For the first time in Gaza: activities for religious tolerance
Young Palestinian Christians and Muslims joined a social activity — the first of its kind in Gaza — modelling religious tolerance: dozens of young people visited historic sites of both faiths, among them a mosque and a church in Gaza City, in a Pal-Think programme.
- Author
- The editorial team
- Date
- 2012-10-09
Muhammad al-Mashharawi – Gaza – Sky News Arabia
.Palestinian Christian and Muslim young people took part in a social activity, the first of its kind in the Gaza Strip, aimed at presenting a model of religious tolerance.
Dozens of young people chose to visit archaeological sites connected with the two religions, among them a mosque and a church in Gaza City, as part of a programme sponsored by the “Pal-Think” institution.
Inside the mosque and the church, those present listened to an outline of the history of coexistence between the two religions in Palestine through history. The public-relations director at the Church of Saint Porphyrius, Kamel Ayyad, said that the Christians in the Gaza Strip have customs that are first and foremost Islamic.
Ayyad added in his remarks to “Sky News Arabia”: “We live in brotherhood, love and peace with our Muslim brothers, and this brotherhood is held up as an example at the level of the Middle East”.
Some three thousand Christians live in the Gaza Strip, out of a total population of more than a million and a half, and they enjoy full equality with Muslims in all social, political and religious rights.
The programme of activities includes a blood-donation campaign carried out jointly by Muslims and Christians, alongside the painting of a mural and a sculpture in Gaza City expressing this tolerance.