Council for Mosques welcomes new Bishop to Bradford
A warm and welcoming evening which celebrated the importance of interfaith dialogue and interfaith work was organised by the council for Mosques last Thursday.
The new Bishop of Bradford, Toby Howarth and his wife were also in attendance.
Zulfi Karim, who hosted the evening said: “There has always been a fantastic relationship between the Council for Mosques and the Bishop’s office.
“We knew the previous Bishop very well but he has now moved on. It’s important that we get to know the new Bishop. I have previously worked very closely with Bishop Toby regarding all different kinds of issues that arise in Bradford.”
The event itself was attended by a long list of dignitaries and people representing other faiths.
Two Bradford MP’s made an appearance; Bradford West’s Naz Shah and Bradford South’s Judith Cummins.
The event was also attended by the Lord Mayor Cllr Joanne Dodds.
Many faiths were present, such as people from the Jewish, Sikh and Hindu community. They all spoke about the importance of interfaith dialogue and the importance of a city working together.
Zulfi said one of the stand-out comments was the idea of feeling‘better’ when we do things ‘together’.
“We call it ‘Better Together’,” he said.
Zulfi continued: “The Lord Mayor and MP’s made a speech. We had an imam who opened with a recitation about the community working together. Steve Hartley of Safer Communities spoke.
“The Bishop said a few words and then a presentation of flowers was made to the Lord Mayor and the Bishop’s wife. All the faith nominations for Bradford were represented. It was a warm evening and we all had a great time.”
Zulfi said: “In today’s current climate, we need a better understanding of each other – so it is very important that we hold these interfaith meetings. We can’t let any person or community feel isolated. This is about what it is to be a member of a good neighbourhood and how we can be good neighbours to each other, no matter what our faith.”
