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My month of being Jewish -- by Sarfraz Manzoor, a Muslim

Stepping into someone else's shoes is risky.

"I am not, in a strictly factual sense, Jewish. But put to one side my Asian looks, ignore my Pakistani parentage and overlook my Muslim name, and I could easily be one of the children of Israel. ...  I've always thought I wouldn't have to change my life hugely if I were to wake up and find my name changed from Sarfraz to Seth. And so, inspired by the release of "The Infidel" a sweet new comedy written by David Baddiel about a Muslim taxi driver who discovers he is actually Jewish, I decided to put my theory to the test by spending a month "living Jewish."

So begins Sarfraz (or should we say Seth?) Manzoor in an article published in the Guardian a month or so ago-- My month of being Jewish. I missed it, due to the early election fever I guess, but saw it when I was looking at a piece Manzoor wrote on Sunday on Esther Rantzen and the Battle for Luton South.

Its great, and marks what must be another fascinating stage in Manzoor's journey growing up as a Muslim in Britain (and more specifically Luton) that he has described so well in his journalism, (principally in the Guardian but also see his website), his 2007 book, Greetings from Bury Park, (available from Amazon), and Radio and TV (you can see his moving documentary Luton Actually on the web).

That journey confronted him with the dilemma, as he recalls in his book and an article, "You're Muslim -- You'll never be English", written post 9-11, in what must have been chilling days for Muslims in Britain. He tells his own story of reconciling what it means to be British and to be Muslim. For me his journalism come to life most when he is confronting aspects of that dilemma, British and Muslim -- as he did in a piece exploring aspects of Britishness in The Last Night of the Proms.

Whether he has resolved the challenge or not I cannot be sure, but he has obviously decided its time for a new challenge, to step into another pair of shoes. You need to read the article for the meaty reality (halal and/or kosher?) but his conclusion is heartwarming:

After a month of living Jewish, I came away wishing more people – both Muslims and Jews – would step outside of their social bubbles and spend time in the other community. That way they too would be reminded of that banal but powerful truth, that underneath the skull caps and the headscarves, whether we eat chicken soup or chicken jalfrezi, we really are more similar than we are different.

We are more similar than we are different!!

The making of a Mumbai Terrorist

TIME has obtained the story of the surviving "Mumbai terrorist", Mohammad Amir Ajmal Qasab. The story of what makes an ordinary person to commit acts of terror is one we need to understand in order to do all we can to cut of the supply of fighters who become "terrorists" to Jihadist islamic groups, and indeed groups associated to other faiths.  

The Making of a Mumbai Terrorist - TIME.

Talking of his "confession" to police which they somehow obtained, TIME says:

As a legal document, it is of questionable value; it was almost certainly obtained under duress and has been widely circulated. But as a narrative of the transformation of a country boy into a jihadist, it is believable and — more than that — important. Understand Qasab's story and you begin to understand why young men throw in their lot with Islamic extremists, why Pakistan may be the most dangerous country in the world, why the half-century-long dispute between India and Pakistan over Kashmir is not just a local problem, why education reform in the poor world is an issue of national security in the rich one — and why draining the swamps in which terrorism is spawned has been so difficult.

Debating the Uniqueness of Christ in Multi-Faith Britain

A week and a half ago the church of England spent three hours or more in two debates looking at how it presents itself and its message to multi-faith Britain. I made time to go and listen to the first debate on "The Uniqueness of Christ in Multifaith Britain". I have listened to the debate on the second: "Staying Present and Engaging Faithfully" with multi-faith Britain.

My perspective on what was said? I am by no means alone in describing myself as engaged in interfaith work in a very multi-faith town and from the evangelical charismatic tradition of the Church of England (though unhappy with much of what Evangelical represents in many minds, definitely open evangelical if we are going to be specific, and probably best described as positively post-charismatic). I am relatively new to the work, and relatively unconnected within the structures and networks of the Anglican church, whether evangelical or interfaith work, and I am not partisan either by connection or choice. I guess up until now I have just naively been

I have lacked the time since then to think over what has been written and put down my own thoughts. I guess there are three things to look at:

• What was said in the two debates involved, and not said
• What has been said about what was said (and not said) in the debates.
• What more could be said. (In other words what I want to say!)

Journeying together

This deserves more comment, but came across this just now - a story of a joint pilgrimage between Muslims, Jews and Christians from East London to the Holy Land.  

UK Muslim group visits Israel for 1st time - Israel Activism, Ynetnews.

They say how much the trip meant because they were travelling together.  The group was mainly Muslim - that's OK, but a shame there were not more Christians and Jews. A shame for the Christians and Jews who missed out that is.

Simple but effective - an opportunity to share in the deep things of our faith, and ehar the stories of this contested land.

 

Blair does God in interview to launch inter-faith foundation

At last, lair's interfaith work officially launched.

Blair does God in interview to launch inter-faith foundation | Politics | The Guardian.

Tony Blair calls for faiths to act for global good -- Tony Blair Faith Foundation

The goals of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation are:

• to promote respect and understanding between the major religions;
• to make the case for faith as a force for good; and
• to encourage inter-faith initiatives to tackle global poverty and conflict.

"Making Luton safer and stronger"

I have not been writing much about Luton. It my home, and I love it. It is one of those places where the nations gather. Where Global becomes local, or Glocal as some say.

Luton is a large multicultural town, with a population of 185,000 (2001 census). The census listed 35% of the population as other than white British; and over 25% as of major world religions apart from Christian. At that time 14% were Muslim; that number is now greater. The ethnic make-up is still changing with differential birth-rates, new migrant communities (eg. Polish and Zimbabwean) and a large body of asylum seekers. Luton is projected to become the first town to become dominantly of non-British ethnic origin (closely following the city of Leicester). The school population is already approaching 50% non British origin. Over 100 languages are spoken as a mother tongue.

(In the UK a city is historically a place with a Cathedral. Nowadays a place becomes a city by granting of an act of parliament. Otherwise you are a town. So we are a town. In the US you would call us a city.)

There is a lot more to say about Luton and its potential as a place where the nations gather. I may mutter grand ideas and occasionally wise words about the nations on these pages, but this town is where I spend a lot of my time. And I dream that the message of peace, of reconciliation, of friendship might become real here through the work my friends and I do, and that it might spread from here to the world.

We work based at St Mary's, the historical parish church of Luton. A big part of our time however is spent working closely with our Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and other friends at the Luton Council of Faiths (LCOF).   We love the opportunities we have to work with them, and more than that the oportunities to hangout and grow friendships. I just got back from a celebration with them.  A few weeks ago LCOF received an award at the "Pride of Luton 2008 Awards Ceremony".  It was for making Luton safer and stronger. I was away at the time oryou might have read about it earlier. Tonight we were celebrating that award.

You can read about it and see them receiving the award here on the Luton Today site (towards the end of the video) :  Pride In Luton award winners honoured in glittering ceremony

They are good people. They do a great job. But most of all they are my friends. And my hope is that when people make friends there is a little more peace in this world. 

Truth in Other Faiths?

I have already  spent a large part of my time this week with my Hindu and Sikh friends at their places of worship, and have more time with them to come over the weekend. After weeks like this I often find myself admiring things about them, and having to consciously reject any sense of guilt I feel as a Christian for that. I have long come to the conclusion that I can learn much personally from them as individuals, and there are things in their faith that can challenge me, inspire me, indeed teach me. So it is always good to find others thinking the same!  I just read this on Richard Sudworths blog: 

Truth in other faiths

Richard Sudworth works in a church in a Muslim-majority area of Birmingham and uses his blog  "Distinctly Welcoming" "to generate ideas and reflections on the Christian engagement with our multifaith society." 

He writes:

Being able to see what we can learn whilst holding to our Christian identity, I believe, is vital for our relationship with all faiths and none. In fact, it is part and parcel of us staying true to what we believe.

Starship Kimchi: A Bold Taste Goes Where It Has Never Gone Before

South Korea has devoted several years and millions of dollars to make a cabbage dish suitable to go into space with its first astronaut in April.

Link: Starship Kimchi: A Bold Taste Goes Where It Has Never Gone Before - New York Times 

Mmm, oh goodie!! The result is apparently worldchanging.

The developers of the “space kimchi,” meanwhile, say their research will continue to benefit South Korea in a practical way even after the country’s national pride is burnished by Mr. Ko’s historic mission. They say kimchi’s short shelf life has made exporting it expensive because the need for refrigeration and rapid transport. That has added to the cost in importing countries, limiting sales. “During our research, we found a way to slow down the fermentation of kimchi for a month so that it can be shipped around the world at less cost,” Mr. Lee said. “This will help globalize kimchi.”

Generous Love

This came out last Thursday, but interfaith relations that day took a different path with the Sharia discussions.

Generous Love:  The truth of the Gospel and the call to dialogue    (an Anglican theology of inter faith relations)

Link: Network for Inter Faith Concerns - Resources - Documents & Downloads.

The report is great; but so too are a lot of the papers, bible studies etc from the consultations that led to this.

Dialogue at Davos

Link: God's Politics - Jim Wallis blog, faith blog, religion, christian, christianity, politics, values.

"...  a Muslim conversation partner introduced me to a group of Muslims I hadn't met: "This is my friend, Brian." When people stop being "that Jew" or "that Christian" or "that Muslim," and instead become "my friend," followed by a real name … the state of the world improves a little bit. ..."