22/04/2021
‘The Ramadan Tent Project was founded in 2013 with a mission of bringing communities together across Britain to better understand each other. To date, through Ramadan Tent Project’s flagship initiative Open Iftar, over 200,000 people of all faiths and none have been hosted to break bread and share a free Iftar meal during the holy month of Ramadan.
Ramadan Tent Project is proud to have hosted speakers from a variety of backgrounds and is committed in continuing to do so. Previous speakers have included the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Mayor of London, and representatives from the following organisations: the Board of Deputies, the Muslim Council of Britain, the Conservative Party, the Labour Party, the House of Lords, Westminster Abbey, The FA, the British Council, the Royal Society of Arts and many more.
Given what we have experienced over the past year, we are all desperate to reconnect with people and strengthen bonds that this global pandemic has weakened. With increasing loneliness and isolation, events like the Virtual Open Iftar are organised to share the community spirit and bring together people who may not share the same beliefs, views or life experiences and create a space of mutual engagement and exchange. In doing so, we look forward to continually convening and connecting with different viewpoints and developing a greater understanding of one another’s positions.’
We are surprised and disappointed at the claims being made by Jake Wallis Simons of the Jewish Chronicle in his recent article about the reasons why Ramadan Tent Project’s event with Keir Starmer of the Labour Party was cancelled. In the article it is alleged that ‘Ramadan Tent Project failed to respond to our inquiry’ – this is completely false and disingenuous given the above statement was sent on the 20th of April to the editorial team, the same day a media request was received from the Chronicle. Any attempt to undermine the excellent relationship Ramadan Tent Project has with the British Jewish community is divisive and deeply concerning.
Ramadan Tent Project has always sought to welcome people from all backgrounds and our mutually respectful and positive relationship with the British Jewish community is an important constituency which falls within that. In the true spirit of Ramadan, we welcome Jake Wallis Simons and Tal Ofer to attend our iftars any evening this Ramadan and demonstrate that the diversity of opinion and tolerance only enriches our environment and creates a more inclusive space of belonging.
