed a massacre in London, would a mosque host a Christian service “to show unity and peace”?
What’s more, the Bristol cathedral is supposed to be a place for Christian worship. The Qur’an, in which the Muslims attending the Grand Iftar at the Bristol cathedral believe, calls “the people of the book,” which includes Christians, “the most vile of created beings” (98:6). It says that those who believe in the divinity of Christ are unbelievers (5:17, 5:72). It denies the crucifixion (4:157) and the Trinity (4:171), although it assumes that the Trinity includes Allah, Jesus and Mary (5:116). It insists that Allah has no son and that those who say Jesus is the Son of God are under the curse of Allah (19:35, 9:30). Above all, it calls upon Muslims to fight against and subjugate “the people of the book,” making them accept the hegemony of the Muslims (9:29).
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It’s understandable that the people of Bristol would want to show a welcoming face to the Muslims who are rather suddenly living among them in such large numbers. Like most people everywhere, the residents of Bristol want to live quiet and peaceful lives. The overwhelming questions that Friday’s event at the cathedral raises, however, should not be ignored amid the lovefest.
Muslims would never hold a Christian event in a mosque, because the tenets of Christianity contradict those of Islam in numerous important ways. When Christians don’t show a similar concern to safeguard the tenets of their own faith even where those tenets should be most fiercely upheld, what kind of signal does that send to the newcomers? And what might they do as a result?
