



As the world gets smaller, open communication and meaningful dialogue between diverse communities and individuals becomes even more important. Social media, for all its perceived flaws, can be an incredible tool for cooperative, constructive and positive interactions between people of different faiths and no faith.





With that in mind, the upcoming 30-day

Interfaith Ramadan

blog project will feature a different guest writer each day from various faith and non-faith backgrounds. Topics will range from specific aspects of faith to inclusion on a broader scale by exploring issues such as mental health, race and gender issues, and LGBT inclusion within faith communities.

Towards the end of the month there will also be articles by those sharing their personal experiences of Ramadan events such as communal iftars (the meal which breaks the daily fast) and interfaith actitivites within their local communities.





The project will bring together writers and readers from all over the world and with different beliefs, and as such, there won't always be agreement with all of the views expressed. Indeed, our diverse attitudes and approaches can sometimes be controversial, raise important questions and help us to reflect on our own beliefs and traditions.





My hope is that these articles serve as the springboard for positive and productive conversations and allow readers and writers to connect with each other, either directly through the comments section or through social media by following the hashtag

#InterfaithRamadan

. Readers will also be able to share their own links to other interfaith projects, articles, news stories and blog responses using this hashtag throughout the month. You can also contact me via

@InterfaithRam

or

@SaritaAgerman

if you would like to share related articles or contribute to the project.





This may be the first time that readers how come across an inclusive Interfaith approach to discussions about faith, and so I highly recommend reading the

Christian Muslim Forum

's

which is a brilliant guide for approaching interfaith conversations with honesty, integrity and respect.





If you'd like to learn more, you can get a feel for the project by looking at last year's articles:

Interfaith Ramadan 2013

. You can also subscribe by email (in the top right column) to receive articles straight into your inbox so that you don't miss any articles once the project gets underway on the 28th of June.





UPDATE: The first Interfaith Ramadan piece can be viewed here:

Islam Meets Monasticism





★ ★ ★





Interfaith Ramadan curator Sarah Ager is an English teacher and expat writer living in Italy. She describes herself as an 'Anglo-Muslim hybrid', having converted to Islam in 2011. She writes about interfaith dialogue, religion, and culture.



