Building Solidarity Through Shared Stories: Harrow Hosts First Jewish-Muslim Iftar
Building Solidarity Through Shared Stories: Harrow Hosts First Jewish-Muslim Iftar
As part of North London Citizens’ new Listening Campaign, Kol Chai Hatch End Reform Jewish Community hosted Harrow borough’s first-ever joint Jewish-Muslim Iftar on Tuesday 25th March.
Kol Chai partnered with NOMAD (Nations Of Migration Awakening the Diaspora), a youth-led charity rooted in migrant experience, whose team helped lead the event throughout the night.
The event brought together Muslim guests from Harrow Central Mosque, North Harrow Shia Ithna’ashari Community of Middlesex, and the Afghan Association of London, alongside guests from Harrow Council, Harrow Interfaith, the Met Police, St Peter's Harrow, and the Diocese of Westminster’s Westminster Interfaith.
Many in the room were refugees – some newly arrived, others long settled in the UK, including those welcomed to Harrow through the efforts of local organisations like Kol Chai.
Social action was the central theme, with powerful stories shared as part of the listening campaign – stories of displacement, resilience, and solidarity, told across faiths and generations.
Asha Mohamed, Fatma Ali, and Claire from NOMAD shared their work with Kol Chai on the Migrant Cookbook – a project that tells migrant stories through the food they prepare for their families – and spoke about their powerful conversations and community-building through their women’s group.
Tofail Ahmed, from Harrow Central Mosque, offered a reflection from Islamic tradition about the importance of working with our neighbours.
My journey has been shaped by the wonderful conversations I had with mums at the school gate about fasting practices, and the similarities between keeping kosher and keeping halal – and the huge warmth and generosity we experienced from other families.
Of course, what we had in common was a desire to do the best for our children and the knowledge that what we share is far greater than what might keep us apart.
Rabbi Naomi Goldman, Kol Chai Synagogue reflected on her own experiences as the mother of the only Jewish family in a Muslim-majority primary school.
