Can India learn multiculturalism from Britain's Jews and Muslims?

Indian politicians may have given up on iftar parties for fear of being tarred as Muslim appeasers, but British Jews and Muslims have shrugged off the culture wars between their respective extremist groups to continue the tradition of coming together to break the Ramzan fast.

Synagogues around the country are reported to be using ‘food and friendship’ to overcome escalating tensions over the events in Gaza.

The other day, Rabbi Hannah Kingston and Imam Sabah Ahmedi stood together at an iftar dinner in a north London suburb in a show of Jewish–Muslim solidarity.

They cited their own personal friendship as a model for how the two communities can retain good relations. Instead of being distracted by the ‘elephant in the room’—Israel's ongoing war on Gaza—they spoke of how their friendship has been “tested” by the war and how that need not drive a wedge between friends and neighbours of different faiths, the Times reported.

The synagogue has hosted iftar dinners for 10 years, but this year’s theme of ‘friendship across difference’ has acquired special significance.

“Events and dialogue like this allow us to continue talking to each other, despite what is going on in the rest of the world,” one rabbi said.

“These are small steps. But when a rabbi asks an imam at the mosque down the road, ‘What do you require for your handwashing at our synagogue iftar? What is the proper food to serve?’, then dialogue can begin, and from these simple acts springs hope. Hope that we can listen to one another, hope that we can slowly learn to trust one another again and ensure our streets and our places of worship are safe spaces for everyone no matter if they are wearing a hijab or a kippa,” he added.

Anyone in India listening?

The murky politics of corporate donations

Corporate donations are big news not only in India; they are also proving a headache for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Sunak is under pressure to hand back £10 million in donations from the Conservatives’ biggest donor and his personal friend Frank Hester, after it emerged that Hester had joked about wanting to shoot a prominent black Labour Party MP.

He reportedly told colleagues that looking at Diane Abbott, the first black woman elected to Parliament and the longest-serving black MP, “made you want to hate all black women” and said “she should be shot”.

Hester has been accused of racism—a charge he has denied while apologising for the remark. Sunak acknowledged that the comments were ‘racist’ but rejected calls for his money to be returned, saying the apology should settle the issue.

Hester is also said to have made racist remarks about his Asian/Indian staff. This is the latest in a series of rows that have hit the Sunak government ahead of the next general election that his party is set to lose.

Meanwhile, the more Sunak tries to pretend ‘crisis? what crisis?’ the more it shows.

Here’s what a Times reporter wrote after watching him at an event: ‘Has Rishi Sunak been photoshopped? Can we be sure he’s even real? Yes, we probably can, but something strange is going on. The prime minister gave a speech in Warwickshire on Monday morning, which lasted approximately seven minutes, yet by the end of it he looked five years older than when it started.’ Oops.

British multiculturalism zindabad!

Indians love to take the mickey out of British multiculturalism, but contrast the lack of minority representation in Indian politics with Britain’s remarkably inclusive political culture.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is a Hindu; Scotland’s first minister (chief minister) Humza Yousaf is a Muslim of Pakistani origin; the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is the son of Pakistani immigrants; Wales’ first minister designate, Vaughan Gething, was born in Lusaka in Zambia and will become the first black leader of any European nation.

Even a little further afield, Leo Varadkar — Ireland’s first minister until recently — is of Indian origin.

All good.

But here’s another, less flattering face of British multiculturalism: last week, railway authorities were forced to remove an Islamic hadith displayed on an electronic notice board at London King’s Cross station to mark Ramzan after passengers protested that it was ‘inappropriate’.

The board on the main concourse read: ‘Day 9 Fajr 04:25 Maghrib: 18:16. Hadith of the day: The Prophet Muhammad [peace be upon him] said: All the sons of Adam are sinners but the best of the sinners are those who repent often.’

Humanists UK, a secular charitable organisation, objected to any religious scripture being inflicted on passengers.

Within hours, Network Rail removed the messages. A spokesperson said: “We celebrate all the big religious festivals from Christmas to Ramadan at King’s Cross to reflect our diverse passenger and employee base. However, our main departure board should be reserved for train information and our general Ramadan celebratory messages weren’t used for some reason, which we’re looking into. All has now been corrected.”

Hmm...

And, finally, Britain’s royal family is facing one of the worst crises in contemporary history with King Charles and Catherine, Princess of Wales, both seriously ill, triggering a debate on the future of monarchy.