Overcoming controversies that surrounded its inauguration, Cape Town ‘Open Mosque’ has invited Christians to attend its interfaith Christmas lunch, offering them halal food and non-alcoholic beverages.
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“In an age of Boko Haram and Islamic State, it is an initiative in a bitterly fractured world where Islamic fundamentalists and religious fanatics have willfully ignored the tolerant teachings of pristine Islam,” Dr Taj Hargey, the mosque founder, told Cape Times on Monday, December 15.
An invitation for the event, dubbed as “historic Christmas invitation”, was directed to all followers of Christianity who will be served a banquet of halal food and non-alcoholic beverages.
Hargey asserted that his invitation to Christians followed Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) example of welcoming Christians to stay and pray in his mosque in Madinah, where he housed 60 bishops during their travels in the Middle East.
Mosque spokeswoman Jamila Najar praised the event as a way to reflect the true spirit of Islam.
“There is a strong emphasis on a Qur’an-centric faith, its unprecedented gender equality and unique non-sectarianism,” she said.
“The bold campaign by the Open Mosque to challenge this toxic manifestation of Islam is a small but significant step in generating peaceful co-existence and harmony between the followers of Jesus and Muhammad in South Africa.”
The event will start next December 21 from 1pm to 5pm. Attendants will be served traditional Cape Malay cuisine.
“There will be music, talks and poetry, extolling the inherent commonality of these two great Abrahamic faiths,” Hargey said.
“An extensive buffet meal in the mosque will be prepared and served by Muslim volunteers as a token of our esteem and respect for the adherents of Jesus.”
The mosque, which welcomes gays and allows women to lead prayers, officially opened its doors last September.
The new mosque is described by its founder as South Africa’s first gender-equal, non-sectarian and interracial mosque.
The house of worshipping would welcome both Sunni and Shiite Muslims at the same service.
Muslims make up some 1.5 percent of South Africa’s 49 million-strong population, according to the CIA fact book.
Christmas is the main festival on the Christian calendar. Its celebrations reach its peak at 12:00 PM on December 24 of every year.
Muslims believe in Jesus as one of the great Prophets of God and that he is the son of Mary but not the Son of God. He was conceived and born miraculously.
In the Noble Qur’an, Jesus is called "Isa". He is also known as Al-Masih (the Christ) and Ibn Maryam (Son of Mary).
