Kaya Gravitter
Around the world, people attempt to strengthen their interfaith relationships. On the one hand, we see the rise of Islamophobia in the west. On the other hand, we can witness how an Egyptian Jewish woman lives with her two Muslim daughters in the same household.
“I taught my two daughters how to read the Quran, they didn’t know how to speak Arabic.”
An Interfaith household
Contrary to what you see represented in the media, people of different religions have been living peacefully together. In countries like Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan, religious people have been able to do so for centuries. An exemplary interfaith household is the family of Egyptian Magda Haroun.
Magda Haroun is a Jewish mother of two Muslim daughters. In an interview with Al-Hurra TW, she explained: “I was married to a Muslim man when I had my two Muslim daughters.” Her second and current marriage is to a catholic man who “raised [her] two daughters.”
The entire family believes in coexistence and often discuss matters related to religion to know each other better. In the interview Haroun continued with saying, “I taught my daughters to respect human beings for who they are. We celebrate all the religious occasions. We celebrate Jewish occasions with my mother. We attend the prayers at the church on December 24, the Christmas Eve, and we celebrate Ramadan as well.”
People who are not close to them are often surprised by how they are living together despite their different religions. But Haroun stresses that her family leads a quiet and peaceful life. “Our creator is only one, and if he wanted us to have the same beliefs, he would have done that.”
“It gave me hope for this world”
Being a convert who left Christianity to become a Muslim, I have witnessed Christians and Muslims live under the same roof, but I have never seen it so peaceful as in the Egyptian household of Magda Haroun. To hear about this family of not just two but three religions living under the same roof. I was in shock. It gave me hope for this world.
I feel like the world should look at this family. They have successfully achieved to live peacefully amongst one another while still being able to discuss religion. They have achieved the highest level of interfaith relationships and live it every day in such amity. I believe the sooner we could achieve this on a global scale, the better our world will become.
