Archbishop Justin Welby: Sierra Leone Telegraph: 24 May 2020:
I wish a blessed and joyful Eid al-Fitr to all our Muslim friends and neighbours as you mark the end of this Ramadan, this month of fasting and prayer.
What a month it has been. I had the privilege of sharing in a virtual Iftar with the Ramadan Tent Project. The conversations with young Muslims around the world were fascinating, as we explored many shared themes of how we pray and fast during a time of lockdown.
What is at the heart of our respective faiths, where many of the things we rely on have been stripped away? It has been amazing to see the shared endeavours of Christians and Muslims to support the whole community for the common good during the pandemic.
Many people have had to sacrifice going to their places of worship. But their commitment to be alert over most of Ramadan – to stay at home, to protect the NHS and to save lives – is fundamentally a commitment of faith, of obedience to God. Thank you for what you have done and will continue to do.
So I wish you a really joyful Eid. And I so look forward to the time when our fasting from physical gatherings ends and we begin to go out into the world and meet face to face.
How may that be different? My prayer is that, having fasted from meeting in person, we may renew our love for each other by working together for the common good, for the blessing of our country and our world.
I believe that we know what it is to depend on God, to live for our neighbour and to live for God.
Eid Mubarak!
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There are diverse ways for devout Muslims to get to the Kaaba, in Mecca, and dozens more routes that christian devotees can take to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, located inside Jerusalem. Different faiths, yet both pursuing the same goal of aspiring to get closer, and more intimately acquainted with their omnipotent Creator, Almighty God. Most prudent minds now agree, that Islam and Christianity are like non-identical twins, brought forth from the same womb of existence; others say, emphatically, that they are different fingers pointing at the same silvery, crescent moon.
Sincerely, Stargazers have always insisted, it does not really matter which finger points and shows us the glorious, magical way, because there are spiritual valuables, gemstones and treasures to be found on every path one chooses to follow. The journey to those holy sites is always a long, tiring and arduous one, but the fulfillment and satisfaction that comes from reaching the final destination and participating in fervent, communal worship with millions of ardent believers around the globe, cannot be described or measured adequately in words. It is sublime, incommunicable and inspiring.
The heart-warming, touching greetings from the Archbishop of Canterbury, speaks volumes about the need for religious tolerance and understanding among the different faiths; and we sincerely hope this sends a clear message, that Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus around the world should aspire to embrace each other as friends, brothers, sisters and neighbours.