“Fear arises from misunderstanding [and] from getting our information exclusively from [the] media. By building a personal relationship with people across different faith especially at a young age, we can strength communities and [become] immune to the us vs them mentality.” This is what a Christian young adult said after visiting a Muslim home for a 2F1F Ramadan dinner and it could not better capture the goal of the “2 Faiths 1 Friendship” initiative.
For the third year in a row, we organized home dinners for Muslims and (evangelical) Christians during the month of Ramadan. During Ramadan, Muslims increase their worship practices and observe a fast from food, drink, and harmful habits during daylight hours. At sunset, family and friends gather for a special meal to break fast together called “iftar.” Over the course of four weeks, Muslim families welcomed old and new Christian friends for a home-made iftar dinner, fun games, and thoughtful discussion in a unique opportunity to build bridges of understanding between these two often isolated communities.
The first year this initiative was started, 6 families hosted about 75 Christians in their homes for iftar. The second year this effort more than doubled to 15 homes and this third year the initiative grew to 25 homes that opened their doors to 155 (evangelical) Christian guests, many of whom came to a Muslim home for the first time in their lives
Praise God! We are so grateful to our hosts, guests, and dinner organizers.
Enjoy watching all the groups that gathered for an unforgettable experience:
Research shows that getting to know somebody at a personal level decreases the likelihood of harboring negative attitudes toward that person and his/her group. We believe that everybody can be a peace-builder; sometimes, all it takes is a dinner invitation and an open door to your home:
“It was truly a blessing to form new friendships with each of [our guests]. In fact, [our kids] went to sleep with big smiles on their faces because they could appreciate how special this gathering was. It’s through meeting wonderful people that [we] are reminded of all the beauty in this world.” – Muslim host